Press Releases
Ranking Member Grijalva and 25 House Democrats Demand Details on Secretary Zinke’s Monument Review Process
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and 25 House Democratic cosponsors are using a House resolution (H.Res. 555) to force the Trump administration to be more transparent about its review of national monuments. The Democrats introduced the resolution of inquiry (ROI) today, a House resolution that requires the administration to provide Congress a final version of the secret monuments report and all supporting documents related to the executive order President Trump… Continue Reading
10.03.17
Grijalva, Conservation Leaders Call on GOP to Drop “Obsessive” Attacks on Endangered Species Act Ahead of Wednesday Markup
Washington, D.C. - Ahead of a Wednesday markup at 10:00 a.m. featuring five bad bills weakening the Endangered Species Act (ESA), among other measures under consideration, Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and national conservation leaders called on Republicans to drop their constant attacks on the law and attend to more pressing business, including the ongoing humanitarian disaster in Puerto Rico and the need to reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Despite now having… Continue Reading
10.03.17
Ranking Member Grijalva Introduces a Bill that Permanently Protects the Grizzly Bear & Honors Tribal Sovereignty Agreements
Washington, D.C. - To respond to the Department of the Interior's controversial decision to remove endangered species protections for grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) introduced the Tribal Heritage and Grizzly Bear Protection Act (H.R. 3894) at a press conference today surrounded by Tribal leaders and environmentalists. This bill would ensure that grizzly bears are permanently protected for their ecological and cultural value an… Continue Reading
09.29.17
Grijalva: Zinke Proves This Administration Preaches Service Cuts for Taxpayers While They Blow Your Money on Easy Living
Washington, D.C. - In response to the recent Washington Post story revealing that Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and his staff chartered a flight from Las Vegas to Zinke's home state of Montana on a private plane owned by oil and gas executives, House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) pointed out that the Trump administration preaches service cuts to the American people while it blows hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayer money on high-end travel.… Continue Reading
09.29.17
Natural Resources Committee Dems Ask for an Oversight Hearing on the Trump Administration’s Puerto Rico & USVI Relief Efforts
Washington, D.C. - To help ensure our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) are receiving urgent hurricane recovery and relief support, House Natural Resources Committee Democrats sent a letter to Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah) late yesterday requesting an oversight hearing on the Trump administration's efforts to address this growing crisis. The letter, led by Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs Subcommittee Ranking Member Norma Torres (D-Calif.) and Ranking Me… Continue Reading
09.27.17
Grijalva: Republican Demands to Waive Environmental Standards in Puerto Rico as Response to Hurricane Lack Any Credibility
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) released the following statement on today's news that Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah) quickly urged waiving the National Environmental Policy Act as a response to the hurricane damage and humanitarian needs in Puerto Rico. As E&E News reported this morning, Bishop is pushing to waive the law to "speed up the recovery" on the island. "Our response to human suffering has to be about food, shelter and water first, not deregulatio… Continue Reading
09.26.17
Democrats Reject Bishop’s Imminent Attempt to Politicize Tribal Recognition Process, Point to Effort’s Unpopularity With Tribes
Washington, D.C. - At today's 2:00 p.m. hearing in the Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs Subcommittee, Natural Resources Committee Democrats will reject Chairman Rob Bishop's (R-Utah) latest legislative attempt to politicize the federal process for recognizing Native American tribes and underscore the effort's long-term failure to gain traction in the tribal community. Bishop's H.R. 3744, the "Tribal Recognition Act of 2017," is an intentionally mislabeled bill that would make Congress t… Continue Reading
09.26.17
Grijalva Responds to Secretary Zinke’s Claims that 30 Percent of DOI Employees are “Not Loyal to the Flag”
Washington, D.C. - The Associated Press reported late yesterday that Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke spoke to an oil industry group and stated that nearly one-third of employees at his department are not loyal to him and President Donald Trump. He continued by stating that he "got 30 percent of the crew that's not loyal to the flag." Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) responded to Secretary Zinke's comments this morning: "Secretary Zinke should clarify his comments and apologize to … Continue Reading
09.26.17
Grijalva & Huffman Ask for Bipartisan Cooperation to Reauthorize Critical Fisheries Management Law
Washington, D.C. - At today's 10:00 a.m. fisheries management hearing on the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) - a bipartisan law that aims to foster long-term biological and economic sustainability of our nation's marine fisheries - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Water, Power and Oceans Subcommittee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) highlight the need for bipartisan cooperation to reauthorize the law and make updates to improve fisheries … Continue Reading
09.21.17
Grijalva: Trump Administration Has Just Days to Ensure Justice for New England Fishermen in Historic Illegal Fishing Case
Washington, D.C. - Just ahead of a closely watched sentencing hearing for Carlos Rafael, the leader of a notorious illegal fishing operation that has badly damaged the New England fishing economy, Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) sent two letters today - one to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and the other to Department of Commerce Inspector General Peggy Gustafson - urging renewed attention to his case and an investigation of whether federal … Continue Reading
09.15.17
Interior Department Units Impacted by Hurricane Irma
PUERTO RICO/VIRGIN ISLANDS Agency Unit Cost FWS Green Cay National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) FWS Sandy Point NWR FWS Vieques NWR (PR) FWS Caribbean Landscape Conservation Cooperative FWS Caribbean (Boqueron) ES Field Office FWS Puerto Rican Parrot Recovery Program (Rio Grande) ES Field Office FWS Puerto Rican Parrot Recovery Program (Maricao) ES Field Office FWS Culebra NWR NPS San Juan National … Continue Reading
09.13.17
Democrats Speak Out Against Sham Markup of Gun Deregulation Measure Disguised as “Sportsmen’s Bill”
Note: The quotes attributed to Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) and Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.) were added online after the initial version of this release was publicized. Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Democratic members of the House Natural Resources Committee joined in condemnation of today's just-concluded markup of a bill that weakens public safety, unnecessarily deregulates gun silencers and makes it harder for federal authorities to regulate arm… Continue Reading
09.12.17
Ranking Member Grijalva: This Week’s Bills Are a Sign That Republicans Will Sacrifice Sportsmen to the National Rifle Association
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today said that the slate of Republican bills set to receive votes on Wednesday are a sign that Republicans will do any amount of damage to public safety, to sportsmen and to the outdoors to keep the National Rifle Association (NRA) happy. Today's hearing on the notorious SHARE Act - nominally a bill to advance sportsmen's outdoor policy priorities that has become a laundry list of NRA demands - is the first of the week's many … Continue Reading
09.06.17
Ranking Member Grijalva, Rep. Lowenthal Blast Unbalanced Royalty Committee Membership Dominated by Fossil Fuel Interests
Washington, D.C. - House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee Ranking Member Alan S. Lowenthal (D-Calif.) today sent a letter to Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke decrying his appointment of a partisan, industry-dominated Royalty Policy Committee (RPC) to make recommendations on federal oil and gas royalty policy. No states with Democratic governors were given primary representation on the new panel, and no … Continue Reading
09.06.17
Committee Republicans Hold Another Hearing that Aims to Give Away Our Public Lands to Big Oil
Washington, D.C. - Committee Republicans are returning to Washington D.C., after a five week recess with a clear message to the public - they value the interests of their allies in the oil and gas industry over fulfilling their duty to protect and preserve our public lands. At 10:00 a.m. this morning, Committee Republicans are holding an Energy and Mineral Resources subcommittee hearing on three Republican-backed bills that would ultimately waive bedrock environmental laws, hand over our public … Continue Reading
08.25.17
Grijalva, Pallone Urge Interior to Resume NAS Study on Mountaintop Removal Mining, Question False Budgetary Rationale
Washington, D.C. - House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and House Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-N.J.) today sent a letter with several colleagues to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke urging him to allow the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NAS) to resume an ongoing study of the health impacts of mountaintop removal mining. The Department of the Interior's (DOI) Office of Surface Mining Reclamati… Continue Reading
08.22.17
New Ranking Member Report Documents Industry Influence, Lack of Public Transparency in Trump Admin National Monument Review
Washington, D.C. - A new report released by House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) documents the strong influence of the oil and mining industries over the soon-to-be-completed Trump administration "review" of 27 national monuments around the country and sheds new light on the review's unpopularity. The report - Fossil Apostles: Fossil Fuels, the GOP, and the Fate of Our National Monuments - is available at http://bit.ly/2iofeBx. Today's report finds … Continue Reading
08.21.17
Grijalva on DOI Stopping Mining Health Impact Study: When Industry Hurts Working People, Trump and Zinke Cover for Them
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) released the following statement on the news that the Department of the Interior (DOI), under Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, has ordered the National Academy of Sciences to stop its study of the human health impacts of mountaintop removal mining. The study, which was already underway and had conducted multiple public listening sessions, was being conducted on a DOI contract that the Trump administration decided to suspend. "Eve… Continue Reading
07.28.17
Help Protect our Marine Sanctuaries & Marine Monuments from Being Opened Up to Oil & Gas Development
NOAA has extended the deadline for public comment on a federal review of designation or expansion of 11 national marine sanctuaries and marine national monuments, due to "public interest and requests for additional time." The new deadline is August 14. A bicameral letter from Senator Peters, Ranking Member Grijalva, and others, urged the Secretary to extend the public comment period. The ongoing Department of Commerce review is a result of President Trump's executive order to review offshore en… Continue Reading
07.27.17
Grijalva: Zinke Threats Against Alaska Over Trumpcare Vote Raise Ethical Questions, Threaten Environment
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today said Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's willingness to deliver threats against the state of Alaska, in retaliation for Sen. Lisa Murkowski's (R-Alaska) principled stance against Trumpcare, was an alarming sign of how far the administration's ethical standards have fallen and how irresponsible the Interior Department has become. Grijalva plans to request a formal investigation later today. As Alaska Dispatch News first report… Continue Reading