Press Releases
Ranking Member Grijalva Leads Letter With Key Democratic Leaders Urging Interior Secretary to Revive Red Wolf Recovery Program
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and eight other key Democratic Members of Congress - including Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), Ranking Member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), Ranking Member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies - sent a letter to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell this morning calling on her to override the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS) recent … Continue Reading
12.05.16
Grijalva Thanks Obama, Hails Announcement That Dakota Access Pipeline Will Be Subject to Full Environmental Impact Analysis
Washington, D.C. - House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today hailed the announcement that the Dakota Access Pipeline Project - the subject of months of demonstrations that included law enforcement spraying unarmed water protectors with high-pressure water hoses in freezing conditions - will be subject to a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) under the National Environmental Policy Act, which will include a public comment period and a full asse… Continue Reading
11.18.16
Grijalva: Reported Withdrawal of Arctic From Drilling Threats in New Five-Year Offshore Plan “A Win Years in the Making”
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today hailed the announcement that the Obama administration's five-year lease sale plan for the Outer Continental Shelf will not permit new leasing off the coast of Alaska. Grijalva signed a letter in May to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell urging the administration to withdraw the Arctic from further leasing consideration. "This decision is an environmental win years in the making," Grijalva said today. "We're going to see unpr… Continue Reading
11.15.16
Grijalva Hails New Methane Rule, Urges Regulatory Continuity Rather Than Blanket Rejection From Incoming Administration
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva hailed today's newly announced Interior Department methane emissions rule for oil and gas extraction on federal land. He urged the incoming administration to maintain the standard. "Blanket rejection of every Obama administration action, no matter how scientifically well-founded or profitable to the American people those actions might be, is not a viable governing strategy," Grijalva said. "This is a good example of a change that's alrea… Continue Reading
11.14.16
Grijalva on Army Corps Announcement of Continued Tribal Consultation on Dakota Access Pipeline: “Send DOJ Observers to the Area”
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) released the following statement on the Army Corps of Engineers' new announcement that it will continue consultations with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe before making a final decision on the fate of the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline. "The Army Corps is right to continue consulting with the Standing Rock Sioux, and everyone who pushed against rubber-stamping this pipeline should feel a very real measure of success and vin… Continue Reading
11.02.16
Grijalva on Potential Dakota Access Relocation: “I Question the Need for This Pipeline But Support a Reroute That Protects Sovereignty”
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva released the following statement on President Obama's recent announcement that the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota may be partially re-routed in response to widespread concerns about violations of tribal sovereignty in the siting and permitting process. "I still question the need for the Dakota Access Pipeline. However, if it can be rerouted in a way that respects and protects tribal sovereignty, as President Obama has suggested, … Continue Reading
10.28.16
Ranking Member Grijalva Statement on Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Trial Verdicts
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva released the following statement on yesterday's not-guilty verdicts in the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge trial. "Unlike the Bundys, I respect our system of laws, so I accept this jury verdict. That doesn't change my personal view, which is shared by most Americans, that they are dangerous extremists spouting unhinged rhetoric and should be disavowed by responsible political leaders everywhere. "The Bundys still have to answer for po… Continue Reading
10.20.16
Ranking Member Grijalva Leads 51-Member Letter to EPA Chief Urging Fracking Review to Follow Expert Input on Water Risks
This press release has been updated online from its original version to reflect an increased number of signatories. Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva today sent a letter signed by 51 House Democrats urging Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy and her staff to follow the recommendations of the EPA's Science Advisory Board (SAB) before finalizing and publishing a congressionally mandated review of fracking's risks to drinking water. In its rece… Continue Reading
10.11.16
Grijalva “Disappointed” by Court Ruling on DAPL; Calls on Dakota Access to Voluntarily Halt Construction Until Corps of Engineers Concludes Ongoing Review
Tucson, Ariz. - House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) reacted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit's rejection of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's request for an injunction to halt construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), a nearly 1,200-mile pipeline that would be built near sacred tribal land and put the reservation's main water supply at risk: "While I'm disappointed by the court's decision, I'm encouraged that… Continue Reading
10.11.16
Report Finds GOP Failure to Approve Water Rights Settlements is Devastating Indian Country Across the United States
Washington, D.C. - A new report from the House Natural Resources Committee Democrats titled "Water Delayed is Water Denied: How Congress Has Blocked Access to Water for Native Families" finds that nearly 48 percent of U.S. homes on Native American land - in contrast to less than 1 percent of U.S. homes overall - do not have access to reliable water sources, clean drinking water or basic sanitation, a problem exacerbated by the refusal of today's Republican congressional majority to approve water… Continue Reading
09.30.16
Throughout October, Natural Resources Democrats Will Release Fact Sheets Highlighting Consequences of Republican Policy Failures
Washington, D.C. - Each weekday in the month of October, Democratic staff will release a new fact sheet highlighting the real-world consequences of the Republican majority's failure to pass needed legislation or adequately support vital programs in the Committee's jurisdiction. Each fact sheet will include a plain-language overview of the issue of the day and a look at the numbers that most dramatically tell the story. A sample, which will be released in full on Monday as the first fact sheet o… Continue Reading
09.28.16
Grijalva, Polis Question GOP Commitment to Tribal Consultation as Majority Prevents Vote on Dakota Pipeline Amendment
Washington, D.C. - Republicans late yesterday blocked a House vote on an amendment to the Water Resources Development Act by Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) that would have made completion of the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline dependent on the Army Corps of Engineers publishing a full environmental impact statement for the project. The amendment, originally offered on Monday, was technically "ruled out of order" by the majority of the House R… Continue Reading
09.27.16
Grijalva Tells Fish and Wildlife Director He Will Oppose Grizzly Delisting in Yellowstone Region Without Adequate Safeguards
Washington, D.C. - House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) sent a letter to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Director Dan Ashe this morning stating his opposition to the proposed removal of Endangered Species Act protections for grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) absent meaningful safeguards to guarantee the future of the population. You can read the letter at http://bit.ly/2dh9zta. The letter follows one Grijalva received fro… Continue Reading
09.21.16
Hearing on Wolf Management Devolves Into GOP Story Time as Republicans Repeat Debunked Myths about Iconic Endangered Species
Washington, D.C. - A just-concluded oversight hearing on federal management of wolves turned into an afternoon storytelling forum as Republican lawmakers and their invited witnesses repeated the same debunked claims they often share about wolves, which are protected under the Endangered Species Act. "They keep telling the same stories, reality and the scientific community keep proving those stories false, and then we hold another hearing where it happens again," said Ranking Member Raúl … Continue Reading
09.21.16
Grijalva: GOP Full Committee Hearing Today “Another in a Long Line of Time-Wasting Climate Denial Theater Productions”
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva dismissed today's Committee hearing at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time on White House climate change guidance to federal agencies as "another in a long line of time-wasting climate denial theater productions." Grijalva urged the Committee majority to end its habit of calling climate hearings to promote discredited views and repeat industry talking points. "Everyone involved knows this is about sending a partisan signal to industry allies and cli… Continue Reading
09.12.16
Grijalva: Fish and Wildlife Service Should Follow Science, Not Cave to Red Wolf Opponents, in Protecting North Carolina Population
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) released the following statement on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS) announcement that it will suspend efforts to recover the critically endangered red wolf in eastern North Carolina: "The Service is making a profoundly disappointing decision to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Prejudices and irrational fears led to the initial extirpation of the red wolf, and I'm concerned that those same prejudices and fears … Continue Reading
09.08.16
Ranking Member Grijalva: I Join Tribes In Strongly Opposing Just-Passed Republican Bill That Politicizes Tribal Recognition Process
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva today highlighted Native American communities' strong opposition to Chairman Rob Bishop's (R-Utah) Tribal Recognition Act, officially designated H.R. 3764, which passed the Natural Resources Committee a few minutes ago largely along party lines. The bill eliminates the executive branch's longstanding ability to recognize a Tribe for the purpose of government-to-government relations, making an act of Congress the only way for the federal g… Continue Reading
08.25.16
Ranking Member Grijalva: Next Century for National Park Service Must Be About “Doing More With More,” Not Fighting for Resources
Saguaro National Park, Ariz. - Speaking before Interim Superintendent Leah McGinnis and a diverse audience at Saguaro National Park outside Tucson, Ariz., today, Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva highlighted the opportunities and challenges facing the National Park Service (NPS) as its celebrates its 100th anniversary and looks ahead to its next set of goals. Grijalva emphasized the need to increase NPS funding, permanently reauthorize conservation programs like the Land and Water Conservat… Continue Reading
08.24.16
Ranking Member Grijalva Applauds the Designation of Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument in Maine
Tucson, Ariz. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva hailed today's designation of the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument as a success for Maine, for the country, and for the Antiquities Act, which remains one of the most important conservation tools in American history. The monument's designation comes a day ahead of the Aug. 25 Centennial marking the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, which is expected to manage the newly created monument. "This land needs to be preser… Continue Reading
08.17.16
Ranking Member Grijalva: EPA Should Make Navajo Community Whole in Resolving Gold King Mine Spill Cleanup
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva today said the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) first responsibility in resolving the newly announced Navajo Nation lawsuit over the 2015 Gold King Mine spill in Colorado must be to make the Navajo community whole and mitigate financial risk to Navajo tribal members. Grijalva urged EPA officials to consider a settlement as the best and fastest way to protect the interests of the Navajo Nation and the agency itself. Grijalva last y… Continue Reading