Press Releases
Grijalva Questions GOP Refusal to Vote On or Debate Newly Issued Recess Subpoenas of Army Corps Gold King Mine Spill Analysis
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva today questioned the timing and manner of the Republican majority's newly announced subpoenas seeking federal documents on the Gold King Mine spill. The subpoenas, which Republicans took the unusual step of issuing during a recess week so as to avoid Committee hearings or public debate, target the Army Corps of Engineers and Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, demanding to see the Corps' peer review of DOI's analysis of last year's mine spil… Continue Reading
02.17.16
New Poll Reveals Arizona Voters Strongly Support the Greater Grand Canyon Heritage National Monument
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) is participating in a media call on Thursday afternoon to discuss a new public survey showing strong support from Arizona residents for the creation of a new national monument to protect the Grand Canyon watershed and honor the region's rich Native American history and culture. Grijalva will be joined by the Grand Canyon-Associated Tribes and other supporters of the Greater Grand Canyon Heritage National Monument Act, a landmark… Continue Reading
02.12.16
Ranking Member Grijalva Hails Newly Announced National Monuments, Highlights Previous GOP Dismissals of Native American Heritage Value
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today applauded President Obama for designating three new national monuments in California to protect Native American artifacts and historical sites and to enhance the region's climate resiliency. The sites - Mojave Trails National Monument, Sand to Snow National Monument and Castle Mountains National Monument - each contain important links to tribal culture and history and will protect vital natural resources. In praising the … Continue Reading
02.09.16
Ranking Member Grijalva Lauds Administration Budget Proposal To Clean Up Abandoned Hardrock Mines, Urges Republican Action
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today praised President Obama's newly released budget proposal to establish a dedicated funding source to clean up the estimated 500,000 abandoned hardrock mines posing environmental and safety hazards to communities around the country. The plan is similar to Grijalva's Hardrock Mine Reform and Reclamation Act (H.R. 963), which modernizes hardrock mining on public lands. Both proposals offer a viable path forward for thousands … Continue Reading
02.08.16
Grijalva, Lowenthal, Tsongas Lead Letter Praising Proposed Interior Department Oil and Gas Rule, Asking for Quick Finalization
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and 56 fellow Members of Congress sent a letter to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell today commending her on the Department of the Interior's (DOI's) newly proposed rules for overseeing oil and gas operations on National Park Service (NPS) and Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) lands and asking the Department to finalize them as soon as possible. The letter - led by Reps. Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.) and Niki Tsongas (D-Mass.), the ran… Continue Reading
02.05.16
Ahead of March 1 DOI Budget Hearing, Expert Panel Next Wednesday Will Debunk Myths on Endangered Species Act Regulatory and Military Impacts
Washington, D.C. - Ahead of a scheduled March 1 House Natural Resources Committee hearing with Interior Secretary Sally Jewell on departmental and programmatic budgeting, Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) will speak at a Capitol Hill briefing next Wednesday, Feb. 10, on how an important provision of the Endangered Species Act is implemented and on the Endangered Species Act's compatibility with military readiness. The discussion will be led by Major General Michael Lehnert, USMC (… Continue Reading
02.05.16
Grijalva Highlights Need for National Park Funding As NPS Releases Nationwide $11.9 Billion Maintenance Backlog Estimate
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) released the following statement on the National Park Service's (NPS) announcement today that the maintenance backlog at our national parks has reached a staggering $11.9 billion. Grijalva introduced the Centennial Act (H.R. 3556) last year to provide funding and management authority for the NPS to help the country celebrate the Service's 100th anniversary later in 2016, address the Service's maintenance backlog and further enha… Continue Reading
02.04.16
Grijalva Applauds President Obama’s Proposal to Permanently Reauthorize LWCF in FY17 Budget, Notes Ongoing GOP Obstruction
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva released the following statement applauding President Obama's call to fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), one of America's most important conservation programs. Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah) has advocated gutting the program, despite strong bipartisan support for Grijalva's bill to permanently reauthorize the Fund. "I applaud President Obama for sharing the American people's commitment to co… Continue Reading
02.03.16
Grijalva Calls for Hearing on Long-Ignored Endangered Species Issues as GOP Continues to Obstruct U.S. Anti-Poaching Efforts
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) sent a letter to Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah) today urging a hearing on wildlife trafficking and endangered species issues, which the Republican majority largely ignored last year. As the letter points out, the U.S. is sending a delegation to the 17th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Johannesburg, South Africa, this fall, and the Committee has failed to exercise … Continue Reading
02.02.16
Puerto Rico Control Board Hearing Wrap-up: Who is Congress Helping, Hedge Funds or American Citizens?
Hearing Wrap-up: February 2 Oversight Hearing on "The Need for the Establishment of a Puerto Rico Financial Stability and Economic Growth Authority" Further austerity, while profitable for some investors, is counterproductive for the families of Puerto Rico Witnesses The Honorable Anthony A. Williams, Former Mayor of Washington, D.C., 1999-2007, Senior Advisor, Dentons US LLP Mr. Carlos M. Garcia, Former Chairman and President of the Government Development Bank of Puerto Rico, Chief Executiv… Continue Reading
01.27.16
Ranking Member Grijalva on Bundy Militia Member Arrests: “Congress Should Speak Now With One Voice, Prevent Further Violence”
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), whose Natural Resources Committee oversees the Fish and Wildlife Service and the national wildlife refuge system, released the following statement on last night's arrest of multiple militia members who had refused to leave Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. On Jan. 6 Grijalva introduced a congressional resolution (H. Res. 575) that condemned the illegal armed standoff at Malheur. The resolution was cosponsored by House Democrat… Continue Reading
01.20.16
Grijalva on NOAA Announcement That 2015 Was Hottest Year Ever: “How Will Republicans in Washington Spin This One?”
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva released the following statement on this morning's announcement by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that 2015 was by far the hottest year on record, surpassing 2014's record by a wider margin than ever observed. "Every time it snows in Washington, Republicans race to the nearest microphone to tell us a global warming is a myth. I can't help wondering how they'll spin this one or how long it'll take the Koch Brothers to… Continue Reading
01.20.16
Ranking Member Grijalva on Chairman Bishop’s Public Lands Initiative: “Public Input and Give-and-Take are Keys to Successful Deals”
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) released the following statement on today's unveiling of Chairman Rob Bishop's "Public Lands Initiative," an attempt to redraw the map of public lands and land use regulations across the state of Utah. "My position on this effort is less important than those of the stakeholders whose lives this bill could change forever. As we've seen time and time again, sweeping public lands bills don't pass without local buy-in and genuine g… Continue Reading
01.20.16
Ranking Members Grijalva, DeFazio Call for Stronger Oil and Gas Company Bonding Requirements as GAO Shows Potential Shortfall
Washington, D.C. - Reps. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Peter DeFazio (D-Oregon) - the ranking members of the House Natural Resources Committee and House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, respectively - are calling on the Interior Department (DOI) to finalize new financial bonding standards for oil and gas companies in light of a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report showing that taxpayers are potentially at risk for billions of dollars in costs for decommissioning … Continue Reading
01.19.16
Grijalva Highlights Years of Unaccounted Costs to Taxpayers, Urges More Accurate CBO Scores for Federal Property Trades and Sales
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) is calling on House and Senate Budget Committee leaders to direct the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to more accurately score the costs to taxpayers of federal land sales and trades. Bills offered in Congress that seek to conserve or protect public lands require a budgetary offset. If CBO scoring rules were changed as Grijalva is requesting, legislation to trade or give away public lands would require the same offset. They cu… Continue Reading
01.15.16
Ranking Member Grijalva Embraces Pause on Federal Coal Leasing
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) released the following statement on the newly announced pause in federal coal leasing. "For far too long the federal coal program has been part of a war on common sense, a war on the American taxpayer's wallet, and a war on our planet. It is past time to fight back."… Continue Reading
01.14.16
Grijalva Highlights Slow GOP Legislative Pace and Oversight Gaps, Calls on Committee Republicans to Make 2016 More Productive
Washington, D.C. - As House Republicans head to their policy retreat, House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) called on Chairman Rob Bishop to increase the pace of both legislative and oversight work in the second session of the 114th Congress. Grijalva released a Democratic vision for the Committee in 2016, highlighting the dozens of bills still languishing after months without a markup and serious gaps in the Republican majority's oversight agenda. U… Continue Reading
01.12.16
Ranking Member Grijalva Ahead of Tomorrow’s Clean Water Rule Debate on the House Floor: “This Is Not Serious Work Product”
Washington, D.C. - Tomorrow the House will debate a Republican resolution nullifying the Clean Water Rule proposed last year by the Obama administration, which is currently not in effect due to ongoing litigation. As a result of the ongoing delay, farmers and communities around the country continue to rely on the previously existing Clean Water Act guidance document - an outdated, confusing, and arbitrary regulatory process established by the Bush administration - which even the conservative Ame… Continue Reading
01.07.16
Pelosi-Hoyer-Grijalva Joint Statement on House Resolution Urging Militia Members to Surrender to Law Enforcement in Oregon
Washington, D.C. - House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) released the following joint statement today on Grijalva's resolution urging the armed militia members in Oregon to end their takeover of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and surrender peacefully to law enforcement officials. Pelosi and Hoyer cosponsored the resolution, formally designated H. Res. 575, along… Continue Reading
01.05.16
Ranking Member Grijalva Introducing Resolution Today Disapproving of Armed Refuge Takeover in Oregon – Seeking Hill Cosponsors
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) will introduce a congressional resolution today shortly after 2:00 p.m. Eastern time condemning the illegal armed occupation of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. The resolution calls on the group to leave the refuge and surrender to law enforcement immediately. The language of the resolution, which will not have a formal number until after introduction, is available at http://1.usa.gov/1OKvMqx. "This is not a romantic… Continue Reading