Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Federal Lands
Chair Grijalva Blasts Trump Admin Handover of 560 Acres of Federally Protected Public Lands to Army Control for Border Wall Construction
Washington D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) issued the following statement on the news that President Trump's Department of the Interior will transfer 560 acres of federally protected public lands to the U.S. Army for the construction of 70 miles of Trump's unpopular border wall, paid for with taxpayer money. Grijalva recently released a video with exclusive footage of border wall construction in Arizona and interviews with residents. "The Trump administration has treated our bord… Continue Reading
09.05.19
Chair Grijalva Statement on New GAO Ruling That Trump Admin Illegally Moved Money During Government Shutdown
Washington, D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz) released the following statement on the new Government Accountability Office ruling that the Trump administration illegally used federal money during the recent government shutdown to mitigate damage to National Park Service sites. According to the report, the Interior Department did not cooperate with GAO's investigation. "Interior Secretary David Bernhardt and his advisors consider federal laws a nuisance, not a set of standards. Noth… Continue Reading
08.23.19
Chair Grijalva on New Grand Staircase-Escalante Management Plan: “Never Mind the Law – The Trump Administration is Destroying Protected Places”
Washington, D.C. - Today the Trump administration released a new Monument Management Plan for Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument that seeks to open hundreds of thousands of acres of public lands to new oil, gas, and coal extraction and other destructive uses. The new plan is a direct result of President Trump's illegal decision unilaterally to shrink monuments established under the Antiquities Act - a decision that faces an ongoing court challenge in which more than 100 members of Congr… Continue Reading
07.26.19
Leading Democrats Reject Trump Administration Management Plan for Bears Ears National Monument – Chair Grijalva Calls Release “Cynical”
Washington, D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and other leading Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee today questioned the untimely release of the Department of the Interior's update to the Bears Ears National Monument Management Plan (MMP), which comes in the wake of President Trump's illegal decision to reduce the Bears Ears National Monument by 85 percent. Trump's reduction of Bears Ears and the illegal reductions made to the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monume… Continue Reading
07.25.19
Natural Resources Committee Will Hold Sept. 10 Hearing on Interior Secretary Bernhardt’s Order to Relocate Bureau of Land Management to Colorado
Washington, D.C. - The House Committee on Natural Resources will hold a hearing at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time on Tuesday, Sept. 10 - shortly after the House returns from the August recess - on the Trump administration's decision relocate the Bureau of Land Management headquarters to Grand Junction, Colo., and to move other offices and functions of the agency to offices across the West. The hearing will address the Trump administration's failure to offer any meaningful justification for the move, t… Continue Reading
07.17.19
Natural Resources Committee Passes Bill to Protect Chaco Canyon from Future Drilling – Vote Follows Field Hearing in April That Revealed Enormous Local Support
Washington D.C. - The House Natural Resources Committee today approved Assistant Speaker Rep. Ben Ray Luján's (D-N.M.) H.R. 2181, the Chaco Cultural Heritage Area Protection Act, which withdraws federal land around New Mexico's Chaco Culture National Historical Park from future oil and gas leasing. The bill is co-sponsored by Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Committee Vice-Chair Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.), Rep. Xochitl Torres Small (D-N.M.), Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif), Rep. Rube… Continue Reading
07.15.19
Chair Grijalva on Expected Bureau of Land Management Move to Colorado: This is Industry Favoritism and Staff Cutting, Not Improving Public Service
Washington, D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) released the following statement on reports that Interior Secretary David Bernhardt intends to move the Bureau of Land Management headquarters from Washington, D.C., to Grand Junction, Colo. Bernhardt, a native of nearby Rifle, Colo., and other top Interior officials have resisted the Committee's calls for transparency on the Trump administration's plans to "reorganize" the Interior Department or affiliated agencies. "This administrat… Continue Reading
07.03.19
Chair Grijalva Pushes Interior Secretary for Answers on Trump’s Use of National Park Service Visitor Funds to Pay for Military Parade on Fourth of July
Tucson, Ariz. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today sent a letter to Interior Secretary David Bernhardt pushing for clarification on how the Trump administration is funding the president's military parade and campaign rally on the Fourth of July. The Washington Post recently reported that Trump officials intend to use approximately $2.5 million in National Park Service (NPS) visitor enhancement funds to cover certain costs for the event, which will feature an Air Force flyover and tank… Continue Reading
06.25.19
Chair Grijalva Secures Major Wins on Uranium Mining, Border Environmental Impacts as House Passes Crucial Environmental Funding Bills
Washington D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) successfully included two amendments to the recently approved H.R. 3055, the House of Representatives appropriations package for environmental and other agencies. One blocks implementation of a Trump executive order that could make it easier to mine uranium near the Grand Canyon and elsewhere in the U.S.; the other prevents the Department of the Interior from transferring jurisdiction over federal public lands to the Department of Homelan… Continue Reading
06.24.19
Chair Grijalva Pushes Interior Secretary to Explain Use of Public Lands Recreation Money as “Slush Fund” for Unauthorized Expenses, Questions Legality
Washington, D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) wrote today to Interior Secretary David Bernhardt seeking an explanation for Bernhardt's use of money raised through the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (FLREA) to pay for day-to-day operations at the National Park Service. Bernhardt's decision to use FLREA as a "slush fund," Grijalva writes, not only ignores Congress' sole power to appropriate funds to federal agencies but contradicts FLREA, a law designed to enhance visitor ex… Continue Reading
06.19.19
Committee Passes Landmark Bills Blocking Unpopular Offshore Drilling, Guaranteeing Full Funding for Land and Water Conservation Fund
Washington, D.C. - At a just-concluded markup, the House Natural Resources Committee approved bills to block offshore drilling in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico and along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and to provide the full $900 million annual authorized funding level for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Among other measures initially listed for consideration today, Ranking Member Rob Bishop's (R-Utah) H.R. 1225, a bill to cover the costs of public land agency maintenance needs that previou… Continue Reading
06.12.19
Rep. Van Drew, Chair Grijalva, Bipartisan Congressional Coalition Introduce Legislation to Fully Fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund
Washington D.C. - Rep. Jeff Van Drew (D-N.J.), Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and a bipartisan group of Congressional lawmakers and environmental leaders announced the introduction of The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) Permanent Funding Act at a recently concluded press conference this morning at the U.S. Capitol. The bill fully funds LWCF at its authorized level of $900 million annually, which Congress routinely fails to do despite the program's broad bipartisan support and de… Continue Reading
06.05.19
Leading Democrats Urge Environmental Protections at Grand Canyon, Chaco Culture Historical Park as Trump Administration Considers More Extraction
Washington, D.C. - At today’s recently concluded hearing on protecting Arizona and New Mexico from pollution by extractive industries, Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) urged the House and Senate to pass his Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act (H.R. 1373), which sets a permanent moratorium on new mining claims on approximately 1 million acres north and south of Grand Canyon National Park. The bill is especially timely given the Department of Commerce’s June 4 recommendations to further deregul… Continue Reading
06.04.19
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: Chair Grijalva, Dem Lawmakers, Tribal Leaders and Advocates Call for Grand Canyon Protections Ahead of Wednesday Hearing
Washington, D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) spoke today alongside other leading Democratic lawmakers, Native American leaders, and Arizona conservationists and businesspeople on the need to pass the Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act, Grijalva's bill to establish a permanent moratorium on new mining claims around the Grand Canyon. The event comes a day before Wednesday's hearing on the bill at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time in the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public L… Continue Reading
06.04.19
Chair Grijalva: Interior Dept. Recommendations on Mining Deregulation, “Critical Mineral” Designations Set New Low in Industry Giveaways
Washington, D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) released the following statement on the newly released Department of the Interior recommendations on critical minerals and mining deregulation. "This administration has set shameful new records for industry giveaways, and this is one of the worst. Unchecked mining is already damaging inhabited areas around the Grand Canyon and other sites around the country, and we can expect much more severe impacts to public lands nationwide if these … Continue Reading
05.22.19
Chair Grijalva Cheers Environmental Funding Bills as House Appropriators Provide Strong Conservation Support, Oversight of Trump Admin Efforts
Washington D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today thanked the House Appropriations Committee for increasing environmental funding in a pair of fiscal year 2020 appropriations bills, which now head to the House floor. The Committee's just-approved bills - one for Interior, Environment and Related Agencies and the other for Commerce, Justice and Science - provide crucial funding support for Department of the Interior and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration conservation an… Continue Reading
05.16.19
Tribal Witnesses Emphasize Spiritual and Cultural Significance of Grizzly Bears, Champion Grijalva Bill to Guarantee Tribal Input on Grizzly Management
Washington, D.C. - Yesterday's Water, Oceans, and Wildlife Subcommittee legislative hearing featured powerful testimony from Native American tribal witnesses on the profound significance of grizzly bears to tribal culture and tribal support for Chair Raúl M. Grijalva's (D-Ariz.) Tribal Heritage and Grizzly Bear Protection Act. Grijalva's bill ensures that grizzly bears are permanently protected for their ecological and cultural value and guarantees Native American tribes a role in conser… Continue Reading
05.16.19
Chair Grijalva: Secretary Bernhardt “Not Losing Sleep” Over Climate Change Concerns Me – and So Does His Lack of Transparency With Congress
Washington, D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today said he is seriously concerned about the direction of the Department of the Interior (DOI) following Interior Secretary David Bernhardt's testimony yesterday, his first before the Committee since taking the top post. Bernhardt revealed his total lack of concern about climate change during his appearance, telling the Committee he has "not lost any sleep" over the issue despite recent news that atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are t… Continue Reading
05.08.19
Chair Grijalva: More Federally Protected Areas at Risk as Trump Admin Destroys Whole Communities, Public Lands to Build Unpopular Border Wall
Washington, D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today released the following statement on the news that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) plans to build or extend bollard fencing along the vast majority of the southern boundaries of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, and San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge - three federally protected sites - as part of its plan to construct President Trump's unpopular, needlessly destructive border … Continue Reading
05.01.19
First Markup of 116th Congress Showcases Dem Priorities: Ending Arctic Refuge Drilling, Supporting Tribes, Reclaiming Abandoned Mine Lands
Washington, D.C. - The first House Natural Resources Committee markup of the 116th Congress, which concluded moments ago, showcased a wide range of Democratic priorities and sometimes offered a stark contrast with Committee Republicans' environmental thinking. Among other bills, the Committee passed Rep. Jared Huffman's (D-Calif.) bipartisan proposal to cancel the oil and gas program in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which was opened thanks to an amendment by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska)… Continue Reading