Press Releases
Ranking Member Grijalva Supports White House Marine Conservation Announcement, Urges Senate to Act on Stalled Pirate Fishing Bill
Washington, D.C. - Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) released the following statement this morning on President Obama's announcement of two new national marine sanctuaries - the first in 15 years - in Maryland and Lake Michigan. "Our system of National Marine Sanctuaries and Monuments protects our natural and cultural heritage just as much as our National Parks, and I applaud President Obama's establishment of two new Sanctuaries today. I also support … Continue Reading
09.30.15
Ranking Member Grijalva Formally Requests Hearing on Hedge Funds’ Role in Puerto Rico Financial Crisis Following Recent Report
Washington, D.C. - House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) asked Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah) in a letter today to hold a hearing on the role of hedge funds in Puerto Rico's ongoing financial crisis. The request comes less than a month after Grijalva and his staff published a Sept. 4 report, "Profit at Any Cost," highlighting some hedge funds' role in damaging the territory's economy. As reported by Bloomberg and other outlets, the report noted multipl… Continue Reading
09.29.15
Rep. Grijalva Highlights Republican Majority’s Misstatements on Land and Water Conservation Fund Ahead of Tomorrow’s Expiration
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva released the following statement today ahead of Wednesday's expected expiration of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), one of the nation's most successful public land conservation programs. The program's funding authorization will expire on Wednesday and the Fund will stop collecting the royalties it currently receives from oil drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf. "You can see just how extreme some House Republicans really a… Continue Reading
09.28.15
Grijalva Leads 92-Member Letter to Obama Urging Veto of Defense, Appropriations Bills With Anti-Endangered Species Language
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and 91 other House Democrats sent a letter to President Obama today urging him to veto any appropriations or defense bill that includes policy riders designed to undermine the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Earlier this year, Grijalva led a similar letter to House and Senate defense authorizers asking them to drop anti-ESA riders during their negotiations. Grijalva and other Democrats recently fought numerous anti-ESA riders on … Continue Reading
09.24.15
Rnk. Mbr. Grijalva, Natural Resources Committee Democrats Hail Pope Francis' Message of a Cleaner Environment and More Sustainable Use of Resources
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva and Democratic members of the House Natural Resources Committee released the following statements today on Pope Francis' message of a cleaner environment and more sustainable use of resources to benefit humanity. "The Pope's message of making the world livable for everyone, not just those who already have power over our economy and our environment, resonates far beyond petty politics and daily headlines," Grijalva said. "I join my collea… Continue Reading
09.22.15
Ranking Member Grijalva Statement on the Sage Grouse Conservation Strategy Released This Morning by the Department of the Interior
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today released the following statement on the Department of the Interior's newly published multi-state conservation strategy for the greater sage-grouse, which will protect the bird's habitat across much of the West and preclude its listing through the Endangered Species Act. "House Republicans attack the President when he decides to list an endangered species, and they attack him when he decides not to list an endangered speci… Continue Reading
09.18.15
Rnk. Mbr. Grijalva Introduces Natl. Park Service Centennial Act to Provide Funding, Management Authority for NPS 100th Anniversary
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today introduced the National Park Service Centennial Act (H.R. 3556), which provides funding and management authority for the National Park Service (NPS) to help the country celebrate the Service's 100th anniversary next year. The bill establishes a National Park Centennial Challenge Fund at the NPS, matched by private donations, to support signature NPS projects through 2018, among other measures. A full explanation of the bil… Continue Reading
09.16.15
Ranking Member Grijalva Introduces CECIL Act to Prevent Poaching and Importation of Lions and Other Threatened Species to the U.S.
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva today introduced the Conserving Ecosystems by Ceasing the Importation of Large (CECIL) Animal Trophies Act, a bill that restricts the importation of African lions and other sport-hunted species that have been proposed for listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The move comes shortly after Walter Palmer, the Minnesota dentist who killed the well-known Cecil the Lion in an illegal hunt in Zimbabwe, returned to work after a prolonge… Continue Reading
09.11.15
Ranking Member Grijalva Hails BLM Decision to Maintain Separate Arizona and New Mexico Offices, Continue Local Services
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva today hailed the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) newly announced decision to continue operating separate Arizona and New Mexico field offices, a decision that will maintain the agency's high level of local service and management expertise in each state. Grijalva has been a leading opponent of calls to consolidate the offices, which would have burdened the new single office with managing more land than any BLM office outside Alaska or Ne… Continue Reading
09.08.15
As U.S. Lion Poacher Returns to Work, Ranking Member Grijalva Urges Full Federal Review and Upgrade of Trophy Hunting Standards
This press release has been modified from its original version to include information on bill endorsements. Washington, D.C. - As Walter Palmer, the American dentist who made international news by illegally killing the famed Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe earlier this year, returns to work this week after a prolonged absence, House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva urged Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) Director Dan Ashe in a let… Continue Reading
09.04.15
House Natural Resources Committee Democratic Report Finds Hedge Funds Manipulating Puerto Rican Crisis, Hurting Working Families
Tucson, Ariz. - The House Natural Resources Committee Democratic staff, led by Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva, released a report today examining how certain hedge funds are damaging the Puerto Rican economy in the midst of the territory's ongoing financial crisis. As the report makes clear, some hedge funds have spent the past several years buying Puerto Rico bonds because their well-known potential for default meant higher potential profits. Those same funds now are disingenuously calli… Continue Reading
09.01.15
Ranking Member Grijalva, Rep. Tsongas Endorse New Obama Legislative Plan to Celebrate National Park Service 100th Birthday
Tucson, Ariz.- House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva and Subcommittee on Federal Lands Ranking Member Niki Tsongas today released the following statement endorsing President Obama's legislative initiative to mark the National Park Service's upcoming centennial birthday. "The National Park Service's first director, Stephen Mather, said that touring our national parks makes one 'a better citizen with a keener appreciation of the privilege of living here.' Thanks… Continue Reading
08.24.15
Ranking Member Grijalva Celebrating National Park Service 99th Birthday at Saguaro National Park Tuesday Ahead of LWCF Expiration
Tucson, Ariz. - House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) will join Saguaro National Park staff and students from Cholla High School, Desert View High School and Pueblo High School for a day of appreciation at Saguaro National Park West celebrating the National Park Service's 99th birthday on Tuesday, Aug. 25, from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Participants will hear from Rep. Grijalva, Saguaro National Park Superintendent Darla Sidles and park staff about the … Continue Reading
08.03.15
Grijalva, Team of City Leaders Hail Release of Clean Power Plan as Republicans Continue Refusing to Acknowledge Basic Climate Facts
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva and a team of major-city mayors today hailed the release of the Obama administration's Clean Power Plan rule to reduce climate-warming emissions nationwide over the next several decades. The Republican majority on the Natural Resources Committee has held several hearings this year in which members have openly denied that human activity is accelerating climate change - you can see extensive video highlights here and here - and yelled at a… Continue Reading
07.30.15
Ranking Member Grijalva Presses Fish and Wildlife Service to List Threatened African Lions, Requests Hearing on Bill to Save Big Cats
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva today asked theU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) in a letter signed by 49 other House Democrats to finalize its long-awaited listing of African lions as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act. The agency, which proposed the listing more than a year ago, is facing new calls to protect African lions in the wake of a Minnesota dentist's allegedly illegal killing of a popular Zimbabwean male lion named Cecil. You can read the letter… Continue Reading
07.29.15
Lowenthal, Grijalva Lead More Than a Dozen Democrats in Introducing Bill to Limit Natural Gas Waste, Ensure Fair Taxpayer Return
Washington, D.C. - Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee Ranking Member Alan S. Lowenthal (D-Calif.), Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and 11 cosponsors introduced a bill today to reduce the waste of natural gas on federal oil and gas leases due to venting, flaring, and leaks. The Natural Gas Environmental and Economic Security Act establishes strong rules to cut down on lost natural gas and protects taxpayers by requiring royalties be paid on all … Continue Reading
07.28.15
Grijalva on Outcry Over American Poaching of Zimbabwe Lion: “Protecting Threatened Animals is Congress’ Job, Not the Internet’s”
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva released the following statement on the growing calls for an investigation into how and why a suburban Minnesota dentist recently killed a Zimbabwean lion with a bow and arrow after luring it outside a national park. "This sort of incident is why we have endangered species laws and why Republicans need to start taking their enforcement seriously. Instead of having the ear of a responsive congressional majority, Americans who think lions … Continue Reading
07.28.15
Natural Resources Ranking Member Grijalva Statement on Newly Announced Interior Department Rules for Arctic Drilling
This release was originally sent on Feb. 20. It was posted online July 28 to mark the recent Shell requests for Arctic drilling permits. Tucson, Ariz. - House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) released the following statement on the newly announced Interior Department rules for Arctic drilling. "No regulation can make the Arctic safe for drilling. Industry cheerleaders want us to believe that the right mix of technology and government non-interf… Continue Reading
07.28.15
Grijalva, Author of House Measure to Protect Elephants in Face of GOP Obstruction, Hails New Federal Ivory Trafficking Rule
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva hailed the ivory trafficking standard released this morning by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), which comes after months of resistance from the National Rifle Association (NRA) and other special interest groups. The NRA and its congressional Republican allies claim any elephant protection standard will threaten the traffic in antique firearms - an issue the new Endangered Species Act (ESA) rule directly addresses by creating a de… Continue Reading
07.17.15
Ranking Member Grijalva Will Speak at Apache Capitol Gathering Next Wednesday on Reversing the Resolution Copper Land Giveaway
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva will speak next Wednesday, July 22, at a Capitol Hill gathering of the San Carlos Apache Nation and other parties on his bill to reverse the unjust Resolution Copper land giveaway included in last year's National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). His bill, the Save Oak Flat Act, would cancel the mandated land swap that threatens the sacred Apache Leap site with environmental damage from nearby high-risk copper mining. The San Carlos Apac… Continue Reading