Press Releases
Ranking Member Grijalva on House Energy Bill Up for Debate This Afternoon: “No Excuse for This Committee’s Meager Contributions”
Washington, D.C. - As world leaders gather in Paris to negotiate a global agreement on developing clean energy sources and preventing climate change, the Republican-led House of Representatives is preparing to vote later today on amendments to H.R. 8, a partisan energy bill that does nothing to address American reliance on fossil fuels or the climate damage done by carbon emissions. The bill includes only two small measures - passed on a party-line basis earlier this year - from the Natural Reso… Continue Reading
11.19.15
Ranking Member Grijalva Hails Analysis Showing $51 Million in Economic Benefits in Proposed Arizona National Monument Area
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva today highlighted a newly published analysis of the significant economic benefits of a large swathe of public land in Northern Arizona he has proposed to protect as a new national monument. The analysis, conducted by BBC Research & Consulting on behalf of the Center for Western Priorities, shows that the land - to the north and south of Grand Canyon National Park - already generates approximately $51 million in economic activity each … Continue Reading
11.18.15
Hearing Wrap-up: Nov. 18 Hearing on Chairman Bishop’s Discussion Draft of a Bill to Change the Popular Land and Water Conservation Fund
Note: The original version of this press release said that Chairman Bishop "introduced" the PARC Act. There is currently only a discussion draft of the bill, and nothing has been introduced that would involve holding a vote. This version of the press release says Bishop has "drafted" the version of the PARC Act discussed at the hearing. Hearing Overview Today's Natural Resources Committee hearing focused on the Protecting America's Recreation and Conservation (PARC) Act, a bill drafted by Chai… Continue Reading
11.17.15
Ahead of LWCF Rewrite Hearing, Analysis Shows Millions of Dollars in Federal Conservation Benefits in Committee Members’ Districts
Washington, D.C. - Ahead of tomorrow's Natural Resources Committee hearing on Chairman Rob Bishop's (R-Utah) rewrite of the Land and Water Conservation Fund - which House Republicans allowed to expire on Sept. 30 for the first time in its 50-year history - a new analysis shows that many of the districts represented by Committee Democrats and Republicans enjoy millions of dollars in LWCF conservation benefits. The future of those benefits, and the possibility of extending them to new conservation… Continue Reading
11.17.15
House Republicans Continue to Stall on Efforts to Reauthorize LWCF, America’s Best Parks Program
After failing to reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), our nation's most effective outdoor recreation and conservation grant program, Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah) released a discussion draft of his bill to rewrite the 50-year-old program. On November 18, 2015, the House Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on the “Protecting America’s Recreation and Conservation (PARC) Act,” the Republican proposal to eviscerate the Fund and change its purpose. Click here to view a recap… Continue Reading
11.16.15
Grijalva on House Vote Rejecting Effort to Block Arizona Tribe From Building Casino: “Courts and Congress Agree – Let’s Move On”
Washington, D.C. - House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) released the following statement after the House failed to pass H.R. 308, a bill blocking the Tohono O'odham tribe from building a court-approved casino in Glendale, Ariz., under suspension of the rules. "Courts have consistently found this casino is legal and the Tohono O'odham have acted appropriately in developing it. It has already created construction jobs and is on the threshold of signif… Continue Reading
11.06.15
Ranking Member Grijalva on President Obama’s Keystone Rejection: “A Testament to Years of Public Action on a Critical Issue”
Washington, D.C. - House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), a leading House critic of the Keystone XL pipeline proposal, hailed today's announcement that President Obama will formally reject Keystone as not being in the national interest. Grijalva cited the tremendous effort of Americans around the country who organized and campaigned for years against the pipeline. "This is a testament to years of public action on a critical issue," said Grijalva, who… Continue Reading
11.05.15
Grijalva on New GOP Bill to Undermine Land and Water Conservation Fund: “There Wasn’t a Problem Until They Let the Fund Expire”
Washington, D.C. - House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) released the following statement on the release of Chairman Rob Bishop's (R-Utah) new bill to weaken the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which the House Republican majority allowed to expire in September for the first time in its 50-year history. Bishop has refused to hold a hearing on Grijalva's bill (H.R. 1814) to reauthorize the program, which currently has 195 bipartisan cosponsors.… Continue Reading
11.05.15
Abandoned Mine Lands Hearing Wrap-up: Speakers Agree More Funding Needed to Clean Up Abandoned Mines
Hearing Wrap-up: Nov. 4 Legislative Hearing on Energy and Mineral Resources on Abandoned Mine Lands Democrats, Witnesses Agree: Additional Funding Needed to Clean up Abandoned Mines Bills H.R. 3843, Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.): To authorize for a 7-year period the collection of claim location and maintenance fees, and for other purposes. ''Locatable Minerals Claim Location and Maintenance Fees Act of 2015.'' H.R. 3844, Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga.): To establish the Energy and Minerals Reclamatio… Continue Reading
11.04.15
Grijalva Applauds Voter Approval of Washington State-Level Ivory Ban, Decries Republican Efforts in Congress to Block Federal Rule
Washington, D.C. - House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) released the following statement today on the overwhelming passage of Initiative Measure 1401 in Washington State: "The voters of Washington State made it clear today that they do not want to be a part of the global wildlife poaching and trafficking crisis. While they took the initiative to ban most sales of elephant ivory, House Republicans continue to push their extinction agenda by trying to… Continue Reading
11.04.15
Grijalva Hosts Tribal Sovereignty Roundtable Today, Will Accept More Than 1 Million Petition Signatures on Protecting Sacred Land
Washington, D.C. - Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva, the Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Committee, will accept more than 1 million petition signatures from a broad coalition of activists at a roundtable today in favor of protecting the Oak Flat area of Arizona sacred to the Apaches, the Yavapai and other Native Americans. Because of a last-minute Republican addition to the 2014 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) forcing a federal land trade - which the House had failed to pass … Continue Reading
11.03.15
Leading Congressional Keystone Critic Grijalva Calls on Administration to Reject Keystone in Light of Parent Company’s Delay Request
Washington, D.C. - House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), a leading critic of the Keystone XL pipeline proposal who published a Feb. 26, 2014, New York Times op-ed urging President Obama to reject it, today hailed the announcement that Keystone's parent company is now seeking to delay the final federal approval decision. Grijalva said TransCanada should withdraw its application altogether in the face of overwhelming evidence that Canadian tar sands wi… Continue Reading
11.03.15
Grijalva Introduces Landmark Bill to Create Grand Canyon-Area National Monument to Honor Area Tribal History, Protect Watershed
Washington, D.C. - House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) introduced a landmark bill this morning to create a new national monument to protect the Grand Canyon watershed and honor the region's rich Native American history and culture. The Greater Grand Canyon Heritage National Monument Act - developed with extensive input from the Grand Canyon-Associated Tribes and enthusiastically endorsed by the Navajo Nation, the Hopi Tribe, the Havasupai Tribe, and… Continue Reading
11.02.15
Roundtable on Protecting Tribal Land Chaired by Ranking Member Grijalva on Nov. 4 in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C. - Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva, the Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Committee, is hosting a roundtable with Native American leaders this Wednesday in Washington, D.C., to discuss federal efforts to protect sacred tribal land. The roundtable will focus on the dangerous precedent being set in Arizona at a location called Oak Flat, which is sacred to the San Carlos Apache Tribe, by a mining company called Resolution Copper. A Republican-sponsored bill became law late… Continue Reading
10.29.15
New NOAA Report States Sustainable Fisheries Management Policies are Making U.S. Fisheries Profitable and Sustainable; Grijalva Says, “The Magnuson-Stevens Act is Working”
Sustainable fisheries management policies have allowed America's commercial and recreational fisheries to be powerful economic contributors, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) annual Fisheries of the United States report released today. The report also states that the value of fishery landings held steady in 2014 and match those of the past decade. NOAA estimates that rebuilding stocks, which remain overfished, would add $31 billion and 500,000 new jobs to th… Continue Reading
10.16.15
Ranking Member Grijalva Supports the Interior Department’s Cancellation of Arctic Offshore Lease Sales
Washington, D.C. - Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) released the following statement today on the Department of the Interior's announcement that they will, in light of current market conditions and low industry interest, cancel two potential Arctic offshore lease sales scheduled under the current five-year offshore oil and gas leasing program for 2012-2017. This decision follows Shell's announcement of its exploration results at the Burger prospect in … Continue Reading
10.09.15
Grijalva Joins Tribes Monday in Flagstaff to Unveil Bill Creating Grand Canyon National Monument Honoring Tribal History, Culture
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva and tribal leaders from across Northern Arizona will hold a press conference Monday at 2:00 p.m. Arizona time in Flagstaff to introduce the Greater Grand Canyon Heritage National Monument Act, a bill establishing a new national monument that reflects the long history and deep cultural roots of the region's Native American tribes. The event will feature speakers from the Havasupai, Hualapai, Navajo and Hopi communities supportive of the n… Continue Reading
10.08.15
As Committee Republicans Filibuster Land and Water Conservation Fund, Democrats Send Letter to Bishop Setting the Record Straight
Washington, D.C. - In response to Chairman Rob Bishop's (R-Utah) intentionally confrontational Oct. 7 letter to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack demanding publicly available information on the Land and Water Conservation Fund - a popular, bipartisan program Bishop let expire on Sept. 30 - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Democratic members of the House Natural Resources Committee sent the chairman a letter today answering his questions and… Continue Reading
10.08.15
Grijalva Statement on DOJ Settlement with Lumber Liquidators: “If Republicans Had Their Way, They Could Cut Any Tree They Liked”
Washington, D.C. - Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) released this statement on today's announcement that Lumber Liquidators has pled guilty to violations of the Lacey Act. The company illegally imported Russian timber into the United States and has agreed to pay fines totaling $10 million. "This is why we amended the Lacey Act in 2008 to include plant products. Illegal logging is one of the world's biggest environmental and economic problems, and toda… Continue Reading
10.07.15
Grijalva, Huffman Call for Overdue Hearing on NOAA Plan to Protect Coastal Economies, Build Climate-Resilient Fisheries
Washington, D.C. - House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Water, Power and Oceans Subcommittee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) sent a letter this morning asking Committee Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah) and Water, Power and Oceans Subcommittee Chairman John Fleming (R-Louisiana) to hold a hearing on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) recently released Fisheries Climate Science Strategy. The request comes just over a m… Continue Reading