Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Water, Wildlife and Fisheries
Republicans Spend Entire Fisheries Hearing Ignoring Economic Impacts, Denying Climate Change and Rejecting Consumer Requests
Riverhead, N.Y. - Natural Resources Committee Republicans took their climate denial show on the road today for the benefit of freshman Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.). At a just-concluded field hearing in Zeldin's eastern Long Island district, Republicans and their invited witnesses criticized the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) efforts to promote ecosystem-based management and other precautionary management tools to ensure economically sustainable fisheries harvests in the fa… 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
10.07.15
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
10.05.15
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
07.16.15
Grijalva Highlights Endangered Species Risks as House Republicans Pass Drought Distraction Bill, Double Down on Extinction Agenda
Washington, D.C. - For the third Congress in a row, House Republicans have forced through legislation disguised as drought relief that would weaken conservation laws while doing nothing to solve the California water crisis. Republicans also rejected a commonsense Democratic amendment to increase water supplies by funding water recycling projects, and added over strong Democratic objections an amendment that would undermine protections for endangered fish species in the Klamath River basin. "Hou… Continue Reading
07.15.15
Natural Resources Committee Democrats Reject Republican Attack on Endangered Species Badly Disguised as California Drought Bill
Washington, D.C. - Ahead of today's expected House debate on H.R. 2898, the Republican attack on the Endangered Species Act (ESA) disguised as a California drought bill, Natural Resources Committee Democrats highlighted this year's many GOP attempts to weaken the law by singling out individual species that Republicans have decided are no longer worth saving. H.R. 2898, which President Obama has already promised to veto because it does nothing to help Californians, weakens protections for delta … Continue Reading
07.09.15
Republican-Dominated Markup Features California Drought Bill That Weakens Endangered Species Act, Ignores Conservation Options
Washington, D.C. - Following the recently concluded Natural Resources Committee markup, Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva highlighted the wide-spread opposition to the Republican majority's bill - which passed on a nearly party-line vote - weakening the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and other environmental laws in the name of addressing the California drought. Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.) introduced H.R. 2898 on June 25, and the Committee marked it up today without having held a hearing on … Continue Reading
04.29.15
Ranking Member Grijalva Questions Need for Unpopular, Partisan Republican Bill Weakening Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Law
Washington, D.C. - House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva released the following statement ahead of tomorrow's Committee consideration of amendments to H.R. 1335, the Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act. The Republican bill would weaken the successful Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. "This bill is an overreaching, unpopular overhaul of a law that doesn't need it. Scientists, conservationists… Continue Reading