Washington, D.C. (August 8, 2014) – Last week, the Center for Biological Diversity filed an appeal of the Gila National Forest’s travel management plan. The CBD claimed that the plan “imperiled frogs, fish, and birds” by allowing off-road vehicles to use 3,000 miles of roads. The Gila National Forest plan sets aside 24% of its land for non-motorized use and increasing this percentage will limit public access for recreational activity. Read more »
Washington, D.C. (July 29, 2014) – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 4315, the 21st Century Endangered Species Transparency Act with a bipartisan vote of 233-190. The bill updates the ESA for the first time in 26 years by requiring federal agencies to make data used for ESA decisions publicly available. It also ensures the proper use of taxpayer funds by putting a cap on attorney’s fees that have grown tremendously. Read more »
Washington, D.C. (July 17, 2014) – Just before Americans lit up their barbecues and gathered for their local fireworks show, the EPA quietly slipped a notice into the Federal Register titled “Administrative Wage Garnishment” that would allow the agency to garnish non-Federal wages from U.S. citizens without first obtaining a court order. The EPA claims that it has the right to do this under the Debt Collection Act of 1996. Read more »
Washington, D.C. (July 16, 2014) – Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations passed the Fiscal Year 2015 Interior and Environment Appropriations Bill by a bipartisan vote of 29-19. Read more »
Washington, D.C. (July 11, 2014) – Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 4923, the Fiscal Year 2015 Energy and Water Appropriations Bill with a bipartisan vote of 253-170. The bill provides annual funding for national defense nuclear weapons activities, various Department of Energy programs, and Army Corp of Engineers projects. The bill totals $34 billion, which is a $50 million reduction from the fiscal year 2014 enacted level. Read more »
Washington, D.C. (June 26, 2014) – This week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a series of bills that will further America’s energy independence, create jobs, increase critical energy infrastructure development, and lower electric rates for hardworking Americans across the country. Read more »
Washington, D.C. (June 2, 2014) - Today, the Environmental Protection Agency released a proposed rule to regulate carbon emissions from existing power plants. This regulation is a follow up to last year’s proposed regulations on new power plants and part of the administration’s greater “War on Coal.” Coal is responsible for nearly 40% of America’s electricity generation. The regulations proposed today will have a devastating impact on the economy, energy prices, grid reliability, and jobs. Last week, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce released a report revealing that the regulations will cost the economy $50 billion a year in GDP between now and 2030 and will result in the loss of 224,000 jobs a year over the same timeframe. Read more »
Washington, D.C. (May, 22,2014) - Earlier this week, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced a plan to help 94 national forests in 35 states deal with insect and disease threats that increase the risk of catastrophic wildfire. The designations were made possible by the passage of the 2014 Farm bill, which amended the Healthy Forest Restoration Act of 2003 to allow the Forest Service to more efficiently plan and accomplish restoration treatments. Read more »
Washington, D.C. (May 16, 2014) – Documents released recently reveal that the Environmental Protection Agency may have delayed publication of its New Source Performance Standard (NSPS) rules in order to help Democrats in the 2014 midterm elections. The agency waited until November 25, 2013 to submit their rule to the Federal Register, two months after it releasing it to the public. Due to this late submission, the Federal Register was not able to publish the rule until January 8, 2014. This means that the earliest Congress can hold a vote to repeal the rule is January of 2015. Read more »
Washington, D.C. (May 1, 2014) - This week EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy lashed out against the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other critics who believe the agency should grant public access to its scientific data. On Monday, McCarthy said to the National Academy of Sciences that EPA’s “Science is real and verifiable.” The EPA has resisted all attempts to publicize the scientific data used to implement its regulations. This “secret science” was used by the EPA to implement 98% of its air regulations between 2002 and 2012, most of which have had devastating economic impacts. Read more »
