Washington, D.C. (May 15, 2013) – Yesterday, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) announced that it had obtained information that the IRS isn’t the only government agency targeting conservative groups- the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is doing it too. It took a lawsuit filed by CEI under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to get to the bottom of it, but the findings were shocking. There was a clear pattern of EPA making it more difficult for limited-government groups to access public records, while fees were waived and doors were opened without fuss for liberal-leaning groups. Public interest groups were the intended beneficiaries of the FOIA’s provision for waiving fees. But it turns out that fee waivers are quite common for some groups, and yet scarce for others. Overall, green groups, like Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, and EarthJustice, were granted 92% of their waiver requests. Unfortunately, the same courtesy was not extended to groups who’s beliefs don’t line up with those of the Administration- their requests were denied 93% of the time. Read more »
Washington, D.C., May 15 - Congressman Doc Hastings (WA-04) today sent a letter to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Director Dan Ashe expressing concern over the USFWS hastily listing the White Bluffs Bladderpod under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and seeking to finalize a critical habitat designation next week. In the letter, Hastings urges Director Ashe to immediately halt efforts to enforce this designation, allow the public at least 60 days’ extension for meaningful comment, and to allow a public hearing for impacted farmers and landowners to express their concerns. Click here to read the full letter. Read more »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Steve Daines today introduced legislation to lift regulatory barriers that presently block new hydropower development in Montana. Read more »
WASHINGTON– Wednesday the House Natural Resources Committee voted 28 – 13 in favor of H.R. 957, The American Soda Ash Competitiveness Act, legislation authored by U.S. Representative Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo) that restores the federal royalty to 2% for soda ash produced on federal lands. Read more »
Washington, D.C. – Today Congressman Kevin Cramer announced the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture has approved the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management (FARRM) Act of 2013. The five-year, bipartisan bill includes nearly $40 billion in savings, strengthens and provides options for crop insurance, consolidates programs, and reforms the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Read more »
Washington, D.C. (May 15, 2013) – Yesterday, Congressional Western Caucus Co-Chair Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), along with Chairman Steve Pearce (R-NM), Congressman Rob Bishop (R-UT), Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), Congressman Chris Stewart (R-UT), Congressman Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Congressman Scott Tipton (R-CO), and Congressman Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), introduced the State Mineral Revenue Protection Act, a bill that streamlines how mineral royalty payments are distributed to the state and federal government. Read more »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – After recently spending time meeting with Montana’s outdoors recreation groups and businesses, Congressman Steve Daines announced today that he has helped introduce legislation that preserves Montana’s outdoors heritage by protecting Montanans’ recreational access to federal lands. Read more »
WASHINGTON – Tuesday U.S. Representative Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo) introduced the State Mineral Revenue Protection Act, legislation that protects Wyoming from Washington’s efforts to use the state’s mineral revenue to pay its debts. Read more »
WASHINGTON, D.C. –The House Committee on Natural Resources will hold a full committee markup on Wednesday, May 15, 2013, at 10:00 a.m. ET (7:00 a.m. PT) for, among others, two bills introduced by Congressman Mark Amodei (NV-2) – H.R. 761, the National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act of 2013, and H.R. 1169, the Naval Air Station Fallon Housing and Safety Development Act. Read more »
Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson is an original cosponsor of H.R. 1825, the Recreational Fishing & Hunting Heritage Opportunities Act of 2013. This legislation would ensure that public land managers facilitate access for fishing, sport hunting, and recreational shooting on federal land managed by the BLM and Forest Service. Read more »
