News List

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 16, 2013 - House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) released the following statement on the proposed regulations of hydraulic fracturing on federal lands announced today by the Department of the Interior: Read more »

Washington, DC – The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure today passed legislation on a bipartisan basis to approve construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, a project long-delayed by the President that will create thousands of American jobs and increase domestic energy security. Read more »

WASHINGTON— The U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) today releasedupdated draft regulations of hydraulic fracturing on public lands. The draft rule will only be open for public comment during the next 30 days. Congressman Rob Bishop (UT-01), Chairman of the House Natural Resources Public Lands and Environmental Regulation Subcommittee, issued the following statement in response to the new draft regulations: Read more »

WASHINGTON – The Department of the Interior, Thursday, released its latest draft rules for the regulation of Hydraulic Fracturing on Public Lands. The new regulations at the federal level are added on top of, and may supersede existing state regulations. Read more »

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 »