Press Releases
Ranking Member Grijalva Statement on Interior Deputy Secretary David Bernhardt
Deputy Secretary Bernhardt's conflicts of interest are well known. His years of lobbying on behalf of clients who stand to profit from Interior policy decisions are cause for serious concern. We intend to continue conducting vigorous oversight of how Interior political appointees arrive at major policy decisions, who they consult, who they ignore, and who stands to benefit financially. Deputy Secretary Bernhardt should be prepared to answer those questions early in the new Congress, and so shoul… Continue Reading
12.07.18
Grijalva, Udall Highlight Trump Admin Efforts to Muzzle Congress on Utah Monuments in New Denver Post Op-Ed
Washington, D.C. - In a new op-ed in the Denver Post, Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) highlight the Trump administration's unusual efforts to block a congressional legal filing objecting to the 2017 destruction of Bears Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. President Trump signed an executive order last year, supported by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, illegally eliminating monument status for major portions of both s… Continue Reading
12.06.18
Grijalva: Newly Announced Attack on Sage-Grouse Habitat Protections Especially Ironic Given Latest News on Public Lands Climate Emissions
Washington, D.C. - The Department of the Interior today released new land management plans for the greater-sage grouse that pave the way for more oil and gas development on sensitive public lands habitats. The plans significantly reduce protections for essential sage-grouse habitat across the western United States and eliminate requirements for industry to compensate for habitat loss. The move, being undertaken at the request of the oil and gas industry, undermines decades of bipartisan, collab… Continue Reading
12.03.18
In New “Watchdog” Series Installment, Committee Democrats Expose the Damage Done by Secretary Zinke’s Climate Denial
Washington, D.C. - In today's new installment of their ongoing Medium series Watchdog, Natural Resources Committee Democrats examine the real-world consequences of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's climate change denial. The article tracks Zinke's lockstep support for the timber industry as a member of Congress and examines his unwillingness to discuss climate change's implications for wildfires or other increasingly common environmental and public health hazards. The new post comes days after Ra… Continue Reading
11.30.18
Ranking Member Grijalva Statement on Secretary Zinke Tweet
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), who will seek to chair the Natural Resources Committee in the next Congress, released the following statement on Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's recent tweet. Grijalva called on Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to resign this morning in a USA Today op-ed available at http://bit.ly/2SlZLz0. "The American people know who I'm here to serve, and they know in whose interests I'm acting. They don't know the same about Secretary Zinke."… Continue Reading
11.30.18
Ranking Member Grijalva Calls on Interior Secretary Zinke to Resign in New USA Today Op-Ed
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), who will seek to chair the Natural Resources Committee in the next Congress, called on Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to resign this morning. In a USA Today op-ed available at http://bit.ly/2SlZLz0, Grijalva lays out Zinke's scandals, corporate favoritism, dumbing down of science, destruction of employee morale and twisting of Interior's mission and concludes that Zinke does not offer "credible leadership" of the agencies he ove… Continue Reading
11.29.18
Ranking Member Grijalva: Opening East Coast to Oil Company Seismic Testing “Ironic a Few Days After a Huge Climate Report”
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), who will seek to chair the Natural Resources Committee in the next Congress, said today that the newly announced National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) approval of five Incidental Harassment Authorization permits to allow seismic testing in federally owned Atlantic waters is an alarming sign of administration indifference to the fate of coastal communities and marine life, including the endangered North Atlantic right whale, … Continue Reading
11.26.18
Ranking Member Grijalva: President Trump Is Hurting Americans By Ignoring Climate Change Findings From His Own Administration
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) released the following statement today following President Trump's attempt to bury the Fourth Annual Climate Assessment by releasing it the day after Thanksgiving, instead of next month as was expected. "The President's attempts to cover up the real and urgent findings of the most recent Climate Assessment shows that he will do anything to stop the American people from knowing the truth about our changing climate." Grijalva sai… Continue Reading
11.16.18
Ranking Member Grijalva Requests Phone Records of Top Offshore Regulator Scott Angelle, Seeks Explanation for Lack of Transparency
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), who is expected to become Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee in the 116th Congress, today sent a letter to Joe Balash, the Department of the Interior (DOI) assistant secretary for land and minerals management, requesting all calls to and from the personal cell phone number of Scott Angelle, director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), that occurred from May 23, 2017, through November 12,… Continue Reading
11.15.18
Ranking Member Grijalva Opposes Republican Effort To Delist Gray Wolves, Calls on Colleagues to Reject “Sad Waste of Time”
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today called on his Democratic and Republican colleagues to join him in opposing H.R.6784, a bill by Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wisc.) that removes the gray wolf from the endangered species list in the lower 48 states. The bill, which has only three cosponsors, is expected to receive a House vote tomorrow morning. "This bill is a sad, insulting waste of the country's time, especially with California on fire, and even Republican leaders… Continue Reading
11.14.18
Committee Leaders Announce Series of Climate Hearings Over Two Day Period Early Next Year
Washington, D.C. - As Democrats prepare to take the House Majority in January, three Democratic Committee leaders, whose committees have jurisdiction over climate change, announced today that their committees will hold a series of hearings over a two-day period early next year to assess the effects of climate change and the need for action. The announcement was made by Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Natural Resources Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) … Continue Reading
11.02.18
Natural Resources Committee Democrats Begin New Medium Series, Watchdog, Connecting Dots on Secretary Zinke’s Ethical Failures
Washington, D.C. - Natural Resources Committee Democrats today published the first post in a new Medium series called Watchdog, which connects the dots and offers the public a clear explanation of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's multiple ethical failures. The opening post brings publicly available information up to date, including recent reports that the White House is concerned Zinke may have broken federal rules. Watchdog follows closely on Democrats' recent Wasted Resources series highlighti… Continue Reading
11.01.18
Ranking Member Grijalva: DOI Reorganization is Zinke, Bernhardt “Smashing the Department to Pieces and Telling Employees to Pick up the Mess”
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) released the following statement on recent reports that the Trump administration's reorganization of the Interior Department is expected to be complete by July 1, 2019. "Secretary Zinke and Deputy Secretary Bernhardt are smashing the Interior Department to pieces and telling employees to pick up the mess. The organizational plan described here is unworkable for a number of reasons and demands oversight that Republicans on this … Continue Reading
10.31.18
New Democratic Report Details Industry Influence Over Natural Resources Committee Republicans Throughout 115th Congress
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and the minority staff of the House Natural Resources Committee released a new report this morning, Unmasked: How The House Natural Resources Committee Tricks Taxpayers and Treats Industry, detailing Committee Republicans' campaign to stack full Committee and subcommittee hearings with industry interests in the 115th Congress. The report shows the many ways in which industry perspectives have heavily skewed the Committee's polic… Continue Reading
10.22.18
Forty-Four House Democrats Push BLM to Rescind Illegal Anti-Transparency Directive on Federal Oil and Gas Leasing, Postpone December Lease Sales
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) sent a letter with 43 House Democratic colleagues to Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Deputy Director Brian Steed today urging him to rescind a policy memorandum on oil and gas leasing that a federal judge has already partially enjoined. The lawmakers also ask Steed to delay lease sales planned for December that impermissibly limit public input based on the controversial memo's language. The full letter is available at http://bi… Continue Reading
10.19.18
Ranking Member Grijalva Pushes for Answers On Interior Dept. Weakening of Public Access to Endangered Species Records
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) sent a letter today to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke seeking information about new guidance issued to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) employees restricting information released through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests specific to the Endangered Species Act. The full letter is available at http://bit.ly/2R1lEmj. Grijalva raises concerns that an internal document, as recently reported by The Guardian, recommended … Continue Reading
10.18.18
Leading Committee Democrats Urge Scrutiny of New Interior Inspector General – Change Could Interfere with Zinke Investigations
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and leading Democratic Committee members sent a letter today to Michael E. Horowitz, chairman of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE), raising concerns about the replacement of Department of the Interior (DOI) Deputy Inspector General (IG) Mary L. Kendall with Suzanne Israel Tufts, a political appointee from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). This move is particularly… Continue Reading
10.16.18
Committee Democrats: Don’t Use Forest Service Rulemakings to Hand Fossil Fuel and Mining Companies the Keys to Our National Forests
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.), ranking member of the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, jointly submitted formal comments yesterday afternoon on two U.S. Forest Service Advanced Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) in which they highlighted the proposals' overwhelming industry favoritism and potential improper weakening of environmental standards. Both proposals - one on mining "locatable minerals" such as gold,… Continue Reading
10.11.18
Ranking Member Grijalva, Leading Committee Democrats Urge Repeal of DOI “Secret Science” Order, Recommitment to Scientific Integrity
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and leading Democratic Committee members sent a letter today to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke urging him to rescind a recent Secretarial Order that threatens to further politicize how science is used across the Department of the Interior (DOI). The "Promoting Open Science" Order, issued quietly by Deputy Secretary David Bernhardt on Sept. 28, is just the latest in a long line of Trump administration attacks on scientific integri… Continue Reading
10.10.18
Judiciary and Natural Resources Democrats Slam Interior Department Proposal to Charge Fees for First Amendment-Protected Activities
Washington, D.C. -Today, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and House Natural Resources Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ), along with Representatives Colleen Hanabusa (D-HI), Ranking Member of the Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands, Steve Cohen (D-TN), Ranking Member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice, and Donald McEachin (D-VA), Ranking Member of the Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigatio… Continue Reading