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Oceans

Obama Administration Refuses to Allow Public More Time to Weigh-in on President Obama's Plan to Zone the Oceans

| Posted in Press Release

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) today received notice from the Obama Administration that they will not agree to his request for a 90-day extension of the public comment period on the draft National Ocean Policy Implementation plan. “President Obama issued an Executive Order imposing a new bureaucracy to zone the oceans that threatens to deter new economic…

Recreational, Commercial Fishermen Fear President's Ocean Zoning Plans Will Block Access, Create Conflict in Fishery Management

| Posted in Press Release

Today, the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs held an oversight hearing on “Empty Hooks: The National Ocean Policy is the Latest Threat to Access for Recreational and Commercial Fishermen.” Representatives from the charter, commercial and recreational fishing industries testified on the implications of President Obama’s National Ocean Policy. Established by…

Chairman Hastings Follow-up Letter to Council on Environmental Quality Chairwoman Nancy Sutley and Office of Science and Technology Policy Director John Holdren on the National Ocean Council Draft Implementation Plan

| Posted in Letters

Dear Chairwoman Sutley and Director Holdren: On February 23, 2012, I wrote requesting that the public comment period on the draft National Ocean Policy Implementation Plan be extended for an additional 90 days beyond the original February 27,2012 deadline. It was disappointing to leam that, despite the National Ocean Policy's massive scope and sweeping impacts across the country, this…

Chairman Hastings Letter to Council on Environmental Quality Chairwoman Nancy Sutley and Office of Science and Technology Policy Director John Holdren on the National Ocean Council Draft Implementation Plan

| Posted in Letters

Dear Chairwoman Sutley and Director Holdren: I am writing to you as the co-chairs of the National Ocean Council created under Executive Order 13547, which implemented the final recommendations of the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force and created a new National Ocean Policy. In addition to the National Ocean Council, the Executive Order created, among other things, an expanded federal…

Chairman Hastings' Op-Ed in EnergyGuardian: Ocean policy reaches far beyond the sea

| Posted in Op-Eds and Speeches

Guest Opinion: Ocean policy reaches far beyond the sea By House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings Energy Guardian January 20, 2012 If there’s one accomplishment President Obama can take credit for during his first term in office, it’s expanding the size and reach of the federal government. While this may be good for government bureaucrats, the policies and…

Obama Administration Moves Forward with Plan to Zone the Ocean

| Posted in Press Release

Today President Obama’s National Ocean Council, created by an Executive Order in 2010, released a draft action plan to move forward with the Administration’s goal of imposing new mandatory “ocean zoning.” This initiative could place huge portions of the ocean off limits to all types of recreational, commercial and agricultural activities – destroying jobs and harming our economy. It could…

Witnesses: President Obama’s Ocean Zoning Plan Will Stifle Economic Growth, Create Regulatory Uncertainty, Threaten Jobs

| Posted in Press Release

Today, the Natural Resources Committee held an oversight hearing on “The President’s New National Ocean Policy - A Plan for Further Restrictions on Ocean, Coastal and Inland Activities.” At the hearing, Members heard about the potential job and economic implications of President Obama’s Executive Order 13547, which creates a new, top-down bureaucracy that could significantly impact the…

Top 10 Things to Know About President Obama’s Plan to Zone the Oceans

| Posted in Resourceful Information

On July 19, 2010 President Obama signed Executive Order 13547 to unilaterally implement a new National Ocean Policy without Congressional approval or specific statutory authority. This policy is a new regulatory layer that could significantly impact the way we use and manage our oceans and is another example of the Obama Administration imposing burdensome federal regulations and policies…

Chairman Hastings' Op-Ed in The Hill: Regulations stifle drilling, push gas prices up at pump

| Posted in Op-Eds and Speeches

Regulations stifle drilling, push gas prices up at pump February 15, 2011 The Hill Rep. Doc Hastings, Chairman House Natural Resources Committee Americans across the country are facing rising gasoline prices that are squeezing families’ monthly budgets and businesses’ ability to prosper and create jobs. There’s a growing anxiety that, like the summer of 2008, prices will once again…

Hastings: Obama Administration Regulations are Costing American Jobs, Blocking American Energy Production

| Posted in Floor Statements

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) delivered the following remarks on the House Floor in support of H. Res. 72, a resolution directing certain committees, including the Natural Resources Committee, to review existing, pending and proposed federal regulations and their effect on jobs and economic growth. “Gasoline prices are rising and we have near…