Today, the House Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs held an oversight hearing on the FY 2013 budget requests for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). The hearing focused on the budget requests for major programs and activities… Read more »

Today, the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs will hold an oversight hearing on the FY 2013 budget requests for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. As part of Chairman Doc Hastings’ ongoing efforts to review the Endangered Species Act (ESA), this hearing is an opportunity to examine how much is being… Read more »

Today during a Full Committee hearing on the President’s FY 2013 budget, Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar agreed that reforms to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) are needed to make it less lawsuit driven and admitted that he doesn’t currently know how much the Department spends on ESA-related litigation costs. The Natural Resources Committee held a Full Committee hearing last year… Read more »

Chairman Doc Hastings sat down with Platts Energy Week to discuss the American Energy & Infrastructure Jobs Act, legislation that would link expanded American energy production with high priority infrastructure projects. Chairman Hastings told Platts, "The revenues from this [legislation] will build and maintain our infrastructure. [It's] a win-win deal because it does create… Read more »

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) and a group of 18 bipartisan Members of Congress and Senators from Washington, Idaho, and Oregon sent the following letter to Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Steven Chu raising concerns with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) December 7th order which held that the Bonneville Power Administration’s (BPA)… Read more »

Dear Secretary Chu, We write today regarding the December 7, 2011 order issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in the matter of the Bonneville Power Administration's environmental redispatch policy. As you know, the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) is a Power Marketing Administration (PMA), one of four PMAs that market and deliver power in 32 states nationwide.… Read more »

Today, the Committee on Natural Resources held a full committee oversight hearing to examine how excessive Endangered Species Act (ESA) related litigation impacts species recovery, job creation and the economy. This was the first hearing in series that will be held by the Committee to take a fair look at the ways in which the ESA is working well and areas where it could be improved and… Read more »

On Tuesday, December 6th the Natural Resources Committee will hold a Full Committee oversight hearing on “The Endangered Species Act: How Litigation is Costing Jobs and Impeding True Recovery Efforts.” “This hearing is the first of many that the Natural Resources Committee will hold to examine both the strengths and weaknesses of the Endangered Species Act. It has been over two decades… Read more »

In Down Economy, Washington Lawmaker Pushes for More Logging By Dan Springer October 26, 2011 FOX News Tired of going back to the government every year with their hands out, rural counties are looking for a way to get off the federal dime and put unemployed loggers back to work. Washington Rep. Doc Hastings says he has an answer that would tackle both problems. “I think we need to… Read more »

Today, the House Subcommittee on Water and Power held a field oversight hearing in Highland, California on, “Questionable Fish Science and Environmental Lawsuits: Jobs and Water Supplies at Risk in the Inland Empire.” Chairman Tom McClintock (CA-4), and Reps. Jerry Lewis (CA-41) and Ken Calvert (CA-44) heard from local officials, stakeholders and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on how… Read more »