More than 240 environmental, animal welfare and conservation organizations sent a letter to House and Senate leadership today, calling on them to reject riders in 2018 Interior Department and Environmental Protection Agency appropriations legislation that would erode the Endangered Species Act and other safeguards for wildlife. The letter comes as Congress is poised to pass yet another continuing resolution that could pave the way for negotiations to begin on a final omnibus appropriations bill for FY 2018. This year’s House and Senate bills currently include provisions that would strip away federal protections for wolves and several other species, choke off funding for listed species if wildlife agencies cannot complete their five-year species reviews on time and block protections for sage-grouse, among many others.
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The House Natural Resources Committee today will hold a hearing on Rep. John Curtis’ H.R. 4532 “Shash Jaa National Monument and Indian Creek National Monument Act.” The bill would not only codify President Trump’s illegal cuts to Bears Ears National Monument but also delegate management of the monument to local officials and tribal representatives hand-picked by the Utah delegation, foregoing input from Tribal governments. Management plans laid out in the bill exclude three of the five tribes that advocated for Bears Ears protection.
Today, the Washington Post reported that, in addition to passing a tax bill containing enormous giveaways to the oil and gas industry, Congressional Republicans quietly gave yet another gift to Big Oil when they allowed a tax on oil companies that funded federal oil-spill response efforts to expire.
Protect the Arctic Refuge. The message illuminated Trump International Hotel sending a hard to miss directive to Republican leaders in Washington, D.C. currently rushing through the tax scheme. The plan seeks to offset tax cuts for the wealthy and corporate polluters with revenue from drilling in the Arctic Refuge’s coastal plain-- an area vital for the survival of the Gwich’in Nation, and one of the country’s last remaining wild places.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The House Natural Resources Committee today will hold a hearing on the Grand Staircase-Escalante Enhancement Act, HR 4588. Contrary to what the name implies, the bill would codify President Trump’s illegal proclamation cutting Grand Staircase-Escalante by half.
In anticipation, Dalal Aboulhosn, Sierra Club deputy legislative director, issued the following statement:
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- According to reports, Sen. Murkowski has confirmed that a provision opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling is included in the final tax scheme proposal. The provision would effectively remove the sensitive coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from the refuge system, opening the entire 1.5 million acres to drilling. The provision ignores the importance of the area to the Gwich’in Nation, as well as a host of environmental safeguards, and cost realities that make raising the estimated revenue from drilling in the Arctic Refuge nearly impossible.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Rep. Gallego today introduced legislation to preserve the Bears Ears National Monument and to expand safeguards for areas important to Tribal Nations that were left out of the original designation. The legislation comes as leaked documents show the Trump administration is planning massive reductions to Bears Ears National Monument, cutting the monument by 85%. Also on the chopping block is Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, which could be cut by half.
WASHINGTON, DC -- The U.S. House of Representatives today passed a bill undermining bedrock environmental safeguards protecting the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, as well as the Superior and Chippewa National Forests. The bill, HR 3905, would automatically grant mineral leases near the Wilderness boundary in perpetuity, while undermining guarantees for public process and water quality among others.
WASHINGTON, D.C.-- Today, Sierra Club joined Congressional and Gwich’in tribal leaders to decry the current attempt to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling as part of the tax scheme. The effort would attempt to offsets tax cuts for the wealthy and corporate polluters with revenue from drilling in one of the country’s last wild places -- a move that the Senate Parliamentarian has said violates Senate rules.
WASHINGTON D.C.-- Today, the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee voted to advance the nominations of Kathleen Hartnett-White for Director of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, and Andrew Wheeler for Deputy Administrator at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) along party lines.
WASHINGTON, DC -- The U.S. House of Representatives tonight passed a bill ordering public forest lands turned over to a private mining company. The bill, HR 3115, would expedite the exchange of National Forest land with PolyMet Mining Corporation for an open pit copper-nickel sulfide ore mine -- bypassing issues with the environmental analysis, value of the land appraisal, and ongoing public challenges.
Vet Voice Foundation and Sierra Club Military Outdoors today launched ads in the districts of Representatives Mast and Zeldin, urging them to oppose the current tax scheme being considered by Congress. The tax plan aims to offset tax cuts for corporate polluters by raising revenue through allowing oil companies to conduct dangerous drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The ads make clear that the tax bill’s steps to open the door to drilling the Arctic Refuge and a vote for the passage of the bill itself are unacceptable.