[House Report 113-307]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Union Calendar No. 225
113th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - - - - - - - House Report 113-307
REPORT ON LEGISLATIVE AND
OVERSIGHT ACTIVITIES
of the
COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
of the
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
during the
ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS
(FIRST SESSION)
together with
ADDITIONAL AND DISSENTING VIEWS
December 23, 2013.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_____
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
39-006 WASHINGTON : 2013
COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
DOC HASTINGS, Washington, Chairman
PETER A. DeFAZIO, Oregon, Ranking Democratic Member
DON YOUNG, Alaska ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American
LOUIE GOHMERT, Texas Samoa
ROB BISHOP, Utah FRANK PALLONE, Jr., New Jersey
DOUG LAMBORN, Colorado GRACE F. NAPOLITANO, California
ROBERT J. WITTMAN, Virginia RUSH HOLT, New Jersey
PAUL C. BROUN, Georgia RAUL M. GRIJALVA, Arizona
JOHN FLEMING, Louisiana MADELEINE Z. BORDALLO, Guam
TOM McCLINTOCK, California JIM COSTA, California
GLENN THOMPSON, Pennsylvania GREGORIO KILILI CAMACHO SABLAN,
CYNTHIA LUMMIS, Wyoming CNMI
DAN BENISHEK, Michigan NIKI TSONGAS, Massachusetts
JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina PEDRO R. PIERLUISI, Puerto Rico
SCOTT R. TIPTON, Colorado COLLEEN W. HANABUSA, Hawaii
PAUL A. GOSAR, Arizona TONY CARDENAS, California
RAUL R. LABRADOR, Idaho STEVEN A. HORSFORD, Nevada
STEVE SOUTHERLAND II, Florida JARED HUFFMAN, California
BILL FLORES, Texas RAUL RUIZ, California
JON RUNYAN, New Jersey CAROL SHEA-PORTER, New Hampshire
MARKWAYNE MULLIN, Oklahoma ALAN S. LOWENTHAL, California
STEVE DAINES, Montana JOE GARCIA, Florida
KEVIN CRAMER, North Dakota MATTHEW A. CARTWRIGHT,
DOUG LaMALFA, California Pennsylvania
JASON SMITH, Missouri Vacancy
VANCE McALLISTER, Louisiana
Vacancy
----------
On January 3, 2013, pursuant to H. Res. 6, Chairman Doc Hastings of
Washington, was elected to the Committee.
On January 3, 2013, pursuant to H. Res. 7, Ranking Member Edward J.
Markey of Massachusetts, was elected to the Committee.
On January 3, 2013, pursuant to H. Res.7, Minority (Democrat) Members
(17) were elected to the Committee.
On January 4, 2013, pursuant to H. Res. 17, the Majority (Republican)
Members (26) were elected to the Committee.
On January 14, 2013, pursuant to H. Res. 22, Minority (Democrat)
Members (4) were elected to the Committee.
On February 25, 2013, Mr. Andy Harris of Maryland, resigned from the
Committee.
On June 12, 2013, pursuant to H. Res. 257, Mr. Jason Smith of Missouri,
was elected to the Committee.
On July 15, 2013, Mr. Edward Markey of Massachusetts, resigned from the
Committee, the U.S. House of Representatives and was elected to the
U.S. Senate.
On July 18, 2013, Mr. Peter A. DeFazio of Oregon, was approved as
Ranking Member by the Democratic Caucus.
On December 11, 2013, Mr. Mark Amodei of Nevada, resigned from the
Committee.
On December 11, 2013, Mr. Chris Stewart of Utah, resigned from the
Committee.
On December 11, 2013, pursuant to H. Res. 437, Mr. Vance McAllister of
Louisiana, was elected to the Committee.
STANDING SUBCOMMITTEES OF THE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources
DOUG LAMBORN, CO, Chairman
RUSH HOLT, NJ, Ranking Democratic Member
LOUIE GOHMERT, TX STEVEN A. HORSFORD, NV
ROB BISHOP, UT MATTHEW A. CARTWRIGHT, PA
ROB WITTMAN, VA JIM COSTA, CA
PAUL C. BROUN, GA NIKI TSONGAS, MA
JOHN FLEMING, LA JARED HUFFMAN, CA
GLENN THOMPSON, PA ALAN S. LOWENTHAL, CA
CYNTHIA LUMMIS, WY TONY CARDENAS, CA
DAN BENISHEK, MI RAUL M. GRIJALVA, AZ
JEFF DUNCAN, SC COLLEEN W. HANABUSA, HI
PAUL A. GOSAR, AZ JOE GARCIA, FL
BILL FLORES, TX Vacancy
STEVE DAINES, MT Vacancy
KEVIN CRAMER, ND Vacancy
Vacancy PETER A. DeFAZIO, OR, ex officio
Vacancy
DOC HASTINGS, WA, ex officio
Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs
JOHN FLEMING, LA, Chairman
GREGORIO KILILI CAMACHO SABLAN, CNMI, Ranking Democratic Member
DON YOUNG, AK ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, AS
ROBERT J. WITTMAN, VA FRANK PALLONE, Jr., NJ
GLENN THOMPSON, PA MADELEINE Z. BORDALLO, GU
JEFF DUNCAN, SC PEDRO R. PIERLUISI, PR
STEVE SOUTHERLAND II, FL CAROL SHEA-PORTER, NH
BILL FLORES, TX ALAN S. LOWENTHAL, CA
JON RUNYAN, NJ JOE GARCIA, FL
JASON SMITH, MO PETER A. DeFAZIO, OR, ex officio
Vacancy
DOC HASTINGS, WA, ex officio
Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs
DON YOUNG, AK, Chairman
COLLEEN HANABUSA, HI, Ranking Democratic Member
DAN BENISHEK, MI TONY CARDENAS, CA
PAUL A. GOSAR, AZ RAUL RUIZ, CA
MARKWAYNE MULLIN, OK ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, AS
STEVE DAINES, MT RAUL M. GRIJALVA, AZ
KEVIN CRAMER, ND PETER A. DeFAZIO, OR, ex officio
DOUG LaMALFA, CA
DOC HASTINGS, WA, ex officio
Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation
ROB BISHOP, UT, Chairman
RAUL M. GRIJALVA, AZ, Ranking Democratic Member
DON YOUNG, AK NIKI TSONGAS, MA
LOUIS GOHMERT, TX RUSH HOLT, NJ
DOUG LAMBORN, CO MADELEINE Z. BORDALLO, GU
PAUL C. BROUN, GA GREGORIO KILILI CAMACHO SABLAN,
TOM McCLINTOCK, CA CNMI
CYNTHIA LUMMIS, WY PEDRO R. PIERLUISI, PR
SCOTT R. TIPTON, CO COLLEEN W. HANABUSA, HI
RAUL R. LABRADOR, ID STEVEN A. HORSFORD, NV
STEVE DAINES, MT CAROL SHEA-PORTER, NH
KEVIN CRAMER, ND JOE GARCIA, FL
DOUG LaMALFA, CA MATTHEW A. CARTWRIGHT, PA
JASON SMITH, MO JARED HUFFMAN, CA
Vacancy PETER A. DeFAZIO, OR, ex officio
DOC HASTINGS, WA, ex officio
Subcommittee on Water and Power
TOM McCLINTOCK, CA, Chairman
GRACE F. NAPOLITANO, CA, Ranking Democratic Member
CYNTHIA LUMMIS, WY JIM COSTA, CA
SCOTT R. TIPTON, CO JARED HUFFMAN, CA
PAUL A. GOSAR, AZ TONY CARDENAS, CA
RAUL R. LABRADOR, ID RAUL RUIZ, CA
MARKWAYNE MULLIN, OK ALAN S. LOWENTHAL, CA
DOUG LaMALFA, CA PETER A. DeFAZIO, OR, ex officio
Vacancy
DOC HASTINGS, WA, ex officio
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
----------
House of Representatives,
Committee on Natural Resources,
December 23, 2013.
Hon. Karen L. Haas,
Clerk of the House of Representatives,
The Capitol, Washington, DC.
Dear Ms. Haas: Pursuant to clause 1(d)(1) of rule XI and
rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, here is
the annual report, encompassing the period of January 3, 2013
through December 16, 2013, of legislative and oversight
activities of the Committee on Natural Resources during the
first session of the 113th Congress.
Sincerely,
Doc Hastings,
Chairman.
C O N T E N T S
----------
Page
Letter of Transmittal............................................ V
Organization/Jurisdiction........................................ 1
Statistics....................................................... 2
Full Committee............................................... 3
Legislative Activities................................... 3
Oversight Activities..................................... 9
Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources................. 10
Legislative Activities................................... 10
Oversight Activities..................................... 12
Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular
Affairs.................................................... 12
Legislative Activities................................... 12
Oversight Activities..................................... 14
Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs............. 14
Legislative Activities................................... 14
Oversight Activities..................................... 15
Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulations... 15
Legislative Activities................................... 15
Oversight Activities..................................... 20
Subcommittee on Water and Power.............................. 20
Legislative Activities................................... 20
Oversight Activities..................................... 21
Appendices:
I. Printed Hearings................................................23
II. Legislation Passed House........................................31
III. List of Public Laws.............................................37
IV. Committee Prints................................................39
V. Committee Legislative Reports...................................41
VI. Additional Views................................................49
VII. Dissenting Views................................................61
Union Calendar No. 225
113th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session } { 113-307
======================================================================
LEGISLATIVE AND OVERSIGHT ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL
RESOURCES 113TH CONGRESS (1ST SESSION)
_______
December 23, 2013.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Hastings of Washington, from the Committee on Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
together with
ADDITIONAL AND DISSENTING VIEWS
Organization
The Committee on Natural Resources met on January 23, 2013,
for an organizational meeting of the 113th Congress under the
direction of Chairman Doc Hastings. The Committee membership
was 47 Members with 26 Republicans and 21 Democrats.
The Committee established five subcommittees: Energy and
Mineral Resources (Doug Lamborn of Colorado, Chairman);
Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs (John Fleming
of Louisiana, Chairman); Indian and Alaska Native Affairs (Don
Young of Alaska, Chairman); Public Lands and Environmental
Regulation (Rob Bishop of Utah, Chairman); and Water and Power
(Tom McClintock of California, Chairman).
Jurisdiction
The jurisdiction of the Committee on Natural Resources, as
prescribed by clause (m)(1) of Rule X of the Rules of the House
is as follows:
(1) Fisheries and wildlife, including research,
restoration, refuges, and conservation.
(2) Forest reserves and national parks created from the
public domain.
(3) Forfeiture of land grants and alien ownership,
including alien ownership of mineral lands.
(4) Geological Survey.
(5) International fishing agreements.
(6) Interstate compacts relating to apportionment of waters
for irrigation purposes.
(7) Irrigation and reclamation, including water supply for
reclamation projects and easements of public lands for
irrigation projects; and acquisition of private lands when
necessary to complete irrigation projects.
(8) Native Americans generally, including the care and
allotment of Native American lands and general and special
measures relating to claims that are paid out of Native
American funds.
(9) Insular possessions of the United States generally
(except those affecting the revenue and appropriations).
(10) Military parks and battlefields, national cemeteries
administered by the Secretary of the Interior, parks within the
District of Columbia, and the erection of monuments to the
memory of individuals.
(11) Mineral land laws and claims and entries thereunder.
(12) Mineral resources of the public lands.
(13) Mining interests generally.
(14) Mining schools and experimental stations.
(15) Marine affairs, including coastal zone management
(except for measures relating to oil and other pollution of
navigable waters).
(16) Oceanography.
(17) Petroleum conservation on public lands and
conservation of the radium supply in the United States.
(18) Preservation of prehistoric ruins and objects of
interest on the public domain.
(19) Public lands generally, including entry, easements,
and the grazing thereon.
(20) Relations of the United States with Native Americans
and Native American tribes.
(21) Trans-Alaska Oil Pipeline (except ratemaking).
Activities Report
Committee on Natural Resources Statistics
Total number of bills and resolutions referred................... 471
Total number of meeting days:
Full Committee (25)
Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources (18)
Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular
Affairs (11)
Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs (6)
Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation
(24)
Subcommittee on Water and Power (10)
Total.................................................... 94
Total number of bills ordered reported from Committee............ 115
Total number of reports filed.................................... 89
Total number of bills referred to/discharged by Committee on
Natural Resources and passed by the House of Representatives... 54
Total number of public laws...................................... 11
Total number of bills enacted into law........................... 15
Full Committee
I. LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITIES
A. Legislative Hearings, Markups and Administrative Business Meetings
January 23, 2013--Full Committee met to organize for the
113th Congress; adopt the Committee Rules, agree to an
oversight plan, and adopt the Committee Staff Hiring
Resolution.
February 14, 2013--Hearing held on H.R. 527, To amend the
Helium Act to complete the privatization of the Federal helium
reserve in a competitive market fashion that ensures stability
in the helium markets while protecting the interests of
American taxpayers, and for other purposes.
March 20, 2013--Markup held on H.R. 254, To authorize the
Secretary of the Interior to facilitate the development of
hydroelectric power on the Diamond Fork System of the Central
Utah Project; H.R. 291, To provide for the conveyance of
certain cemeteries that are located on National Forest System
land in Black Hills National Forest, South Dakota; H.R. 507, To
provide for the conveyance of certain land inholdings owned by
the United States to the Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona, and for
other purposes; H.R. 527, To amend the Helium Act to complete
the privatization of the Federal helium reserve in a
competitive market fashion that ensures stability in the helium
markets while protecting the interests of American taxpayers,
and for other purposes; H.R. 588, To provide for donor
contribution acknowledgments to be displayed at the Vietnam
Veterans Memorial Visitor Center, and for other purposes; H.R.
678, To authorize all Bureau of Reclamation conduit facilities
for hydropower development under Federal Reclamation law, and
for other purposes; H.R. 716, To direct the Secretary of the
Interior to convey certain Federal land to the city of
Vancouver, Washington, and for other purposes; H.R. 1033, To
authorize the acquisition and protection of nationally
significant battlefields and associated sites of the
Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 under the American
Battlefield Protection Program; and H.R. 1159, To modify the
Forest Service Recreation Residence Program by implementing a
simple, equitable, and predictable procedure for determining
cabin user fees, and for other purposes.
April 24, 2013--Markup held on H.R. 3, To approve the
construction, operation, and maintenance of the Keystone XL
pipeline, and for other purposes; H.R. 85, To create the Office
of Chief Financial Officer of the Government of the Virgin
Islands, and for other purposes; H.R. 126, To direct the
Secretary of the Interior to enter into an agreement to provide
for management of the free-roaming wild horses in and around
the Currituck National Wildlife Refuge; H.R. 251, To direct the
Secretary of the Interior to convey certain Federal features of
the electric distribution system to the South Utah Valley
Electric Service District, and for other purposes; H.R. 253, To
provide for the conveyance of a small parcel of National Forest
System land in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest in Utah
to Brigham Young University, and for other purposes; H.R. 330,
To designate a Distinguished Flying Cross National Memorial at
the March Field Air Museum in Riverside, California; H.R. 356,
To clarify authority granted under the Act entitled ``An Act to
define the exterior boundary of the Uintah and Ouray Indian
Reservation in the State of Utah, and for other purposes'';
H.R. 462, To require the conveyance of certain public land
within the boundaries of Camp Williams, Utah, to support the
training and readiness of the Utah National Guard; H.R. 520, To
authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study of
alternatives for commemorating and interpreting the role of the
Buffalo Soldiers in the early years of the National Parks, and
for other purposes; H.R. 573, To amend Public Law 93-435 with
respect to the Northern Mariana Islands, providing parity with
Guam, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa; H.R. 674, To
authorize the Secretary of the Interior to study the
suitability and feasibility of designating prehistoric,
historic, and limestone forest sites on Rota, Commonwealth of
the Northern Mariana Islands, as a unit of the National Park
System; H.R. 723, To amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to
designate a segment of the Beaver, Chipuxet, Queen, Wood, and
Pawcatuck Rivers in the States of Connecticut and Rhode Island
for study for potential addition to the National Wild and
Scenic Rivers System, and for other purposes; H.R. 739, To
require the Office of Management and Budget to prepare a
crosscut budget for restoration activities in the Chesapeake
Bay watershed, to require the Environmental Protection Agency
to develop and implement an adaptive management plan, and for
other purposes; H.R. 767, To amend the Energy Policy Act of
2005 to modify the Pilot Project offices of the Federal Permit
Streamlining Pilot Project; H.R. 829, To amend the Wild and
Scenic Rivers Act to designate a segment of Illabot Creek in
Skagit County, Washington, as a component of the National Wild
and Scenic Rivers System; H.R. 862, To authorize the conveyance
of two small parcels of land within the boundaries of the
Coconino National Forest containing private improvements that
were developed based upon the reliance of the landowners in an
erroneous survey conducted in May 1960; H.R. 876, To authorize
the continued use of certain water diversions located on
National Forest System land in the Frank Church-River of No
Return Wilderness and the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness in the
State of Idaho, and for other purposes; H.R. 885, To expand the
boundary of San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, to
conduct a study of potential land acquisitions, and for other
purposes; H.R. 934, To amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act
related to a segment of the Lower Merced River in California,
and for other purposes; H.R. 993, To provide for the conveyance
of certain parcels of National Forest System land to the city
of Fruit Heights, Utah; H.R. 1156, To authorize the Secretary
of the Interior to adjust the boundary of the Stephen Mather
Wilderness and the North Cascades National Park in order to
allow the rebuilding of a road outside of the floodplain while
ensuring that there is no net loss of acreage to the Park or
the Wilderness, and for other purposes; H.R. 1157, To ensure
public access to the summit of Rattlesnake Mountain in the
Hanford Reach National Monument for educational, recreational,
historical, scientific, cultural, and other purposes; H.R.
1158, To direct the Secretary of the Interior to continue
stocking fish in certain lakes in the North Cascades National
Park, Ross Lake National Recreation Area, and Lake Chelan
National Recreation Area; H.R. 1206, To grant the Secretary of
the Interior permanent authority to authorize States to issue
electronic duck stamps, and for other purposes; H.R. 1208, To
establish the Manhattan Project National Historical Park in Oak
Ridge, Tennessee, Los Alamos, New Mexico, and Hanford,
Washington, and for other purposes; H.R. 1241, To facilitate a
land exchange involving certain National Forest System lands in
the Inyo National Forest, and for other purposes; and H.R.
1377, To authorize the Mescalero Apache Tribe to lease
adjudicated water rights.
May 15, 2013--Markup held on H.R. 687, To facilitate the
efficient extraction of mineral resources in southeast Arizona
by authorizing and directing an exchange of Federal and non-
Federal land, and for other purposes; H.R. 761, To require the
Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to
more efficiently develop domestic sources of the minerals and
mineral materials of strategic and critical importance to
United States economic and national security and manufacturing
competitiveness; H.R. 819, To authorize pedestrian and
motorized vehicular access in Cape Hatteras National Seashore
Recreational Area, and for other purposes; H.R. 910, To
reauthorize the Sikes Act; H.R. 957, To reduce temporarily the
royalty required to be paid for sodium produced on Federal
lands, and for other purposes; H.R. 981, To direct the
Secretary of the Interior to conduct a global rare earth
element assessment, and for other purposes; H.R. 1063, To
require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct an assessment
of the capability of the Nation to meet our current and future
demands for the minerals critical to United States
manufacturing and agricultural competitiveness and economic and
national security in a time of expanding resource nationalism,
and for other purposes; H.R. 1080, To amend the Sikes Act to
promote the use of cooperative agreements under such Act for
land management related to Department of Defense readiness
activities and to amend title 10, United States Code, to
facilitate interagency cooperation in conservation programs to
avoid or reduce adverse impacts on military readiness
activities; H.R. 1169, To direct the Secretary of the Interior
to transfer to the Secretary of the Navy certain Federal land
in Churchill County, Nevada; H.R. 1299, To provide for the
transfer of certain public land currently administered by the
Bureau of Land Management to the administrative jurisdiction of
the Secretary of the Army for inclusion in White Sands Missile
Range, New Mexico, and for other purposes; H.R. 1300, To amend
the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 to reauthorize the volunteer
programs and community partnerships for the benefit of national
wildlife refuges, and for other purposes; H.R. 1384, To provide
for the issuance of a Wildlife Refuge System Conservation
Semipostal Stamp; H.R. 1574, To amend the Dayton Aviation
Heritage Preservation Act of 1992 to rename a site of the park;
H.R. 1613, To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to
provide for the proper Federal management and oversight of
transboundary hydrocarbon reservoirs, and for other purposes;
H.R. 1672, To withdraw and reserve certain public lands
administered by the Bureau of Land Management for exclusive
military use as part of the Limestone Hills Training Area,
Montana, and for other purposes; H.R. 1673, To provide for the
transfer of certain public land currently administered by the
Bureau of Land Management to the administrative jurisdiction of
the Secretary of the Navy for inclusion in Naval Air Weapons
Station China Lake, California, and for other purposes; H.R.
1676, To designate the Johnson Valley National Off-Highway
Vehicle Recreation Area in San Bernardino County, California,
to authorize limited military use of the area, to provide for
the transfer of the Southern Study Area to the administrative
jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Navy for inclusion in the
Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, and by
recreational users, and for other purposes; and H.R. 1691, To
provide for the transfer of certain public land currently
administered by the Bureau of Land Management to the
administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Navy for
inclusion in the Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range,
California, and for other purposes.
June 12, 2013--Markup held on H.R. 412, To amend the Wild
and Scenic Rivers Act to designate segments of the mainstem of
the Nashua River and its tributaries in the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts for study for potential addition to the National
Wild and Scenic Rivers System, and for other purposes; H.R.
657, To amend the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of
1976 to improve the management of grazing leases and permits,
and for other purposes; H.R. 697, To provide for the conveyance
of certain Federal land in Clark County, Nevada, for the
environmental remediation and reclamation of the Three Kids
Mine Project Site, and for other purposes; H.R. 740, To provide
for the settlement of certain claims under the Alaska Native
Claims Settlement Act, and for other purposes; H.R. 841, To
amend the Grand Ronde Reservation Act to make technical
corrections, and for other purposes; H.R. 931, To provide for
the addition of certain real property to the reservation of the
Siletz Tribe in the State of Oregon; H.R. 1126, To facilitate
the completion of an appropriate national memorial to Dwight D.
Eisenhower; H.R. 1411, To include the Point Arena-Stornetta
Public Lands in the California Coastal National Monument as a
part of the National Landscape Conservation System, and for
other purposes; H.R. 1497, To amend title 36, United States
Code, to ensure that memorials commemorating the service of the
United States Armed Forces may contain religious symbols, and
for other purposes; H.R. 1548, To facilitate the development of
energy on Indian lands by reducing Federal regulations that
impede tribal development of Indian lands, and for other
purposes; H.R. 1825, To direct Federal public land management
officials to exercise their authority under existing law to
facilitate use of and access to Federal public lands for
fishing, sport hunting, and recreational shooting, and for
other purposes; H.R. 1964, To amend the Naval Petroleum
Reserves Production Act of 1976 to direct the Secretary of the
Interior to conduct an expeditious program of competitive
leasing of oil and gas in the National Petroleum Reserve in
Alaska, including at least one lease sale in the Reserve each
year in the period 2013 through 2023, and for other purposes;
H.R. 2166, To direct the Secretary of the Interior and
Secretary of Agriculture to expedite access to certain Federal
lands under the administrative jurisdiction of each Secretary
for good Samaritan search-and-recovery missions, and for other
purposes; and H.R. 2231, To amend the Outer Continental Shelf
Lands Act to increase energy exploration and production on the
Outer Continental Shelf, provide for equitable revenue sharing
for all coastal States, implement the reorganization of the
functions of the former Minerals Management Service into
distinct and separate agencies, and for other purposes.
July 24, 2013--Markup held on H.R. 555, To amend the
Mineral Leasing Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior
to conduct onshore oil and gas lease sales through Internet-
based live lease sales, and for other purposes; H.R. 586, To
provide for certain improvements to the Denali National Park
and Preserve in the State of Alaska, and for other purposes;
H.R. 638, To amend the National Wildlife Refuge System
Administration Act of 1966 to require that any new national
wildlife refuge may not be established except as expressly
authorized by statute; H.R. 1394, To direct the Secretary of
the Interior to establish goals for an all-of-the-above energy
production plan strategy on a 4-year basis on all onshore
Federal lands managed by the Department of the Interior and the
Forest Service; H.R. 1410, To prohibit gaming activities on
certain Indian lands in Arizona until the expiration of certain
gaming compacts; H.R. 1459, To ensure that the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 applies to the declaration of
national monuments, and for other purposes; H.R. 1513, To
revise the boundaries of the Gettysburg National Military Park
to include the Gettysburg Train Station and certain land along
Plum Run in Cumberland Township, to limit the means by which
property within such revised boundaries may be acquired, and
for other purposes; H.R. 1965, To streamline and ensure onshore
energy permitting, provide for onshore leasing certainty, and
give certainty to oil shale development for American energy
security, economic development, and job creation, and for other
purposes; H.R. 2197, To amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to
designate segments of the York River and associated tributaries
for study for potential inclusion in the National Wild and
Scenic Rivers System; H.R. 2337, To provide for the conveyance
of the Forest Service Lake Hill Administrative Site in Summit
County, Colorado; H.R. 2640, To amend the Wild and Scenic
Rivers Act to adjust the Crooked River boundary, to provide
water certainty for the City of Prineville, Oregon, and for
other purposes; S. 130, A bill to require the Secretary of the
Interior to convey certain Federal land to the Powell
Recreation District in the State of Wyoming; S. 157, A bill to
provide for certain improvements to the Denali National Park
and Preserve in the State of Alaska, and for other purposes; S.
304, A bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey
to the State of Mississippi 2 parcels of surplus land within
the boundary of the Natchez Trace Parkway, and for other
purposes; and S. 459, A bill to modify the boundary of the
Minuteman Missile National Historic Site in the State of South
Dakota, and for other purposes.
July 31, 2013--Markup held on H.R. 255, To amend certain
definitions contained in the Provo River Project Transfer Act
for purposes of clarifying certain property descriptions, and
for other purposes; H.R. 553, To designate the exclusive
economic zone of the United States as the ``Ronald Wilson
Reagan Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States''; H.R.
623, To provide for the conveyance of certain property located
in Anchorage, Alaska, from the United States to the Alaska
Native Tribal Health Consortium; H.R. 908, To preserve the
Green Mountain Lookout in the Glacier Peak Wilderness of the
Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest; H.R. 930, To authorize
the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource
study of the archeological site and surrounding land of the New
Philadelphia town site in the State of Illinois, and for other
purposes; H.R. 1168, To direct the Secretary of the Interior,
acting through the Bureau of Land Management, to convey to the
City of Carlin, Nevada, in exchange for consideration, all
right, title, and interest of the United States, to any Federal
land within that city that is under the jurisdiction of that
agency, and for other purposes; H.R. 1170, To direct the
Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bureau of Land
Management and the Bureau of Reclamation, to convey, by
quitclaim deed, to the City of Fernley, Nevada, all right,
title, and interest of the United States, to any Federal land
within that city that is under the jurisdiction of either of
those agencies; H.R. 1526, To restore employment and
educational opportunities in, and improve the economic
stability of, counties containing National Forest System land,
while also reducing Forest Service management costs, by
ensuring that such counties have a dependable source of revenue
from National Forest System land, to provide a temporary
extension of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-
Determination Act of 2000, and for other purposes; H.R. 1684,
To convey certain property to the State of Wyoming to
consolidate the historic Ranch A, and for other purposes; H.R.
1818, To amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to
allow importation of polar bear trophies taken in sport hunts
in Canada before the date the polar bear was determined to be a
threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973;
H.R. 1963, To amend the Water Conservation and Utilization Act
to authorize the development of non-Federal hydropower and
issuance of leases of power privileges at projects constructed
pursuant to the authority of the Water Conservation and
Utilization Act, and for other purposes; H.R. 2388, To
authorize the Secretary of the Interior to take certain Federal
lands located in El Dorado County, California, into trust for
the benefit of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, and
for other purposes; H.R. 2463, To amend the Pittman-Robertson
Wildlife Restoration Act to facilitate the establishment of
additional or expanded public target ranges in certain States;
H.R. 2650, To allow the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior
Chippewa in the State of Minnesota to lease or transfer certain
land; and H.R. 2728, To recognize States' authority to regulate
oil and gas operations and promote American energy security,
development, and job creation.
October 30, 2013--Markup held on H.R. 298, To direct the
Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study
to evaluate the significance of the Mill Springs Battlefield
located in Pulaski and Wayne Counties, Kentucky, and the
feasibility of its inclusion in the National Park System, and
for other purposes; H.R. 585, To provide for the unencumbering
of title to non-Federal land owned by the city of Anchorage,
Alaska, for purposes of economic development by conveyance of
the Federal reversion interest to the City; H.R. 1846, To amend
the Act establishing the Lower East Side Tenement National
Historic Site, and for other purposes; H.R. 2799, To establish
the Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Conservation Council Advisory
Committee to advise the Secretaries of the Interior and
Agriculture on wildlife and habitat conservation, hunting,
recreational shooting, and for other purposes; and H.R. 2954,
To authorize Escambia County, Florida, to convey certain
property that was formerly part of Santa Rosa Island National
Monument and that was conveyed to Escambia County subject to
restrictions on use and reconveyance.
November 14, 2013--Markup held on H.R. 1308, To amend the
Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to reduce predation on
endangered Columbia River salmon and other nonlisted species,
and for other purposes; H.R. 2798, To amend Public Law 106-206
to direct the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of
Agriculture to require annual permits and assess annual fees
for commercial filming activities on Federal land for film
crews of 5 persons or fewer; H.R. 2824, To amend the Surface
Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to stop the ongoing
waste by the Department of the Interior of taxpayer resources
and implement the final rule on excess spoil, mining waste, and
buffers for perennial and intermittent streams, and for other
purposes; H.R. 3008, To provide for the conveyance of a small
parcel of National Forest System land in Los Padres National
Forest in California, and for other purposes; H.R. 3188, To
expedite the planning and implementation of salvage timber
sales as part of Forest Service and Department of the Interior
restoration and rehabilitation activities for lands within the
Stanislaus National Forest and Yosemite National Park and
Bureau of Land Management lands adversely impacted by the 2013
Rim Fire in California; and H.R. 3189, To prohibit the
conditioning of any permit, lease, or other use agreement on
the transfer, relinquishment, or other impairment of any water
right to the United States by the Secretaries of the Interior
and Agriculture.
December 4, 2013--Markup held on H.R. 915, To authorize the
Peace Corps Commemorative Foundation to establish a
commemorative work in the District of Columbia and its
environs, and for other purposes; H.R. 1425, To amend the
Marine Debris Act to better address severe marine debris
events, and for other purposes; H.R. 1491, To authorize the
Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration to provide certain funds to eligible entities
for activities undertaken to address the marine debris impacts
of the March 2011 Tohoku earthquake and subsequent tsunami, and
for other purposes; H.R. 2319, To clarify certain provisions of
the Native American Veterans' Memorial Establishment Act of
1994; H.R. 3286, To direct the Secretary of the Treasury to
reimburse States that use State funds to operate National Parks
during the Federal Government shutdown, and for other purposes;
and S. 230, A bill to authorize the Peace Corps Commemorative
Foundation to establish a commemorative work in the District of
Columbia and its environs, and for other purposes.
II. OVERSIGHT ACTIVITIES OF THE FULL COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
A. Oversight Hearings
February 14, 2013--Oversight hearing on ``The Past, Present
and Future of the Federal Helium Program.''
March 13, 2013--Oversight hearing on the ``Reauthorization
of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management
Act.''
April 17, 2013--Oversight hearing on ``State Lands vs.
Federal Lands Oil and Gas Production: What State Regulators Are
Doing Right.''
May 8, 2013--Oversight hearing on ``DOI Hydraulic
Fracturing Rule: A Recipe for Government Waste, Duplication and
Delay.''
June 4, 2013--Oversight hearing on ``Defining Species
Conservation Success: Tribal, State and Local Stewardship vs.
Federal Courtroom Battles and Sue-and-Settle Practices.''
June 27, 2013--Oversight hearing on ``The Management of Red
Snapper in the Gulf of Mexico under the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Act.''
July 17, 2013--Oversight hearing on ``The Department of the
Interior Operations, Management and Rulemakings.''
August 1, 2013--Oversight hearing on ``Transparency and
Sound Science Gone Extinct?: The Impacts of the Obama
Administration's Closed-Door Settlements on Endangered Species
and People.''
September 4, 2013--Oversight field hearing in Casper,
Wyoming, on ``State and Local Efforts to Protect Species, Jobs,
Property, and Multiple Use Amidst a New War on the West.''
(Part 1)
September 4, 2013--Oversight field hearing in Billings,
Montana, on ``State and Local Efforts to Protect Species, Jobs,
Property, and Multiple Use Amidst a New War on the West.''
(Part 2)
September 11, 2013--Oversight hearing on the
``Reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation
and Management Act''.
October 16, 2013--Joint Oversight hearing with the
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on ``As Difficult
As Possible: The National Park Service's Implementation of the
Government Shutdown.''
December 9, 2013--Oversight field hearing in Pasco,
Washington, on ``The Future of the US-Canada Columbia River
Treaty--Building on 60 years of Coordinated Power Generation
and Flood Control.''
December 12, 2013--Oversight hearing on ``ESA Decisions by
Closed-Door Settlement: Short-Changing Science, Transparency,
Private Property, and State & Local Economies.''
Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources
I. LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITIES
A. Legislative Hearings
March 21, 2013--Hearing held on H.R. 687, To facilitate the
efficient extraction of mineral resources in southeast Arizona
by authorizing and directing an exchange of Federal and non-
Federal land, and for other purposes; H.R. 697, To provide for
the conveyance of certain Federal land in Clark County, Nevada,
for the environmental remediation and reclamation of the Three
Kids Mine Project Site, and for other purposes; H.R. 761, To
require the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of
Agriculture to more efficiently develop domestic sources of the
minerals and mineral materials of strategic and critical
importance to United States economic and national security and
manufacturing competitiveness; H.R. 767, To amend the Energy
Policy Act of 2005 to modify the Pilot Project offices of the
Federal Permit Streamlining Pilot Project; H.R. 957, To reduce
temporarily the royalty required to be paid for sodium produced
on Federal lands, and for other purposes; H.R. 981, To direct
the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a global rare earth
element assessment, and for other purposes; and H.R. 1063, To
require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct an assessment
of the capability of the Nation to meet our current and future
demands for the minerals critical to United States
manufacturing and agricultural competitiveness and economic and
national security in a time of expanding resource nationalism,
and for other purposes.
April 16, 2013--Hearing held on H.R. 3, To approve the
construction, operation, and maintenance of the Keystone XL
pipeline, and for other purposes.
April 25, 2013--Hearing held on H.R. 1613, To amend the
Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to provide for the proper
Federal management and oversight of transboundary hydrocarbon
reservoirs, and for other purposes.
May 22, 2013--Hearing held on H.R. 555, To amend the
Mineral Leasing Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior
to conduct onshore oil and gas lease sales through Internet-
based live lease sales, and for other purposes; H.R. 1394, To
direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish goals for an
all-of-the-above energy production plan strategy on a 4-year
basis on all onshore Federal lands managed by the Department of
the Interior and the Forest Service; H.R. 1964, To amend the
Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976 to direct the
Secretary of the Interior to conduct an expeditious program of
competitive leasing of oil and gas in the National Petroleum
Reserve in Alaska, including at least one lease sale in the
Reserve each year in the period 2013 through 2023, and for
other purposes; and H.R. 1965, To streamline and ensure onshore
energy permitting, provide for onshore leasing certainty, and
give certainty to oil shale development for American energy
security, economic development, and job creation, and for other
purposes.
June 6, 2013--Hearing held on H.R. 2231, To amend the Outer
Continental Shelf Lands Act to increase energy exploration and
production on the Outer Continental Shelf, provide for
equitable revenue sharing for all coastal States, implement the
reorganization of the functions of the former Minerals
Management Service into distinct and separate agencies, and for
other purposes. (Part 1)
June 11, 2013--Hearing held on H.R. 2231, To amend the
Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to increase energy
exploration and production on the Outer Continental Shelf,
provide for equitable revenue sharing for all coastal States,
implement the reorganization of the functions of the former
Minerals Management Service into distinct and separate
agencies, and for other purposes. (Part 2)
July 25, 2013--Hearing held on Draft Legislation ``H.R. __,
(Flores), A bill to recognize States' authority to regulate oil
and gas operations and promote American energy security,
development, and job creation (Protecting States' Rights to
Promote American Energy Security Act).''
August 2, 2013--Hearing held on H.R. 2824, To amend the
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to stop the
ongoing waste by the Department of the Interior of taxpayer
resources and implement the final rule on excess spoil, mining
waste, and buffers for perennial and intermittent streams, and
for other purposes.
December 5, 2013--Hearing held on H.R. 916, To improve
Federal land management, resource conservation, environmental
protection, and use of Federal real property, by requiring the
Secretary of the Interior to develop a multipurpose cadastre of
Federal real property and identifying inaccurate, duplicate,
and out-of-date Federal land inventories, and for other
purposes; and H.R. 1604, To establish the National Geospatial
Technology Administration within the United States Geological
Survey to enhance the use of geospatial data, products,
technology, and services, to increase the economy and
efficiency of Federal geospatial activities, and for other
purposes.
II. OVERSIGHT ACTIVITIES OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND MINERAL
RESOURCES
A. Oversight Hearings
March 5, 2013--Oversight hearing on ``America's Offshore
Energy Resources: Creating Jobs, Securing America, and Lowering
Prices.''
March 14, 2013--Oversight hearing on ``America's Onshore
Energy Resources: Creating Jobs, Securing America, and Lowering
Prices.''
March 21, 2013--Oversight hearing on ``America's Mineral
Resources: Creating Mining and Manufacturing Jobs and Securing
America.''
April 25, 2013--Oversight hearing on U.S.-Mexico
Transboundary Hydrocarbon Agreement and Steps Needed for
Implementation.''
June 13, 2013--Oversight hearing on ``Mining in America:
The Administration's Use of Claim Maintenance Fees and Cleanup
of Abandoned Mine Lands.''
July 9, 2013--Oversight hearing on ``Mining in America:
Powder River Basin Coal Mining--the Benefits and Challenges''.
July 11, 2013--Oversight hearing on ``America's Helium
Supply: Options for Producing More Helium from Federal Lands.''
July 23, 2013--Oversight hearing on ``War on Jobs:
Examining the Operations of the Office of Surface Mining and
the Status of the Stream Buffer Zone Rule.''
October 10, 2013--Oversight hearing on ``EPA vs. American
Mining Jobs: The Obama Administration's Regulatory Assault on
the Economy.''
Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs
I. LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITIES
A. Legislative Hearings
March 21, 2013--Hearing held on H.R. 910, To reauthorize
the Sikes Act; and H.R. 1080, To amend the Sikes Act to promote
the use of cooperative agreements under such Act for land
management related to Department of Defense readiness
activities and to amend title 10, United States Code, to
facilitate interagency cooperation in conservation programs to
avoid or reduce adverse impacts on military readiness
activities.
April 25, 2013--Hearing held on H.R. 638, To amend the
National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 to
require that any new national wildlife refuge may not be
established except as expressly authorized by statute; H.R.
1300, To amend the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 to reauthorize
the volunteer programs and community partnerships for the
benefit of national wildlife refuges, and for other purposes;
and H.R. 1384, To provide for the issuance of a Wildlife Refuge
System Conservation Semipostal Stamp.
June 13, 2013--Hearing held on H.R. 553, to designate the
exclusive economic zone of the United States as the ``Ronald
Wilson Reagan Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States'';
H.R. 1308, To amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to
reduce predation on endangered Columbia River salmon and other
nonlisted species, and for other purposes; H.R. 1399, To
reauthorize the Hydrographic Services Improvement Act of 1998,
and for other purposes; H.R. 1425, To amend the Marine Debris
Act to better address severe marine debris events, and for
other purposes; H.R. 1491, To authorize the Administrator of
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to provide
certain funds to eligible entities for activities undertaken to
address the marine debris impacts of the March 2011 Tohoku
earthquake and subsequent tsunami, and for other purposes; and
H.R. 2219, To reauthorize the Integrated Coastal and Ocean
Observation System Act of 2009.
July 25, 2013--Hearing held on H.R. 358, To direct the
United States Fish and Wildlife Service, in coordination with
the Army Corps of Engineers, the National Park Service, and the
United States Geological Survey, to lead a multiagency effort
to slow the spread of Asian Carp in the Upper Mississippi and
Ohio River basins and tributaries, and for other purposes; H.R.
709, To authorize the Secretary of the Army to take actions to
manage the threat of Asian carp traveling up the Mississippi
River in the State of Minnesota, and for other purposes; H.R.
1818, To amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to
allow importation of polar bear trophies taken in sport hunts
in Canada before the date the polar bear was determined to be a
threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973;
H.R. 2158, To exempt from the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 the
expedited removal from the United States of certain snake
species, and for other purposes; and H.R. 2463, To amend the
Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act to facilitate the
establishment of additional or expanded public target ranges in
certain States.
August 2, 2013--Hearing held on H.R. 2208, To extend the
authorization of appropriations for allocation to carry out
approved wetlands conservation projects under the North
American Wetlands Conservation Act through fiscal year 2017;
H.R. 2798, To amend Public Law 106-206 to direct the Secretary
of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to require
annual permits and assess annual fees for commercial filming
activities on Federal land for film crews of 5 persons or
fewer; and H.R. 2799, To establish the Wildlife and Hunting
Heritage Conservation Council Advisory Committee to advise the
Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture on wildlife and
habitat conservation, hunting, recreational shooting, and for
other purposes.
II. OVERSIGHT ACTIVITIES OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON FISHERIES, WILDLIFE,
OCEANS AND INSULAR AFFAIRS
A. Oversight Hearings
April 18, 2013--Oversight hearing on the ``Spending for the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Council on
Environmental Quality, the Office of Insular Affairs, the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service and the President's Fiscal Year 2014
Budget Request for These Agencies.''
May 16, 2013--Oversight hearing on ``The 2008 Lacey Act
Amendments.''
May 21, 2013--Oversight hearing on ``Data Collection Issues
in Relation to the Reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Act.''
June 20, 2013--Oversight hearing on ``Why Does the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service Want to Expand the Boundaries of the
Chickasaw and Lower Hatchie National Wildlife Refuges in
Tennessee and at What Cost?''
July 17, 2013--Oversight hearing on ``Why Should Americans
Have to Comply with the Laws of Foreign Nations?''
September 20, 2013--Oversight hearing on the ``Department
of the Interior's Proposal to Use a Categorical Exclusion Under
the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for Adding Species
to the Lacey Act's List of Injurious Wildlife.''
Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs
I. LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITIES
A. Legislative Hearings
April 26, 2013--Hearing held on H.R. 1548, To facilitate
the development of energy on Indian lands by reducing Federal
regulations that impede tribal development of Indian lands, and
for other purposes.
May 16, 2013--Hearing held on H.R. 623, To provide for the
conveyance of certain property located in Anchorage, Alaska,
from the United States to the Alaska Native Tribal Health
Consortium; H.R. 740, To provide for the settlement of certain
claims under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, and for
other purposes; H.R. 841, To amend the Grand Ronde Reservation
Act to make technical corrections, and for other purposes; H.R.
931, To provide for the addition of certain real property to
the reservation of the Siletz Tribe in the State of Oregon;
H.R. 1306, To provide for the partial settlement of certain
claims under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act; and H.R.
1410, To prohibit gaming activities on certain Indian lands in
Arizona until the expiration of certain gaming compacts.
July 23, 2013--Hearing held on H.R. 1103, To amend the
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to provide that Alexander
Creek, Alaska, is and shall be recognized as an eligible Native
village under that Act, and for other purposes; H.R. 1225, To
direct the Secretary of the Interior to place certain lands in
Skagit and San Juan Counties, Washington, into trust for the
Samish Indian Nation, and for other purposes; H.R. 2319, To
clarify certain provisions of the Native American Veterans'
Memorial Establishment Act of 1994; H.R. 2388, To authorize the
Secretary of the Interior to take certain Federal lands located
in El Dorado County, California, into trust for the benefit of
the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, and for other
purposes; H.R. 2455, To provide for the sale or transfer of
certain Federal lands in Nevada, and for other purposes; and
H.R. 2650, To allow the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior
Chippewa in the State of Minnesota to lease or transfer certain
land.
II. OVERSIGHT ACTIVITIES OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON INDIAN AND ALASKA
NATIVE AFFAIRS
A. Oversight Hearings
March 19, 2013--Oversight hearing on ``Authorization,
standards, and procedures for whether, how, and when Indian
tribes should be newly recognized by the federal government:
Perspective of the Department of the Interior.''
June 18, 2013--Oversight hearing on ``Update from Tribal
Leaders and Tribal Telecommunications Providers on the
Implementation of the Federal Communications Commission's Rule
on the Universal Service Fund.''
September 19, 2013--Oversight hearing on ``Executive Branch
Standards for Land-in-Trust Decisions for Gaming Purposes.''
Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation
I. LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITIES
A. Legislative Hearings
March 14, 2013--Hearing held on H.R. 588, To provide for
donor contribution acknowledgments to be displayed at the
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Visitor Center, and for other
purposes; H.R. 716, To direct the Secretary of the Interior to
convey certain Federal land to the city of Vancouver,
Washington, and for other purposes; and H.R. 819, To authorize
pedestrian and motorized vehicular access in Cape Hatteras
National Seashore Recreational Area, and for other purposes.
March 19, 2013--Hearing held on H.R. 1126, To facilitate
the completion of an appropriate national memorial to Dwight D.
Eisenhower.
April 11, 2013--Hearing held on Draft Legislation, H.R. __,
``Restoring Healthy Forests for Healthy Communities Act'';
Draft Legislation, H.R. __, ``O&C Trust, Conservation, and Jobs
Act''; H.R. 818, To address the bark beetle epidemic, drought,
deteriorating forest health conditions, and high risk of
wildfires on National Forest System land and land under the
jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management in the United
States by expanding authorities established in the Healthy
Forest Restoration Act of 2003 to provide emergency measures
for high-risk areas identified by such States, to make
permanent Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management
authority to conduct good-neighbor cooperation with States to
reduce wildfire risks, and for other purposes; H.R. 1294, To
establish a program that will generate dependable economic
activity for counties and local governments containing National
Forest System land through a management-focused approach, and
for other purposes; H.R. 1345, To address the forest health,
public safety, and wildlife habitat threat presented by the
risk of wildfire, including catastrophic wildfire, on National
Forest System lands and public lands managed by the Bureau of
Land Management by requiring the Secretary of Agriculture and
the Secretary of the Interior to expedite forest management
projects relating to hazardous fuels reduction, forest health,
and economic development, and for other purposes; and H.R.
1442, To amend the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to
improve the response to insect infestations and related
diseases and to change the funding source for the Healthy
Forests Reserve Program, to codify the stewardship end result
contracting and good neighbor authorities, and to amend the
emergency watershed protection program to improve post fire
rehabilitation, and for other purposes.
April 12, 2013--Hearing held on H.R. 1208, To establish the
Manhattan Project National Historical Park in Oak Ridge,
Tennessee, Los Alamos, New Mexico, and Hanford, Washington, and
for other purposes.
April 16, 2013--Hearing held on H.R. 250, To amend the
Antiquities Act of 1906 to place additional requirements on the
establishment of national monuments under that Act, and for
other purposes; H.R. 382, To provide for State approval of
national monuments, and for other purposes; H.R. 432, To
prohibit the further extension or establishment of national
monuments in Nevada except by express authorization of
Congress; H.R 758, To prohibit the further extension or
establishment of national monuments in Utah except by express
authorization of Congress; H.R. 885, To expand the boundary of
San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, to conduct a
study of potential land acquisitions, and for other purposes;
H.R. 1434, To prohibit the further extension or establishment
of national monuments in Montana, except by express
authorization of Congress, and for other purposes; H.R. 1439,
To prohibit the further extension or establishment of national
monuments in Idaho, except by express authorization of
Congress; H.R. 1459, To ensure that the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 applies to the declaration of national
monuments, and for other purposes; and H.R. 1512, To prohibit
the further extension or establishment of national monuments in
New Mexico except by express authorization of Congress.
April 18, 2013--Hearing held on H.R. 657, To amend the
Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to improve the
management of grazing leases and permits, and for other
purposes; H.R. 696, To designate the Wovoka Wilderness and
provide for certain land conveyances in Lyon County, Nevada,
and for other purposes; H.R. 934, To amend the Wild and Scenic
Rivers Act related to a segment of the Lower Merced River in
California, and for other purposes and H.R. 993, To provide for
the conveyance of certain parcels of National Forest System
land to the city of Fruit Heights, Utah.
April 26, 2013--Hearing held on H.R. 1169, To direct the
Secretary of the Interior to transfer to the Secretary of the
Navy certain Federal land in Churchill County, Nevada; H.R.
1299, To provide for the transfer of certain public land
currently administered by the Bureau of Land Management to the
administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Army for
inclusion in White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, and for
other purposes; H.R. 1574, To amend the Dayton Aviation
Heritage Preservation Act of 1992 to rename a site of the park;
H.R. 1672, To withdraw and reserve certain public lands
administered by the Bureau of Land Management for exclusive
military use as part of the Limestone Hills Training Area,
Montana, and for other purposes; H.R. 1673, To provide for the
transfer of certain public land currently administered by the
Bureau of Land Management to the administrative jurisdiction of
the Secretary of the Navy for inclusion in Naval Air Weapons
Station China Lake, California, and for other purposes; H.R.
1676, To designate the Johnson Valley National Off-Highway
Vehicle Recreation Area in San Bernardino County, California,
to authorize limited military use of the area, to provide for
the transfer of the Southern Study Area to the administrative
jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Navy for inclusion in the
Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, and by
recreational users, and for other purposes; and H.R. 1691, To
provide for the transfer of certain public land currently
administered by the Bureau of Land Management to the
administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Navy for
inclusion in the Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range,
California, and for other purposes.
May 9, 2013--Hearing held on H.R. 586, To provide for
certain improvements to the Denali National Park and Preserve
in the State of Alaska, and for other purposes; H.R. 995, To
establish a monument in Dona Ana County, New Mexico, and for
other purposes; H.R. 1411, To include the Point Arena-Stornetta
Public Lands in the California Coastal National Monument as a
part of the National Landscape Conservation System, and for
other purposes; and H.R. 1825, To direct Federal public land
management officials to exercise their authority under existing
law to facilitate use of and access to Federal public lands for
fishing, sport hunting, and recreational shooting, and for
other purposes.
June 6, 2013--Hearing held on H.R. 412, To amend the Wild
and Scenic Rivers Act to designate segments of the mainstem of
the Nashua River and its tributaries in the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts for study for potential addition to the National
Wild and Scenic Rivers System, and for other purposes; H.R.
585, To provide for the unencumbering of title to non-Federal
land owned by the city of Anchorage, Alaska, for purposes of
economic development by conveyance of the Federal reversion
interest to the City; H.R. 664, To establish the Harriet Tubman
National Historical Park in Auburn, New York, and the Harriet
Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park in
Caroline, Dorchester, and Talbot Counties, Maryland, and for
other purposes; H.R. 1495, To prohibit the further extension or
establishment of national monuments in Arizona except by
express authorization of Congress; H.R. 1497, To amend title
36, United States Code, to ensure that memorials commemorating
the service of the United States Armed Forces may contain
religious symbols, and for other purposes; H.R. 1513, To revise
the boundaries of the Gettysburg National Military Park to
include the Gettysburg Train Station and certain land along
Plum Run in Cumberland Township, to limit the means by which
property within such revised boundaries may be acquired, and
for other purposes; H.R. 2166, To direct the Secretary of the
Interior and Secretary of Agriculture to expedite access to
certain Federal lands under the administrative jurisdiction of
each Secretary for good Samaritan search-and-recovery missions,
and for other purposes; and H.R. 2192, To amend the Act
popularly known as the Antiquities Act of 1906 to require
certain procedures for designating national monuments, and for
other purposes.
July 19, 2013--Hearing held on H.R. 587, To authorize the
establishment of the Niblack and Bokan Mountain mining area
road corridors in the State of Alaska, and for other purposes;
H.R. 1168, To direct the Secretary of the Interior, acting
through the Bureau of Land Management, to convey to the City of
Carlin, Nevada, in exchange for consideration, all right,
title, and interest of the United States, to any Federal land
within that city that is under the jurisdiction of that agency,
and for other purposes; H.R. 1170, To direct the Secretary of
the Interior, acting through the Bureau of Land Management and
the Bureau of Reclamation, to convey, by quitclaim deed, to the
City of Fernley, Nevada, all right, title, and interest of the
United States, to any Federal land within that city that is
under the jurisdiction of either of those agencies; H.R. 1684,
To convey certain property to the State of Wyoming to
consolidate the historic Ranch A, and for other purposes; H.R.
2068, To reauthorize the Federal Land Transaction Facilitation
Act, and for other purposes; H.R. 2095, To prohibit an increase
in the lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management
until a centralized database of all lands identified as
suitable for disposal by Resource Management Plans for lands
under the administrative jurisdiction of the Bureau is easily
accessible to the public on a website of the Bureau; H.R. 2337,
To provide for the conveyance of the Forest Service Lake Hill
Administrative Site in Summit County, Colorado; H.R. 2395, To
provide for donor contribution acknowledgments to be displayed
at projects authorized under the Commemorative Works Act, and
for other purposes; S. 130, A bill to require the Secretary of
the Interior to convey certain Federal land to the Powell
Recreation District in the State of Wyoming; S. 304, A bill to
direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey to the State of
Mississippi 2 parcels of surplus land within the boundary of
the Natchez Trace Parkway, and for other purposes; and S. 459,
A bill to modify the boundary of the Minuteman Missile National
Historic Site in the State of South Dakota, and for other
purposes.
July 23, 2013--Hearing held on H.R. 163, To designate as
wilderness certain land and inland water within the Sleeping
Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in the State of Michigan, and for
other purposes; H.R. 361, To expand the Alpine Lakes Wilderness
in the State of Washington, to designate the Middle Fork
Snoqualmie River and Pratt River as wild and scenic rivers, and
for other purposes; H.R. 433, To designate the Pine Forest
Range Wilderness area in Humboldt County, Nevada; H.R. 706, To
establish the Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park,
to dedicate the Park to John H. Chafee, and for other purposes;
H.R. 908, To preserve the Green Mountain Lookout in the Glacier
Peak Wilderness of the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest;
H.R. 930, To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct
a special resource study of the archeological site and
surrounding land of the New Philadelphia town site in the State
of Illinois, and for other purposes; H.R. 1025, To designate
the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Conservation Area in the
State of California, and for other purposes; and H.R. 1808, To
designate certain Federal lands within the Cross Island
National Wildlife Refuge and the Petit Manan National Wildlife
Refuge, part of the Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife
Refuge Complex, in Lincoln County, Hancock County, and
Washington County, Maine, as wilderness.
October 3, 2013--Hearing held on H.R. 298, To direct the
Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study
to evaluate the significance of the Mill Springs Battlefield
located in Pulaski and Wayne Counties, Kentucky, and the
feasibility of its inclusion in the National Park System, and
for other purposes; H.R. 1167, To quitclaim surface rights to
certain Federal land under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of
Land Management in Virginia City, Nevada, to Storey County,
Nevada, to resolve conflicting ownership and title claims, and
for other purposes; H.R. 1259, To establish Coltsville National
Historical Park in the State of Connecticut, and for other
purposes; H.R. 1633, To provide for the conveyance of small
parcels of National Forest System land and small parcels of
public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management to
private landowners, State, county, and local governments, or
Indian tribes whose lands share a boundary with the National
Forest System land or public lands, and for other purposes;
H.R. 1846, To amend the Act establishing the Lower East Side
Tenement National Historic Site, and for other purposes; H.R.
2015, To provide for certain land conveyances in the State of
Nevada, and for other purposes; H.R. 2259, To withdraw certain
Federal land and interests in that land from location, entry,
and patent under the mining laws and disposition under the
mineral and geothermal leasing laws and to preserve existing
uses; H.R. 2657, To direct the Secretary of the Interior to
sell certain Federal lands in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho,
Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and
Wyoming, previously identified as suitable for disposal, and
for other purposes; H.R. 2954, To authorize Escambia County,
Florida, to convey certain property that was formerly part of
Santa Rosa Island National Monument and that was conveyed to
Escambia County subject to restrictions on use and
reconveyance; and H.R. 3188, To expedite the planning and
implementation of salvage timber sales as part of Forest
Service and Department of the Interior restoration and
rehabilitation activities for lands within the Stanislaus
National Forest and Yosemite National park and Bureau of Land
management lands adversely impacted by the 2013 Rim Fire in
California.
November 21, 2013--Hearing held on H.R. 915, To authorize
the Peace Corps Commemorative Foundation to establish a
commemorative work in the District of Columbia and its
environs, and for other purposes; H.R. 3286, To direct the
Secretary of the Treasury to reimburse States that use State
funds to operate National Parks during the Federal Government
shutdown, and for other purposes; H.R. 3294, To establish a
streamlined process through which a State may claim authority
over and responsibility for management of Federal lands located
in the State without claiming ownership of the land, and for
other purposes; H.R. 3311, To direct the Secretary of the
Interior to enter into agreements with States to allow
continued operation of facilities and programs that have been
determined to have a direct economic impact on tourism, mining,
timber, or general transportation in the State and which would
otherwise cease operating, in whole or in part, during a
Federal Government shutdown that is the result of a lapse in
appropriations, and for other purposes; and H.R. 3492, To
provide for the use of hand-propelled vessels in Yellowstone
National Park, Grand Teton National Park, and the National Elk
Refuge, and for other purposes.
II. OVERSIGHT ACTIVITIES OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON PUBLIC LANDS AND
ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION
A. Oversight Hearings
February 26, 2013--Oversight hearing on ``State Forest
Management: A Model for Promoting Healthy Forests, Rural
Schools and Jobs.''
May 7, 2013--Oversight hearing on ``Impediments to Public
Recreation on Public Lands.''
May 16, 2013--Oversight hearing on ``Invasive Species
Management on Federal Lands.''
May 21, 2013--Oversight hearing on ``Perspectives on the
Management of Federal and State Land: Testimony by Governor
Gary Herbert (R-UT), Chairman of the Western Governors'
Association.''
June 18, 2013--Oversight hearing on ``Citizen and Agency
Perspectives on the Federal Land Recreation Enhancement Act.''
June 27, 2013--Oversight hearing on ``Outdoor Recreation
Opportunities on State, Local and Federal Lands.''
July 9, 2013--Oversight hearing on ``Public Impact of
Closing Amenities at Yosemite National Park.''
July 11, 2013--Oversight hearing on ``Wildfire and Forest
Management.''
August 2, 2013--Joint oversight hearing with the Committee
on Oversight and Government Reform, Subcommittee on National
Security on ``Missing Weapons at the National Park Service:
Mismanagement and Lack of Accountability.''
September 10, 2013--Oversight hearing on ``School Trust
Lands Ownership within Federal Conservation Areas.''
October 29, 2013--Oversight hearing on ``Threats,
Intimidation and Bullying by Federal Land Managing Agencies.''
Subcommittee on Water and Power
I. LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITIES
A. Legislative Hearings
March 5, 2013--Hearing held on H.R. 254, To authorize the
Secretary of the Interior to facilitate the development of
hydroelectric power on the Diamond Fork System of the Central
Utah Project; and H.R. 678, To authorize all Bureau of
Reclamation conduit facilities for hydropower development under
Federal Reclamation law, and for other purposes.
May 23, 2013--Hearing held on H.R. 255, To amend certain
definitions contained in the Provo River Project Transfer Act
for purposes of clarifying certain property descriptions, and
for other purposes; H.R. 745, To reauthorize the Water
Desalination Act of 1996; and H.R. 1963, To amend the Water
Conservation and Utilization Act to authorize the development
of non-Federal hydropower and issuance of leases of power
privileges at projects constructed pursuant to the authority of
the Water Conservation and Utilization Act, and for other
purposes.
October 10, 2013--Hearing held on H.R. 3176, To reauthorize
the Reclamation States Emergency Drought Relief Act of 1991,
and for other purposes; and H.R. 3189, To prohibit the
conditioning of any permit, lease, or other use agreement on
the transfer, relinquishment, or other impairment of any water
right to the United States by the Secretaries of the Interior
and Agriculture.
II. OVERSIGHT ACTIVITIES OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON WATER AND POWER
A. Oversight Hearings
April 16, 2013--Oversight hearing on ``Examining the
Proposed Fiscal Year 2014 Spending, Priorities and the Missions
of the Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Geological Survey's
Water Resources Program and the Four Power Marketing
Administrations.''
April 25, 2013--Oversight hearing on ``Federal Impediments
to Water Rights, Job Creation and Recreation: A Local
Perspective.''
June 26, 2013--Oversight hearing on ``The Power Marketing
Administrations: A Ratepayer Perspective.''
July 17, 2013--Oversight hearing on ``A Washington, DC-
Based Bureaucratic Invention with Potential Water Conservation
and Property Rights Impacts: The National Blueways Order.''
July 29, 2013--Oversight field hearing in West Plains,
Missouri, on ``Stopping Federal Land and Water Grabs:
Protecting Property Rights from Washington, DC Edicts.''
September 19, 2013--Oversight hearing on ``Keeping
Hydropower Affordable and Reliable: The Protection of Existing
Hydropower Investments and the Promotion of New Development.''
October 29, 2013--Oversight hearing on ``A Roadmap for
Increasing our Water and Hydropower Supplies: The Need for New
and Expanded Multi-Purpose Surface Storage Facilities.''
APPENDIX I
Printed Hearings
113-1--Oversight Hearing on ``The Past, Present and Future
of the Federal Helium Program''; and Legislative Hearing on
H.R. 527, To complete the privatization of the Federal helium
reserve in a competitive market fashion that ensures stability
in the helium markets while protecting the interests of the
American taxpayer, and for other purposes. February 14, 2013,
Washington, D.C. (Full Committee)
113-2--Oversight Hearing on ``State Forest Management: A
Model for Promoting Healthy Forests, Rural Schools and Jobs.''
February 26, 2013, Washington, D.C. (Subcommittee on Public
Lands and Environmental Regulation)
113-3--Oversight Hearing on the Reauthorization of the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. March
13, 2013, Washington, D.C. (Full Committee)
113-4--Legislative Hearing on H.R. 588, To provide for
donor contribution acknowledgments to be displayed at the
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Visitor Center, and for other
purposes; H.R. 716, To direct the Secretary of the Interior to
convey certain Federal land to the City of Vancouver,
Washington, and for other purposes; and H.R. 819, To authorize
pedestrian and motorized vehicular access in Cape Hatteras
National Seashore Recreational Area, and for other purposes.
March 14, 2013, Washington, D.C. (Subcommittee on Public Lands
and Environmental Regulation)
113-5--Oversight Hearing on ``Authorization, Standards, and
Procedures for Whether, How, and When Indian Tribes Should Be
Newly Recognized by the Federal Government: Perspective of the
Department of the Interior.'' March 19, 2013, Washington, D.C.
(Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs)
113-6--Legislative Hearing on H.R. 1126, To facilitate the
completion of an appropriate national memorial to Dwight D.
Eisenhower. March 19, 2013, Washington, D.C. (Subcommittee on
Public Lands and Environmental Regulation)
113-7--Oversight Hearing on ``America's Mineral Resources:
Creating Mining and Manufacturing Jobs and Securing America'';
and Legislative Hearing on H.R. 687, To facilitate the
efficient extraction of mineral resources in southeast Arizona
by authorizing and directing an exchange of Federal and non-
Federal land, and for other purposes; H.R. 697, To provide for
the conveyance of certain Federal land in Clark County, Nevada,
for the environmental remediation and reclamation of the Three
Kids Mine Project Site, and for other purposes; H.R. 761, To
require the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of
Agriculture to more efficiently develop domestic sources of the
minerals and mineral materials of strategic and critical
importance to United States economic and national security and
manufacturing competitiveness; H.R. 767, To amend the Energy
Policy Act of 2005 to modify the Pilot Project offices of the
Federal Permit Streamlining Pilot Project; H.R. 957, To reduce
temporarily the royalty required to be paid for sodium produced
on Federal lands, and for other purposes; H.R. 981, To direct
the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a global rare earth
element assessment, and for other purposes; and H.R. 1063, To
require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct an assessment
of the capability of the Nation to meet our current and future
demands for the minerals critical to United States
manufacturing and agricultural competitiveness and economic and
national security in a time of expanding resource nationalism,
and for other purposes. March 21, 2013, Washington, D.C.
(Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources)
113-8--Legislative Hearing on H.R. 910, To reauthorize the
Sikes Act; and H.R. 1080, To amend the Sikes Act to promote the
use of cooperative agreements under such an Act for land
management related to Department of Defense readiness
activities and to amend title 10, United States Code, to
facilitate inter-agency cooperation in conservation programs to
avoid or reduce adverse impacts on military readiness
activities. March 21, 2013, Washington, D.C. (Subcommittee on
Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs)
113-9--Legislative Hearing on Draft Proposal H.R. __,
``Restoring Healthy Forests for Healthy Communities Act'';
Draft Legislation, H.R. __, ``O&C Trust, Conservation, and Jobs
Act''; H.R. 818, To address the bark beetle epidemic, drought,
deteriorating forest health conditions, and high risk of
wildfires on National Forest System land and land under the
jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management in the United
States by expanding authorities established in the Healthy
Forest Restoration Act of 2003 to provide emergency measures
for high-risk areas identified by such States, to make
permanent Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management
authority to conduct good-neighbor cooperation with States to
reduce wildfire risks, and for other purposes; H.R. 1294, To
establish a program that will generate dependable economic
activity for counties and local governments containing National
Forest System land through a management-focused approach, and
for other purposes; H.R. 1345, To address the forest health,
public safety, and wildlife habitat threat presented by the
risk of wildfire, including catastrophic wildfire, on National
Forest System lands and public lands managed by the Bureau of
Land Management by requiring the Secretary of Agriculture and
the Secretary of the Interior to expedite forest management
projects relating to hazardous fuels reduction, forest health,
and economic development, and for other purposes; and H.R.
1442, To amend the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to
improve the response to insect infestations and related
diseases and to change the funding source for the Healthy
Forests Reserve Program, to codify the stewardship end result
contracting and good neighbor authorities, and to amend the
emergency watershed protection program to improve post fire
rehabilitation, and for other purposes. April 11, 2013,
Washington, D.C. (Subcommittee on Public Lands and
Environmental Regulation)
113-10--Legislative Hearing on H.R. 1208, To establish the
Manhattan Project National Historical Park in Oak Ridge,
Tennessee, Los Alamos, New Mexico, and Hanford, Washington, and
for other purposes. April 12, 2013, Washington, D.C.
(Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation)
113-11--Legislative Hearing on H.R. 250, To amend the
Antiquities Act of 1906 to place additional requirements on the
establishment of national monuments under that Act, and for
other purposes; H.R. 382, To provide for State approval of
national monuments, and for other purposes; H.R. 432, To
prohibit the further extension or establishment of national
monuments in Nevada except by express authorization of
Congress; H.R. 758, To prohibit the further extension or
establishment of national monuments in Utah except by express
authorization of Congress; H.R. 885, To expand the boundary of
San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, to conduct a
study of potential land acquisitions, and for other purposes;
H.R. 1434, To prohibit the further extension or establishment
of national monuments in Montana, except by express
authorization of Congress, and for other purposes; H.R. 1439,
To prohibit the further extension or establishment of national
monuments in Idaho, except by express authorization of
Congress; H.R. 1459, To ensure that the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 applies to the declaration of national
monuments, and for other purposes; and H.R. 1512, To prohibit
the further extension or establishment of national monuments in
New Mexico except by express authorization of Congress. April
16, 2013, Washington, D.C. (Subcommittee on Public Lands and
Environmental Regulation)
113-12--Oversight Hearing on ``Federal Impediments to Water
Rights, Job Creation and Recreation: A Local Perspective.''
April 25, 2013, Washington, D.C. (Subcommittee on Water and
Power)
113-13--Oversight Hearing on ``U.S.-Mexico Transboundary
Hydrocarbon Agreement and Steps Needed for Implementation'';
and Legislative Hearing on H.R. 1613, To amend the Outer
Continental Shelf Lands Act to provide for the proper Federal
management and oversight of transboundary hydrocarbon
reservoirs, and for other purposes. April 25, 2013, Washington,
D.C. (Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources)
113-14--Oversight Hearing on ``Impediments to Public
Recreation on Public Lands.'' May 7, 2013, Washington, D.C.
(Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation)
113-15--Legislative Hearing on H.R. 586, To provide for
certain improvements to the Denali National Park and Preserve
in the State of Alaska, and for other purposes; H.R. 995, To
establish a monument in Dona Ana County, New Mexico, and for
other purposes; H.R. 1411, To include the Point Arena-Stornetta
Public Lands in the California Coastal National Monument as a
part of the National Landscape Conservation System, and for
other purposes; and H.R. 1825, To direct Federal public land
management officials to exercise their authority under existing
law to facilitate use of and access to Federal public lands for
fishing, sport hunting, and recreational shooting, and for
other purposes. May 9, 2013, Washington, D.C. (Subcommittee on
Public Lands and Environmental Regulation)
113-16--Oversight Hearings on ``The 2008 Lacey Act
Amendments.'' May 16, 2013 (Part 1); and ``Why Should Americans
Have to Comply with the Laws of Foreign Nations''. July 17,
2013 (Part 2), Washington, D.C. (Subcommittee on Fisheries,
Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs)
113-17--Legislative Hearing on H.R. 623, To provide for the
conveyance of certain property located in Anchorage, Alaska,
from the United States to the Alaska Native Tribal Health
Consortium; H.R. 740, To provide for the settlement of certain
claims under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, and for
other purposes; H.R. 841, To amend the Grand Ronde Reservation
Act to make technical corrections, and for other purposes; H.R.
931, To provide for the addition of certain real property to
the reservation of the Siletz Tribe in the State of Oregon;
H.R. 1306, To provide for the partial settlement of certain
claims under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act; and H.R.
1410, To prohibit gaming activities on certain Indian lands in
Arizona until the expiration of certain gaming compacts. May
16, 2013, Washington, D.C. (Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska
Native Affairs)
113-18--Oversight Hearing on ``Invasive Species Management
on Federal Lands.'' May 16, 2013, Washington, D.C.
(Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation)
113-19--Oversight Hearing on ``Perspectives on the
Management of Federal and State Land: Testimony by Governor
Gary Herbert (R-UT), Chairman of the Western Governors'
Association.'' May 21, 2013, Washington, D.C. (Subcommittee on
Public Lands and Environmental Regulation)
113-20--Oversight Hearing on ``Data Collection Issues in
Relation to the Reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act.'' May 21, 2013, Washington,
D.C. (Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular
Affairs)
113-21--Legislative Hearing on H.R. 555, To amend the
Mineral Leasing Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior
to conduct onshore oil and gas lease sales through Internet-
based live lease sales, and for other purposes; H.R. 1394, To
direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish goals for an
all-of-the-above energy production plan strategy on a 4-year
basis on all onshore Federal lands managed by the Department of
the Interior and the Forest Service; H.R. 1964, To amend the
Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976 to direct the
Secretary of the Interior to conduct an expeditious program of
competitive leasing of oil and gas in the National Petroleum
Reserve in Alaska, including at least one lease sale in the
Reserve each year in the period 2013 through 2023, and for
other purposes; and H.R. 1965, To streamline and ensure onshore
energy permitting, provide for onshore leasing certainty, and
give certainty to oil shale development for American energy
security, economic development, and job creation, and for other
purposes. May 22, 2013, Washington, D.C. (Subcommittee on
Energy and Mineral Resources)
113-22--Oversight Hearing on ``Defining Species
Conservation Success: Tribal, State and Local Stewardship vs.
Federal Courtroom Battles and Sue-and-Settle Practices.'' June
4, 2013, Washington, D.C. (Full Committee)
113-23--Legislative Hearings on H.R. 2231, To amend the
Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to increase energy
exploration and production on the Outer Continental Shelf,
provide for equitable revenue sharing for all coastal States,
implement the reorganization of the functions of the former
Minerals Management Service into distinct and separate
agencies, and for other purposes. June 6, 2013 (Part 1) and
June 11, 2013 (Part 2), Washington, D.C. (Subcommittee on
Energy and Mineral Resources).
113-24--Oversight Hearing on ``Citizen and Agency
Perspectives on the Federal Land Recreation Enhancement Act.''
June 18, 2013, Washington, D.C. (Subcommittee on Public Lands
and Environmental Regulation)
113-25--Oversight Hearing on ``Why Does the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service Want to Expand the Boundaries of the Chickasaw
and Lower Hatchie National Wildlife Refuges in Tennessee and at
What Cost?'' June 20, 2013, Washington, D.C. (Subcommittee on
Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs)
113-26--Oversight Hearing on ``The Power Marketing
Administrations: A Ratepayer Perspective.'' June 26, 2013,
Washington, D.C. (Subcommittee on Water and Power)
113-27--Oversight Hearing on ``The Management of Red
Snapper in the Gulf of Mexico Under the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Act.'' June 27, 2013,
Washington, D.C. (Full Committee)
113-28--Oversight Hearing on ``Outdoor Recreation
Opportunities on State, Local and Federal Lands.'' June 27,
2013, Washington, D.C. (Subcommittee on Public Lands and
Environmental Regulation)
113-29--Oversight Hearing on ``Mining in America: Powder
River Basin Coal Mining--The Benefits and Challenges.'' July 9,
2013, Washington, D.C. (Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral
Resources)
113-30--Oversight Hearing on the ``Public Impact of Closing
Amenities at Yosemite National Park.'' July 9, 2013,
Washington, D.C. (Subcommittee on Public Lands and
Environmental Regulation)
113-31--Oversight Hearing on ``America's Helium Supply:
Options for Producing more Helium from Federal Lands.'' July
11, 2013, Washington, D.C. (Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral
Resources)
113-32--Oversight Hearing on ``Wildfire and Forest
Management.'' July 11, 2013, Washington, D.C. (Subcommittee on
Public Lands and Environmental Regulation)
113-33--Oversight Hearing on ``The Department of the
Interior Operations, Management, and Rulemakings.'' July 17,
2013, Washington, D.C. (Full Committee)
113-34--Oversight Hearing on ``A Washington, DC-Based
Bureaucratic Invention with Potential Water Conservation and
Property Rights Impacts: The National Blueways Order.'' July
17, 2013, Washington, D.C. (Subcommittee on Water and Power)
113-35--Oversight Hearing on ``War on Jobs: Examining the
Operations of the Office of Surface Mining and the Status of
the Stream Buffer Zone Rule.'' July 23, 2013, Washington, D.C.
(Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources)
113-36--Legislative Hearing on H.R. __ (Flores), A bill to
recognize States' authority to regulate oil and gas operations
and promote American energy security, development, and job
creation (``Protecting States' Rights to Promote American
Energy Security Act''). July 25, 2013, Washington, D.C.
(Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources)
113-37--Oversight Hearing on ``Transparency and Sound
Science Gone Extinct?: The Impacts of the Obama
Administration's Closed-Door Settlements on Endangered Species
and People.'' August 1, 2013, Washington, D.C. (Full Committee)
113-38--Legislative Hearing on H.R. 2824, To amend the
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to stop the
ongoing waste by the Department of the Interior of taxpayer
resources and implement the final rule on excess spoil, mining
waste, and buffers for perennial and intermittent streams, and
for other purposes. August 2, 2013, Washington, D.C.
(Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources)
113-39--Joint Oversight Hearing with the Committee on
Oversight and Government Reform on ``Missing Weapons at the
National Park Service: Mismanagement and Lack of
Accountability.'' August 2, 2013, Washington, D.C. (Joint with
the Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands and
Environmental Regulation and Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform, Subcommittee on National Security)
113-40--Oversight Hearing on ``School Trust Lands Ownership
Within Federal Conservation Areas.'' September 10, 2013,
Washington, D.C. (Subcommittee on Public Lands and
Environmental Regulation)
113-41--Oversight Hearing on the Reauthorization of the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.
September 11, 2013, Washington, D.C. (Full Committee)
113-42--Oversight Hearing on ``Executive Branch Standards
for Land-in-trust Decisions for Gaming Purposes.'' September
19, 2013, Washington, D.C. (Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska
Native Affairs)
113-43--Oversight Hearing on ``Keeping Hydropower
Affordable and Reliable: The Protection of Existing Hydropower
Investments and the Promotion of New Development.'' September
19, 2013, Washington, D.C. (Subcommittee on Water and Power)
113-44--Oversight Hearing on the Department of the
Interior's Proposal to Use a Categorical Exclusion under the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for Adding Species to
the Lacey Act's List of Injurious Wildlife. September 20, 2013,
Washington, D.C. (Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans
and Insular Affairs)
113-45--Legislative Hearing on H.R. 298, To direct the
Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study
to evaluate the significance of the Mill Springs Battlefield
located in Pulaski and Wayne Counties, Kentucky, and the
feasibility of its inclusion in the National Park System, and
for other purposes; H.R. 1167, To quitclaim surface rights to
certain Federal land under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of
Land Management in Virginia City, Nevada, to Storey County,
Nevada, to resolve conflicting ownership and title claims, and
for other purposes; H.R. 1259, To establish Coltsville National
Historical Park in the State of Connecticut, and for other
purposes; H.R. 1633, To provide for the conveyance of small
parcels of National Forest System land and small parcels of
public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management to
private landowners, State, county, and local governments, or
Indian tribes whose lands share a boundary with the National
Forest System land or public lands, and for other purposes;
H.R. 1846, To amend the Act establishing the Lower East Side
Tenement National Historic Site, and for other purposes; H.R.
2015, To provide for certain land conveyances in the State of
Nevada, and for other purposes; H.R. 2259, To withdraw certain
Federal land and interests in that land from location, entry,
and patent under the mining laws and disposition under the
mineral and geothermal leasing laws and to preserve existing
uses; H.R. 2657, To direct the Secretary of the Interior to
sell certain Federal lands in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho,
Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and
Wyoming, previously identified as suitable for disposal, and
for other purposes; H.R. 2954, To authorize Escambia County,
Florida, to convey certain property that was formerly part of
Santa Rosa Island National Monument and that was conveyed to
Escambia County subject to restrictions on use and
reconveyance; and H.R. 3188, To expedite the planning and
implementation of salvage timber sales as part of Forest
Service and Department of the Interior restoration and
rehabilitation activities for lands within the Stanislaus
National Forest and Yosemite National Park and Bureau of Land
management lands adversely impacted by the 2013 Rim Fire in
California. October 3, 2013, Washington, D.C. (Subcommittee on
Public Lands and Environmental Regulation)
113-46--Legislative Hearing on H.R. 3176, To reauthorize
the Reclamation States Emergency Drought Relief Act of 1991,
and for other purposes; and H.R. 3189, To prohibit the
conditioning of any permit, lease, or other use agreement on
the transfer, relinquishment, or other impairment of any water
right to the United States by the Secretaries of the Interior
and Agriculture. October 10, 2013, Washington, D.C.
(Subcommittee on Water and Power)
113-47--Oversight Hearing on ``EPA vs. American Mining
Jobs: The Obama Administration's Regulatory Assault on the
Economy.'' October 10, 2013, Washington, D.C. (Subcommittee on
Energy and Mineral Resources)
113-48--Joint Oversight Hearing with the Committee on
Oversight and Government Reform on ``As Difficult As Possible:
The National Park Service's Implementation of the Government
Shutdown.'' October 16, 2013, Washington, D.C. (Joint with the
Committee on Natural Resources and the Committee on Oversight
and Government Reform)
113-49--Oversight Field Hearings in Casper, Wyoming (Part
1) and Billings, Montana (Part 2), on ``State and Local Efforts
to Protect Species, Jobs, Property, and Multiple Use Amidst a
New War on the West.'' September 4, 2013, Casper, Wyoming and
Billings, Montana. (Full Committee)
113-50--Oversight Hearing on ``Threats, Intimidation and
Bullying by Federal Land Managing Agencies.'' October 29, 2013,
Washington, D.C. (Subcommittee on Public Lands and
Environmental Regulation)
113-51--Oversight Hearing on ``A Roadmap for Increasing Our
Water and Hydropower Supplies: The Need for New and Expanded
Multi-Purpose Surface Storage Facilities.'' October 29, 2013,
Washington, D.C. (Subcommittee on Water and Power)
113-52--Legislative Hearing on H.R. 915, To authorize the
Peace Corps Commemorative Foundation to establish a
commemorative work in the District of Columbia and its
environs, and for other purposes; H.R. 3286, To direct the
Secretary of the Treasury to reimburse States that use State
funds to operate National Parks during the Federal Government
shutdown, and for other purposes; H.R. 3294, To establish a
streamlined process through which a State may claim authority
over and responsibility for management of Federal lands located
in the State without claiming ownership of the land, and for
other purposes; H.R. 3311, To direct the Secretary of the
Interior to enter into agreements with States to allow
continued operation of facilities and programs that have been
determined to have a direct economic impact on tourism, mining,
timber, or general transportation in the State and which would
otherwise cease operating, in whole or in part, during a
Federal Government shutdown that is the result of a lapse in
appropriations, and for other purposes; and H.R. 3492, To
provide for the use of hand-propelled vessels in Yellowstone
National Park, Grand Teton National Park, and the National Elk
Refuge, and for other purposes. November 21, 2013, Washington,
D.C. (Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental
Regulation)
113-53--Legislative Hearing on H.R. 916, To improve Federal
land management, resource conservation, environmental
protection, and use of Federal real property, by requiring the
Secretary of the Interior to develop a multipurpose cadastre of
Federal real property and identifying inaccurate, duplicate,
and out-of-date Federal land inventories, and for other
purposes; and H.R. 1604, To establish the National Geospatial
Technology Administration within the United States Geological
Survey to enhance the use of geospatial data, products,
technology, and services, to increase the economy and
efficiency of Federal geospatial activities, and for other
purposes. December 5, 2013, Washington, D.C. (Subcommittee on
Energy and Mineral Resources)
APPENDIX II
Legislation Passed House
BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS PASSED HOUSE (BY DATE)
[Asterisk (*) denotes bills that the Committee on Natural
Resources was not the lead Committee]
04/09/2013--H.R. 254, To authorize the Secretary of the
Interior to facilitate the development of hydroelectric power
on the Diamond Fork System of the Central Utah Project. Passed
House by vote of 400-4. (Public Law 113-20)
04/09/2013--H.R. 1033, To authorize the acquisition and
protection of nationally significant battlefields and
associated sites of the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812
under the American Battlefield Protection Program. Passed House
by vote of 283-122.
04/10/2013--H.R. 678, To authorize all Bureau of
Reclamation conduit facilities for hydropower development under
Federal Reclamation law, and for other purposes. Passed House,
as amended, by vote of 416-7. (Public Law 113-24)
04/26/2013--H.R. 527, To amend the Helium Act to complete
the privatization of the Federal helium reserve in a
competitive market fashion that ensures stability in the helium
markets while protecting the interests of American taxpayers,
and for other purposes. Passed House, as amended, by vote of
394-1. (Public Law 113-40)
05/06/2013--H.R. 291, To provide for the conveyance of
certain cemeteries that are located on National Forest System
land in Black Hills National Forest, South Dakota. Passed House
by vote of 390-2.
05/06/2013--H.R. 507, To provide for the conveyance of
certain land inholdings owned by the United States to the
Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona, and for other purposes. Passed
House by vote of 401-2.
05/06/2013--H.R. 588, To provide for donor contribution
acknowledgments to be displayed at the Vietnam Veterans
Memorial Visitor Center, and for other purposes. Passed House
by vote of 398-2. (Public Law 113-21)
05/15/2013--H.R. 356, To clarify authority granted under
the Act entitled ``An Act to define the exterior boundary of
the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation in the State of Utah,
and for other purposes''. Passed House by voice vote.
05/15/2013--H.R. 573, To amend Public Law 93-435 with
respect to the Northern Mariana Islands, providing parity with
Guam, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa. Passed House by
voice vote.
05/15/2013--H.R. 767, To amend the Energy Policy Act of
2005 to modify the Pilot Project offices of the Federal Permit
Streamlining Pilot Project. Passed House, as amended, by vote
of 415-1.
05/16/2013--H.R. 45*, To repeal the Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act and health care-related provisions in the
Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010. Passed
House, as amended, by vote of 229-195.
05/22/2013--H.R. 3*, To approve the construction,
operation, and maintenance of the Keystone XL pipeline, and for
other purposes. Passed House, as amended, by vote of 241-175.
06/03/2013--H.R. 126, To direct the Secretary of the
Interior to enter into an agreement to provide for management
of the free-roaming wild horses in and around the Currituck
National Wildlife Refuge. Passed House by voice vote.
06/03/2013--H.R. 885, To expand the boundary of the San
Antonio Missions National Historical Park, and for other
purposes. Passed House, as amended, by voice vote.
06/03/2013--H.R. 1206, To grant the Secretary of the
Interior permanent authority to authorize States to issue
electronic duck stamps, and for other purposes. Passed House,
vote of 401-0.
06/11/2013--H.R. 251, To direct the Secretary of the
Interior to convey certain Federal features of the electric
distribution system to the South Utah Valley Electric Service
District, and for other purposes. Passed House by vote of 404-
0. (Public Law 113-19)
06/11/2013--H.R. 723, To amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers
Act to designate a segment of the Beaver, Chipuxet, Queen,
Wood, and Pawcatuck Rivers in the States of Connecticut and
Rhode Island for study for potential addition to the National
Wild and Scenic Rivers System, and for other purposes. Passed
House, as amended, by voice vote.
06/11/2013--H.R. 993, To provide for the conveyance of
certain parcels of National Forest System land to the city of
Fruit Heights, Utah. Passed House by voice vote.
06/11/2013--H.R. 1157, To ensure public access to the
summit of Rattlesnake Mountain in the Hanford Reach National
Monument for educational, recreational, historical, scientific,
cultural, and other purposes. Passed House vote of 409-0.
06/11/2013--H.R. 1158, To direct the Secretary of the
Interior to continue stocking fish in certain lakes in the
North Cascades National Park, Ross Lake National Recreation
Area, and Lake Chelan National Recreation Area. Passed House by
voice vote.
06/17/2013--H. Res. 264, Providing for the concurrence by
the House in the Senate amendment to H.R. 588 (Vietnam Veterans
Donor Acknowledgment Act of 2013), with an amendment. Passed
House by voice vote.
06/17/2013--H.R. 253, To provide for the conveyance of a
small parcel of National Forest System land in the Uinta-
Wasatch-Cache National Forest in Utah to Brigham Young
University, and for other purposes. Passed House, as amended,
by vote of 397-1.
06/17/2013--H.R. 520, To authorize the Secretary of the
Interior to conduct a study of alternatives for commemorating
and interpreting the role of the Buffalo Soldiers in the early
years of the National Parks, and for other purposes. Passed
House by voice vote.
06/17/2013--H.R. 674, To authorize the Secretary of the
Interior to study the suitability and feasibility of
designating prehistoric, historic, and limestone forest sites
on Rota, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, as a
unit of the National Park System. Passed House by voice vote.
06/17/2013--H.R. 862, To authorize the conveyance of two
small parcels of land within the boundaries of the Coconino
National Forest containing private improvements that were
developed based upon the reliance of the landowners in an
erroneous survey conducted in May 1960. Passed House by vote of
395-1.
06/17/2013--H.R. 876, To authorize the continued use of
certain water diversions located on National Forest System land
in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness and the
Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness in the State of Idaho, and for
other purposes. Passed House by vote of 398-0.
06/27/2013--H.R. 1613, To amend the Outer Continental Shelf
Lands Act to provide for the proper Federal management and
oversight of transboundary hydrocarbon reservoirs, and for
other purposes. Passed House, as amended, by vote of 256-171.
06/28/2013--H.R. 2231, To amend the Outer Continental Shelf
Lands Act to increase energy exploration and production on the
Outer Continental Shelf, provide for equitable revenue sharing
for all coastal States, implement the reorganization of the
functions of the former Minerals Management Service into
distinct and separate agencies, and for other purposes. Passed
House, as amended, by vote of 235-186.
07/22/2013--H.R. 697, To provide for the conveyance of
certain Federal land in Clark County, Nevada, for the
environmental remediation and reclamation of the Three Kids
Mine Project Site, and for other purposes. Passed House, as
amended, by voice vote.
07/22/2013--H.R. 1411, To include the Point Arena-Stornetta
Public Lands in the California Coastal National Monument as a
part of the National Landscape Conservation System, and for
other purposes. Passed House, as amended, by voice vote.
07/30/2013--H.R. 1300, To amend the Fish and Wildlife Act
of 1956 to reauthorize the volunteer programs and community
partnerships for the benefit of national wildlife refuges, and
for other purposes. Passed House, as amended, by voice vote.
09/10/2013--S. 130*, A bill to require the Secretary of the
Interior to convey certain Federal land to the Powell
Recreation District in the State of Wyoming. Passed House by
vote of 408-1. (Public Law 113-32)
09/10/2013--S. 157*, A bill to provide for certain
improvements to the Denali National Park and Preserve in the
State of Alaska, and for other purposes. Passed House by voice
vote. (Public Law 113-33)
09/10/2013--S. 256*, A bill to amend Public Law 93-435 with
respect to the Northern Mariana Islands, providing parity with
Guam, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa. Passed House by
vote of 415-0. (Public Law 113-34)
09/10/2013--S. 304*, A bill to direct the Secretary of the
Interior to convey to the State of Mississippi 2 parcels of
surplus land within the boundary of the Natchez Trace Parkway,
and for other purposes. Passed House by vote of 419-1. (Public
Law 113-35)
09/10/2013--S. 459*, A bill to modify the boundary of the
Minuteman Missile National Historic Site in the State of South
Dakota, and for other purposes. Passed House by vote of 414-5.
(Public Law 113-36)
09/17/2013--H.R. 1410, To prohibit gaming activities on
certain Indian lands in Arizona until the expiration of certain
gaming compacts. Passed House by voice vote.
09/18/2013--H.R. 761, To require the Secretary of the
Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to more efficiently
develop domestic sources of the minerals and mineral materials
of strategic and critical importance to United States economic
and national security and manufacturing competitiveness. Passed
House, as amended, by vote of 246-178.
09/20/2013--H.R. 1526, To restore employment and
educational opportunities in, and improve the economic
stability of, counties containing National Forest System land,
while also reducing Forest Service management costs, by
ensuring that such counties have a dependable source of revenue
from National Forest System land, to provide a temporary
extension of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-
Determination Act of 2000, and for other purposes. Passed
House, as amended, by vote of 244-173.
09/25/2013--H. Res. 354, Providing for the concurrence by
the House in the Senate amendment to H.R. 527 (Responsible
Helium Administration and Stewardship Act), with an amendment.
Passed House by voice vote.
10/23/2013--H.R. 3080*, To provide for improvements to the
rivers and harbors of the United States, to provide for the
conservation and development of water and related resources,
and for other purposes. Passed House, as amended, by vote of
417-3.
10/29/2013--H.R. 330, To designate a Distinguished Flying
Cross National Memorial at the March Field Air Museum in
Riverside, California. Passed House by voice vote.
10/29/2013--H.R. 623, To provide for the conveyance of
certain property located in Anchorage, Alaska, from the United
States to the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. Passed
House, as amended, by voice vote.
10/29/2013--H.R. 2337, To provide for the conveyance of the
Forest Service Lake Hill Administrative Site in Summit County,
Colorado. Passed House by voice vote.
10/29/2013--H.R. 2640, To amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers
Act to adjust the Crooked River boundary, to provide water
certainty for the City of Prineville, Oregon, and for other
purposes. Passed House by voice vote.
11/20/2013--H.R. 1965, To streamline and ensure onshore
energy permitting, provide for onshore leasing certainty, and
give certainty to oil shale development for American energy
security, economic development, and job creation, and for other
purposes. Passed House, as amended, by vote of 228-192.
11/20/2013--H.R. 2728, To recognize States' authority to
regulate oil and gas operations and promote American energy
security, development, and job creation. Passed House, as
amended, by vote of 235-187.
12/03/2013--H.R. 255, To amend certain definitions
contained in the Provo River Project Transfer Act for purposes
of clarifying certain property descriptions, and for other
purposes. Passed House by vote of 406-0.
12/03/2013--H.R. 1241, To facilitate a land exchange
involving certain National Forest System lands in the Inyo
National Forest, and for other purposes. Passed House by voice
vote.
12/03/2013--H.R. 1846, To amend the Act establishing the
Lower East Side Tenement National Historic Site, and for other
purposes. Passed House, as amended, by voice vote.
12/03/2013--H.R. 1963, To amend the Water Conservation and
Utilization Act to authorize the development of non-Federal
hydropower and issuance of leases of power privileges at
projects constructed pursuant to the authority of the Water
Conservation and Utilization Act, and for other purposes.
Passed House, as amended, by voice vote.
12/03/2013--H.R. 2388, To take certain Federal lands
located in El Dorado County, California, into trust for the
benefit of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, and for
other purposes. Passed House, as amended, by voice vote.
12/03/2013--H.R. 2650, To allow the Fond du Lac Band of
Lake Superior Chippewa in the State of Minnesota to lease or
transfer certain land. Passed House, as amended, by voice vote.
12/11/2013--H.R. 2319, To clarify certain provisions of the
Native American Veterans' Memorial Establishment Act of 1994.
Passed House, as amended, by vote of 398-0.
APPENDIX III
List of Public Laws
[Asterisk (*) denotes bills that were not referred to the
Committee on Natural Resources but contain provisions under the
jurisdiction of the Committee on Natural Resources]
Public Law 113-4: *S.47 (H.R. 11), A bill to reauthorize
the Violence Against Women Act of 1994.
Public Law 113-19: H.R. 251, To direct the Secretary of the
Interior to convey certain Federal features of the electric
distribution system to the South Utah Valley Electric Service
District, and for other purposes (South Utah Valley Electric
Conveyance Act).
Public Law 113-20: H.R. 254, To authorize the Secretary of
the Interior to facilitate the development of hydroelectric
power on the Diamond Fork System of the Central Utah Project
(Bonneville Unit Clean Hydropower Facilitation Act).
Public Law 113-21: H.R. 588, To provide for donor
contribution acknowledgments to be displayed at the Vietnam
Veterans Memorial Visitor Center, and for other purposes
(Vietnam Veterans Donor Acknowledgment Act of 2013).
Public Law 113-24: H.R. 678, To authorize all Bureau of
Reclamation conduit facilities for hydropower development under
Federal Reclamation law, and for other purposes (Bureau of
Reclamation Small Conduit Hydropower Development and Rural Jobs
Act)
Public Law 113-32: S. 130, A bill to require the Secretary
of the Interior to convey certain Federal land to the Powell
Recreation District in the State of Wyoming. (Powell Shooting
Range Land Conveyance Act)
Public Law 113-33: S. 157 (H.R. 586), A bill to provide for
certain improvements to the Denali National Park and Preserve
in the State of Alaska, and for other purposes. (Denali
National Park Improvement Act)
Public Law 113-34: S. 256 (H.R. 573; H.R. 2200), A bill to
amend Public Law 93-435 with respect to the Northern Mariana
Islands, providing parity with Guam, the Virgin Islands, and
American Samoa.
Public Law 113-35: S. 304, A bill to direct the Secretary
of the Interior to convey to the State of Mississippi 2 parcels
of surplus land within the boundary of the Natchez Trace
Parkway, and for other purposes. (Natchez Trace Parkway Land
Conveyance Act of 2013)
Public Law 113-36: S. 459, A bill to modify the boundary of
the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site in the State of
South Dakota, and for other purposes. (Minuteman Missile
National Historic Site Boundary Modification Act)
Public Law 113-40: H.R. 527, To amend the Helium Act to
complete the privatization of the Federal helium reserve in a
competitive market fashion that ensures stability in the helium
markets while protecting the interests of American taxpayers,
and for other purposes. (Helium Stewardship Act of 2013)
APPENDIX IV
Committee Prints
House Committee Print:
113-A Rules for the Committee on Natural Resources, 113th
Congress.
APPENDIX V
Committee Legislative Reports
House Report 113-24 (H.R. 678), To authorize all Bureau of
Reclamation conduit facilities for hydropower development under
Federal Reclamation law, and for other purposes.
House Report 113-25, Part 1, (H.R. 254), To authorize the
Secretary of the Interior to facilitate the development of
hydroelectric power on the Diamond Fork System of the Central
Utah Project.
House Report 113-26 (H.R. 291), To provide for the
conveyance of certain cemeteries that are located on National
Forest System land in Black Hills National Forest, South
Dakota.
House Report 113-27 (H.R. 507), To provide for the
conveyance of certain land inholdings owned by the United
States to the Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona, and for other
purposes.
House Report 113-28 (H.R. 588), To provide for donor
contribution acknowledgments to be displayed at the Vietnam
Veterans Memorial Visitor Center, and for other purposes.
House Report 113-29 (H.R. 1033), To authorize the
acquisition and protection of nationally significant
battlefields and associated sites of the Revolutionary War and
the War of 1812 under the American Battlefield Protection
Program.
House Report 113-42 (H.R. 527), To amend the Helium Act to
complete the privatization of the Federal helium reserve in a
competitive market fashion that ensures stability in the helium
markets while protecting the interests of American taxpayers,
and for other purposes.
House Report 113-55 (H.R. 767), To amend the Energy Policy
Act of 2005 to modify the Pilot Project offices of the Federal
Permit Streamlining Pilot Project.
House Report 113-56 (H.R. 573), To amend Public Law 93-435
with respect to the Northern Mariana Islands, providing parity
with Guam, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa.
House Report 113-57 (H.R. 356), To clarify authority
granted under the Act entitled ``An Act to define the exterior
boundary of the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation in the
State of Utah, and for other purposes''.
House Report 113-61, Part 2, (H.R. 3), To improve the
construction, operation, and maintenance of the Keystone XL
pipeline, and for other purposes.
House Report 113-65 (H.R. 993), To provide for the
conveyance of certain parcels of National Forest System land to
the city of Fruit Heights, Utah.
House Report 113-66 (H.R. 1208), To establish the Manhattan
Project National Historical Park in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Los
Alamos, New Mexico, and Hanford, Washington, and for other
purposes.
House Report 113-67 (H.R. 1206), To grant the Secretary of
the Interior permanent authority to authorize States to issue
electronic duck stamps, and for other purposes.
House Report 113-68 (H.R. 1158), To direct the Secretary of
the Interior to continue stocking fish in certain lakes in the
North Cascades National Park, Ross Lake National Recreation
Area, and Lake Chelan National Recreation Area.
House Report 113-69 (H.R. 1156), To authorize the Secretary
of the Interior to adjust the boundary of the Stephen Mather
Wilderness and the North Cascades National Park in order to
allow the rebuilding of a road outside of the floodplain while
ensuring that there is no net loss of acreage to the Park or
the Wilderness, and for other purposes.
House Report 113-70 (H.R. 885), To expand the boundary of
the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, and for
other purposes.
House Report 113-71 (H.R. 934), To amend the Wild and
Scenic Rivers Act related to a segment of the Lower Merced
River in California, and for other purposes.
House Report 113-72 (H.R. 674), To authorize the Secretary
of the Interior to study the suitability and feasibility of
designating prehistoric, historic, and limestone forest sites
on Rota, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, as a
unit of the National Park System.
House Report 113-73 (H.R. 723), To amend the Wild and
Scenic Rivers Act to designate a segment of the Beaver,
Chipuxet, Queen, Wood, and Pawcatuck Rivers in the States of
Connecticut and Rhode Island for study for potential addition
to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, and for other
purposes.
House Report 113-74 (H.R. 829), To amend the Wild and
Scenic Rivers Act to designate a segment of Illabot Creek in
Skagit County, Washington, as a component of the National Wild
and Scenic Rivers System.
House Report 113-75 (H.R. 862), To authorize the conveyance
of two small parcels of land within the boundaries of the
Coconino National Forest containing private improvements that
were developed based upon the reliance of the landowners in an
erroneous survey conducted in May 1960.
House Report 113-76 (H.R. 876), To authorize the continued
use of certain water diversions located on National Forest
System land in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness
and the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness in the State of Idaho, and
for other purposes.
House Report 113-77 (H.R. 126), To direct the Secretary of
the Interior to enter into an agreement to provide for
management of the free-roaming wild horses in and around the
Currituck National Wildlife Refuge.
House Report 113-78 (H.R. 251), To direct the Secretary of
the Interior to convey certain Federal features of the electric
distribution system to the South Utah Valley Electric Service
District, and for other purposes.
House Report 113-79 (H.R. 330), To designate a
Distinguished Flying Cross National Memorial at the March Field
Air Museum in Riverside, California.
House Report 113-80 (H.R. 462), To require the conveyance
of certain public land within the boundaries of Camp Williams,
Utah, to support the training and readiness of the Utah
National Guard.
House Report 113-81 (H.R. 520), To authorize the Secretary
of the Interior to conduct a study of alternatives for
commemorating and interpreting the role of the Buffalo Soldiers
in the early years of the National Parks, and for other
purposes.
House Report 113-98 (H.R. 253), To provide for the
conveyance of approximately 80 acres of National Forest System
land in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest in Utah to
Brigham Young University, and for other purposes.
House Report 113-99 (H.R. 1157), To ensure public access to
the summit of Rattlesnake Mountain in the Hanford Reach
National Monument for educational, recreational, historical,
scientific, cultural, and other purposes.
House Report 113-100, Part 1, (H.R. 1384), To provide for
the issuance of a Wildlife Refuge System Conservation
Semipostal Stamp.
House Report 113-101, Part 1, (H.R. 1613), To amend the
Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to provide for the proper
Federal management and oversight of transboundary hydrocarbon
reservoirs, and for other purposes.
House Report 113-110 (H.R. 85), To create the Office of
Chief Financial Officer of the Government of the Virgin
Islands, and for other purposes.
House Report 113-111 (H.R. 1169), To direct the Secretary
of the Interior to transfer to the Secretary of the Navy
certain Federal land in Churchill County, Nevada.
House Report 113-112 (H.R. 1300), To amend the Fish and
Wildlife Act of 1956 to reauthorize the volunteer programs and
community partnerships for the benefit of national wildlife
refuges, and for other purposes.
House Report 113-115, Part 1, (H.R. 1080), To amend the
Sikes Act to promote the use of cooperative agreements under
such Act for land management related to Department of Defense
readiness activities and to amend title 10, United States Code,
to facilitate interagency cooperation in conservation programs
to avoid or reduce adverse impacts on military readiness
activities.
House Report 113-119, Part 1, (H.R. 910), To reauthorize
the Sikes Act.
House Report 113-120, Part 1, (H.R. 1299), To provide for
the transfer of certain public land currently administered by
the Bureau of Land Management to the administrative
jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Army for inclusion in
White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, and for other purposes.
House Report 113-121, Part 1, (H.R. 1672), To withdraw and
reserve certain public lands administered by the Bureau of Land
Management for exclusive military use as part of the Limestone
Hills Training Area, Montana, and for other purposes.
House Report 113-122, Part 1, (H.R. 1673), To provide for
the transfer of certain public land currently administered by
the Bureau of Land Management to the administrative
jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Navy for inclusion in
Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, California, and for other
purposes.
House Report 113-123, Part 1, (H.R. 1676), To designate the
Johnson Valley National Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation Area in
San Bernardino County, California, to authorize limited
military use of the area, to provide for the transfer of the
Southern Study Area to the administrative jurisdiction of the
Secretary of the Navy for inclusion in the Marine Corps Air
Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, and by recreational
users, and for other purposes.
House Report 113-124, Part 1, (H.R. 1691), To provide for
the transfer of certain public land currently administered by
the Bureau of Land Management to the administrative
jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Navy for inclusion in the
Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range, California, and for
other purposes.
House Report 113-125 (H.R. 2231), To amend the Outer
Continental Shelf Lands Act to increase energy exploration and
production on the Outer Continental Shelf, provide for
equitable revenue sharing for all coastal States, implement the
reorganization of the functions of the former Minerals
Management Service into distinct and separate agencies, and for
other purposes.
House Report 113-137 (H.R. 697), To provide for the
conveyance of certain Federal land in Clark County, Nevada, for
the environmental remediation and reclamation of the Three Kids
Mine Project Site, and for other purposes.
House Report 113-138, Part 1, (H.R. 761), To require the
Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to
more efficiently develop domestic sources of the minerals and
mineral materials of strategic and critical importance to
United States economic and national security and manufacturing
competitiveness.
House Report 113-139 (H.R. 1411), To include the Point
Arena-Stornetta Public Lands in the California Coastal National
Monument as a part of the National Landscape Conservation
System, and for other purposes.
House Report 113-140 (H.R. 1497), To amend title 36, United
States Code, to ensure that memorials commemorating the service
of the United States Armed Forces may contain religious
symbols, and for other purposes.
House Report 113-141 (H.R. 1574), To amend the Dayton
Aviation Heritage Preservation Act of 1992 to rename a site of
the park.
House Report 113-145, Part 1, (H.R. 657), To amend the
Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to improve the
management of grazing leases and permits, and for other
purposes.
House Report 113-146, Part 1, (H.R. 819), To authorize
pedestrian and motorized vehicular access in Cape Hatteras
National Seashore Recreational Area, and for other purposes.
House Report 113-166, (H.R. 412), To amend the Wild and
Scenic Rivers Act to designate segments of the mainstem of the
Nashua River and its tributaries in the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts for study for potential addition to the National
Wild and Scenic Rivers System, and for other purposes.
House Report 113-167 (H.R. 687), To facilitate the
efficient extraction of mineral resources in southeast Arizona
by authorizing and directing an exchange of Federal and non-
Federal land, and for other purposes.
House Report 113-168 (H.R. 841), To amend the Grand Ronde
Reservation Act to make technical corrections, and for other
purposes.
House Report 113-169 (H.R. 957), To amend section 251A of
the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985
to eliminate the Department of Defense sequestration for fiscal
years 2013 and 2014 and sequester such eliminated sums over a
period of fiscal years 2015 through 2021.
House Report 113-190 (S. 130), A bill to require the
Secretary of the Interior to convey certain Federal land to the
Powell Recreation District in the State of Wyoming.
House Report 113-191 (S. 304), A bill to direct the
Secretary of the Interior to convey to the State of Mississippi
2 parcels of surplus land within the boundary of the Natchez
Trace Parkway, and for other purposes.
House Report 113-192 (S. 157), A bill to provide for
certain improvements to the Denali National Park and Preserve
in the State of Alaska, and for other purposes.
House Report 113-193 (S. 459), A bill to modify the
boundary of the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site in the
State of South Dakota, and for other purposes.
House Report 113-194 (H.R. 2650), To allow the Fond du Lac
Band of Lake Superior Chippewa in the State of Minnesota to
lease or transfer certain land.
House Report 113-195 (H.R. 2388), To authorize the
Secretary of the Interior to take certain Federal lands located
in El Dorado County, California, into trust for the benefit of
the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, and for other
purposes.
House Report 113-196 (H.R. 2337), To provide for the
conveyance of the Forest Service Lake Hill Administrative Site
in Summit County, Colorado.
House Report 113-197 (H.R. 1964), To amend the Naval
Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976 to direct the
Secretary of the Interior to conduct an expeditious program of
competitive leasing of oil and gas in the National Petroleum
Reserve in Alaska, including at least one lease sale in the
Reserve each year in the period 2013 through 2023, and for
other purposes.
House Report 113-198 (H.R. 1684), To convey certain
property to the State of Wyoming to consolidate the historic
Ranch A, and for other purposes.
House Report 113-199 (H.R. 1394), To direct the Secretary
of the Interior to establish goals for an all-of-the-above
energy production plan strategy on a 4-year basis on all
onshore Federal lands managed by the Department of the Interior
and the Forest Service.
House Report 113-200 (H.R. 255), To amend certain
definitions contained in the Provo River Project Transfer Act
for purposes of clarifying certain property descriptions, and
for other purposes.
House Report 113-201 (H.R. 555), To amend the Mineral
Leasing Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to
conduct onshore oil and gas lease sales through Internet-based
live lease sales, and for other purposes.
House Report 113-202 (H.R. 1818), To amend the Marine
Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to allow importation of polar
bear trophies taken in sport hunts in Canada before the date
the polar bear was determined to be a threatened species under
the Endangered Species Act of 1973.
House Report 113-203 (H.R. 740), To provide for the
settlement of certain claims under the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act, and for other purposes.
House Report 113-204 (H.R. 553), To designate the exclusive
economic zone of the United States as the ``Ronald Wilson
Reagan Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States''.
House Report 113-210 (H.R. 1410), To prohibit gaming
activities on certain Indian lands in Arizona until the
expiration of certain gaming compacts.
House Report 113-213, Part 1, (H.R. 1526), To restore
employment and educational opportunities in, and improve the
economic stability of, counties containing National Forest
System land, while also reducing Forest Service management
costs, by ensuring that such counties have a dependable source
of revenue from National Forest System land, to provide a
temporary extension of the Secure Rural Schools and Community
Self-Determination Act of 2000, and for other purposes.
House Report 113-217 (H.R. 586), To provide for certain
improvements to the Denali National Park and Preserve in the
State of Alaska, and for other purposes.
House Report 113-218 (H.R. 638), To amend the National
Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 to require
that any new national wildlife refuge may not be established
except as expressly authorized by statute.
House Report 113-219 (H.R. 930), To authorize the Secretary
of the Interior to conduct a special resource study of the
archeological site and surrounding land of the New Philadelphia
town site in the State of Illinois, and for other purposes.
House Report 113-220 (H.R. 1168), To direct the Secretary
of the Interior, acting through the Bureau of Land Management,
to convey to the City of Carlin, Nevada, in exchange for
consideration, all right, title, and interest of the United
States, to any Federal land within that city that is under the
jurisdiction of that agency, and for other purposes.
House Report 113-221 (H.R. 1459), To ensure that the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 applies to the
declaration of national monuments, and for other purposes.
House Report 113-222 (H.R. 1513), To revise the boundaries
of the Gettysburg National Military Park to include the
Gettysburg Train Station and certain land along Plum Run in
Cumberland Township, to limit the means by which property
within such revised boundaries may be acquired, and for other
purposes.
House Report 113-223 (H.R. 2197), To amend the Wild and
Scenic Rivers Act to designate segments of the York River and
associated tributaries for study for potential inclusion in the
National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
House Report 113-224 (H.R. 2640), To amend the Wild and
Scenic Rivers Act to adjust the Crooked River boundary, to
provide water certainty for the City of Prineville, Oregon, and
for other purposes.
House Report 113-248, Part 1, (H.R. 623), To provide for
the conveyance of certain property located in Anchorage,
Alaska, from the United States to the Alaska Native Tribal
Health Consortium.
House Report 113-249 (H.R. 1963), To amend the Water
Conservation and Utilization Act to authorize the development
of non-Federal hydropower and issuance of leases of power
privileges at projects constructed pursuant to the authority of
the Water Conservation and Utilization Act, and for other
purposes.
House Report 113-250, Part 1, (H.R. 2463), To amend the
Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act to facilitate the
establishment of additional or expanded public target ranges in
certain States.
House Report 113-261 (H.R. 2728), To recognize States'
authority to regulate oil and gas operations and promote
American energy security, development, and job creation.
House Report 113-262, Part 1, (H.R. 1965), To streamline
and ensure onshore energy permitting, provide for onshore
leasing certainty, and give certainty to oil shale development
for American energy security, economic development, and job
creation, and for other purposes.
House Report 113-263 (H.R. 1548), To facilitate the
development of energy on Indian lands by reducing Federal
regulations that impede tribal development of Indian lands, and
for other purposes.
House Report 113-280 (H.R. 298), To direct the Secretary of
the Interior to conduct a special resource study to evaluate
the significance of the Mill Springs Battlefield located in
Pulaski and Wayne Counties, Kentucky, and the feasibility of
its inclusion in the National Park System, and for other
purposes.
House Report 113-281 (H.R. 1241), To facilitate a land
exchange involving certain National Forest System lands in the
Inyo National Forest, and for other purposes.
House Report 113-282 (H.R. 1846), To amend the Act
establishing the Lower East Side Tenement National Historic
Site, and for other purposes.
House Report 113-287 (H.R. 2319), To clarify certain
provisions of the Native American Veterans' Memorial
Establishment Act of 1994.
APPENDIX VI
Activities Report--Additional Views
Full Committee
The House Natural Resources Committee had a busy and
productive year focusing on legislative and oversight
activities to create and protect jobs and grow the economy
through the responsible use and production of our natural
resources. The Committee held 93 hearings and meetings in
total, including 25 by the Full Committee.
The House passed 50 bills from the Committee this year,
each with bipartisan support. This includes 41 bills passed
under the suspension process--which means each of these bills
had broad, overwhelming, and bipartisan support in the House.
10 bills have been signed into law by the President.
In addition to advancing legislation, the Committee also
took serious its responsibility to conduct oversight of the
Executive Branch. The Committee took a close and thoughtful
look at numerous Obama Administration policies, regulations and
actions, including the Endangered Species Act, the Magnuson
Stevens Act, the National Ocean Policy, the barricading of
national parks and monuments during the government shutdown,
and many more. Through investigations and oversight hearings,
the Committee sought answers from the Administration on behalf
of the American people and promoted accountability and
transparency.
Endangered Species Act
The Committee held five oversight hearings this year on the
Endangered Species Act (ESA), examining ways in which the law
can be improved and modernized. The ESA was created four
decades ago in 1973. Since that time, over 1,500 U.S. domestic
species and sub-species have been listed. Most species remain
on the list and hundreds more could potentially be added within
just the next two years. Congress last renewed the ESA in 1988,
which means it has been 25 years since any substantial updates
have been made.
The Committee specifically examined the impacts of ESA-
related litigation and closed-door settlement agreements.
Excessive litigation has become one of the greatest obstacles
to the success of the ESA. Instead of focusing on recovering
endangered species, groups are using the ESA to file hundreds
of lawsuits, threats of lawsuits, and petitions against the
government. In response, agencies have focused significant time
and financial resources addressing those lawsuits instead of on
conservation efforts to avoid species listings, ensuring the
collection of transparent and best data, and species recovery.
In 2011 the Interior Department announced it had negotiated,
behind closed-doors, mega-settlements with the Center for
Biological Diversity and WildEarth Guardians. Together, these
settlements (and others involving other groups with the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries
Service) could increase the number of federal species listed by
50 percent--up to 700 additional species by 2016. In just the
past two years alone, the number of species listings has
increased by 210.
The Committee also held an oversight hearing highlighting
successful tribal, state and local stewardship versus the
regulatory mandates and sue-and-settle practices of the federal
government. The hearing examined how Indian tribes, state and
local communities have been able to implement successful
conservation efforts to keep species off of the ESA list and do
it in a manner that responsibly respects local economic
activities, private property, and other uses.
Finally, the Committee focused on the need to increase
transparency of ESA-listing decisions, rules, and executive
orders. Much of the science and data used to justify endangered
species regulatory actions are not publicly available for
analysis. This lack of transparency, availability of data, and
peer review leads to questions about the scientific inadequacy
and lack of prioritization of listing decisions. Modernization
of scientific and transparency, including use of DNA and the
Internet, are not sufficiently utilized.
National Ocean Policy
The Committee conducted oversight over President Obama's
plan to unilaterally implement a new National Ocean Policy and
mandatory ocean zoning. Established through Executive Order,
the President's National Ocean Policy is the latest regulatory
weapon to impose new bureaucratic restrictions on nearly every
sector of our economy. While marketed as a common sense plan
for the development and protection of our oceans, it is instead
being used to create a massive new bureaucracy that would harm
our economy.
The reach of the President's ocean zoning initiative is not
limited to just our oceans but also would grant new federal
authority to regulate far inland. That means all activities
occurring on lands adjacent to rivers, tributaries, or
watersheds that drain into the ocean could be impacted. This
has the potential to affect a multitude of economic activities
including agriculture, fishing, construction, manufacturing,
mining, oil and natural gas, and renewable energy. These
industries currently support tens of millions of jobs and
contribute trillions of dollars to the U.S. economy.
The Natural Resources Committee held an oversight hearing
and sent a series of document request letters to the
Administration regarding how this initiative has been funded,
the breadth of its reach, and the impacts it will have on jobs,
our economy, and energy security.
Magnuson-Stevens Act
The Committee this year held multiple hearings on fisheries
management and the reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Act. The Magnuson-Stevens
Act governs the recreational and commercial harvest of
fisheries in Federal waters. It was last authorized by Congress
in 2006 and a draft proposal to renew and modernize the law was
unveiled in mid-December for public input. The draft proposal
would implement common sense reforms that will promote
increased flexibility and transparency, improve data
collection, create jobs, and give predictability and certainty
to the coastal communities that depend on fishing activities.
Obama administration's efforts to rewrite regulations on coal
production
Almost immediately after taking office, the Obama
Administration began rewriting a recently completed coal
regulation, the 2008 Stream Buffer Zone Rule. This unnecessary
action, carried out through the Office of Surface Mining
Reclamation and Enforcement at the Department of the Interior,
proposed to dramatically alter a regulation that took over five
years of environmental analysis and careful scientific
consideration to complete. The Department's process in
rewriting this regulation has been rushed and unorthodox. After
tossing aside the 2008 plan, the Department spent millions of
taxpayer dollars and hired new contractors to complete a new
environmental impact statement, even though one was already
completed for the 2008 rule. Those contractors were dismissed
after it was publically revealed that the Administration's new
proposed regulation would cost 7,000 jobs and cause economic
harm in 22 states. The Administration has spent $9 million
taxpayer dollars working on this rewrite, but has failed to
even publish a draft rule.
For over two years the Committee has been conducting an
investigation into this rewrite. The Committee has passed
legislation, H.R. 2824, the Preventing Government Waste and
Protecting Coal Mining Jobs in America Act by Reps. Bill
Johnson (OH-06) and Doug Lamborn (CO-05), that would save
American jobs and taxpayer dollars by preventing the Obama
Administration from imposing job-destroying coal regulations.
The National Park Service's implementation of the Government shutdown
During President Obama's government shutdown in October,
the Committee conducted extensive oversight and held a joint
hearing with the Oversight and Government Reform Committee on
the Administration's arbitrary and unnecessary actions
including the erection of metal barricades around certain
national parks, monuments, and memorials in order to make the
government shutdown as painful as possible. Americans were
deliberately being denied access to open-air memorials and
national parks--places that are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a
year and were not closed by the Clinton Administration during
the last government shutdown. Private businesses on federal
lands were also initially forced to close. Document request
letters have been sent to multiple agencies to document these
arbitrary decisions.
Retroactive sequester cuts to Secure Rural Schools payments
The Committee continues to conduct oversight into the Obama
Administration's decision to retroactively subject Secure Rural
Schools (SRS) payments to sequestration cuts. On March 19th,
the Obama Administration demanded repayment of $17.9 million in
SRS payments that had already been disbursed to states. SRS
funds help to replace the timber receipts counties used to get
to pay for vital services in rural communities including
education, infrastructure, and emergency services. The Obama
Administration's demand sparked bipartisan opposition from
Governors and Members of Congress, who sent a letter
questioning why the Administration was subjecting SRS payments
that were made to counties in January based on fiscal year 2012
funding, to the fiscal year 2013 sequester. After months of
stonewalling by the Administration and multiple attempts by
this Committee to get answers about these retroactive cuts,
subpoenas were issued to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and
the Office of Management and Budget for documents and
information. The Obama Administration has yet to fully comply
with the subpoenas.
Department of the Interior's ethics office
For over a year the Committee has conducted oversight of
how political appointees and senior career officials within the
Department of the Interior are complying with federal ethics
and conflict of interest laws. Committee staff were told by
Department officials at the beginning of this investigation
that only eight ethics cases have been referred to the Office
of the Inspector General (IG) since January 2009--only one of
those cases involved a senior career official and none involved
a political appointee. Serious questions have been raised about
whether the Department and the IG are, in fact, aggressively
pursuing allegations of wrongdoing and whether current and
former senior Obama Administration officials are being held
accountable for complying with federal ethics and conflict of
interest laws.
Department of the Interior's Office of Inspector General
The Committee this year conducted oversight and released a
staff report on the need for a permanent Inspector General for
the Department of the Interior. Since the Department's previous
Inspector General Earl Devaney was appointed to a new position
nearly four years ago, the Department's Office of Inspector
General (IG) has been run by Deputy Inspector General Mary
Kendall, serving in an acting capacity. The Department has been
without a permanent IG since 2009. The report, entitled
``Holding Interior Watchdog Accountable,'' details
mismanagement by Ms. Kendall while overseeing the IG. These
include: not pursuing investigations involving political
appointees or Administration priorities; informing senior
Department officials of problems without conducting formal
investigations and not issuing reports to Congress and the
public; not adequately documenting the management of IG
investigations and operations; serving in an appointed policy
role in conflict with the IG's investigative duties; preventing
an investigator from seeking information from a White House
official; and providing inaccurate and misleading information
to Congress.
The report also details how Ms. Kendall has openly
expressed the desire to receive the nomination to become the
permanent Inspector General while administering the IG's
oversight role in a manner that was privately accommodating to
senior Department officials and the Obama Administration
compared to the IG's more assertive style in past
Administrations.
Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee
Chaired by Rep. Doug Lamborn (CO-05), the Energy and
Minerals Subcommittee has held 17 legislative and oversight
hearings this year focused on protecting and expanding access
to American energy and mineral resources in order to create
jobs, grow our economy, and strengthen our national security.
The Subcommittee worked extensively this year to pass
legislation to increase federal production of oil, natural gas,
and renewable energy resources--both onshore and offshore.
In June, the House passed H.R. 2231, the Offshore Energy
and Jobs Act. This bill removes federal government barriers
that block production of our own U.S. energy resources and
opens new offshore areas that have that most oil and natural
gas resources. The bill would create 1.2 million American jobs,
generate $1.5 billion in revenue, lower energy prices, and
strengthen our national security. In June, the House also
passed H.R. 1613, the Outer Continental Shelf Transboundary
Hydrocarbon Agreements Authorization Act. This legislation
would enact the terms of an agreement signed by the Obama
Administration and Mexico to govern how to explore, develop,
and share revenue from oil and natural gas resources along the
maritime border in the Gulf of Mexico.
The House this year also passed a package of bills to
protect and expand onshore American energy production. H.R.
1965, the Federal Lands Jobs and Energy Security Act of 2013,
includes the following five Natural Resources bills:
Federal Lands Jobs and Energy Security Act
(Lamborn CO-05)--This bill would reform the leasing process for
onshore oil and natural gas projects on federal lands to
eliminate unnecessary delays; reform the process for energy
permitting, once a lease is in hand, to encourage the timely
development of our federal resources; ensure funds are
available for efficient wind and solar permitting; and set
clear rules for the development of U.S. oil shale resources.
Planning for American Energy Act (Tipton, CO-03)--
This bill would establish common sense steps to create an all-
of-the-above American energy plan for using federal lands to
meet our Nation's energy needs.
National Petroleum Reserve Alaska Access Act
(Hastings, WA-04)--This bill would cut through bureaucratic red
tape to unlock the full potential of energy resources in the
National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A) by ensuring that oil
and natural gas are developed and transported in a timely and
efficient manner.
BLM Live Internet Auctions Act (Johnson, OH-06)--
This bill would give the Secretary of the Interior the
authority to conduct internet-based auctions for onshore leases
to ensure the best return to the Federal taxpayer, reduce
fraud, and secure the leasing process.
Native American Energy Act (Young, AK-At Large)--
This bill would streamline burdensome and duplicative
government regulations and remove the barriers erected by the
Obama Administration that are blocking Indian tribes from
developing energy resources on their own land and creating new
jobs.
The Subcommittee held numerous oversight and legislation
hearings this year on the Interior Department's proposed
regulations of hydraulic fracturing on federal and tribal
lands. The Obama Administration's proposed federal regulations
on hydraulic fracturing would cost American jobs, decrease
American energy production, increase energy prices, and harm
economic growth. They would add duplicative, costly, and
unnecessary layers of red-tape. According to a study by John
Dunham & Associates, the proposed regulation would cost at
least $345 million annually. In November, the House passed H.R.
2728, the Protecting States' Rights to Promote American Energy
Security Act, introduced by Rep. Bill Flores (R-TX) and Rep.
Henry Cuellar (D-TX). This bipartisan bill would protect
American jobs and American energy production by limiting the
Obama Administration's ability to impose duplicative federal
regulations on hydraulic fracturing. It prohibits the Interior
Department from enforcing federal hydraulic fracturing
regulations in any state that already has regulations and
recognizes states' authority to regulate this type of activity.
For over a year, the Subcommittee has conducted oversight
on our Nation's helium program and successfully developed
legislation, which was signed into law (Public Law No: 113-40)
by the President in October, to prevent an impending helium
shortage. H.R. 527, the Responsible Helium Administration and
Stewardship Act, sponsored by Chairman Hastings and then-
Ranking Member Markey, is a common sense plan to sell helium
from the Federal Helium Reserve in a responsible manner to
prevent a global shortage, close the Federal Helium Reserve
once and for all, protect jobs and the economy, and ensure a
fairer return for taxpayers.
Finally, the Subcommittee held numerous oversight and
legislative hearings this year on coal and mineral production.
Currently, the U.S. is nearly 100% reliant on foreign
countries, such as China, for rare earth elements and other
critical and strategic minerals that are vital components to
America's manufacturing sector. The House passed H.R. 761, the
National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act, by
Rep. Mark Amodei (NV-02), which would allow the U.S. to more
efficiently develop our Nation's strategic and critical
minerals and streamline the permitting process for mineral
development.
Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs Subcommittee
The Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular
Affairs, chaired by Rep. John Fleming (LA-04), held 11 hearings
this year focused on promoting responsible management and
conservation of our fisheries, wildlife, and ocean resources as
well as economic development and fiscal responsibility in
insular areas. The fundamental goal of the hearings was to
balance responsible stewardship of our natural resources with
the need to protect and create American jobs.
The Subcommittee carefully examined budget requests of the
agencies under its jurisdiction including the Fish and Wildlife
Service, the Office of Insular Affairs, and the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Council on
Environmental Quality. The Obama Administration requested that
$1.55 billion be allocated to the Fish and Wildlife Service for
Fiscal Year 2014, $94 million more than what was appropriated
in Fiscal Year 2013. The Fish and Wildlife Service indicated
that its Fiscal Year 2014 budget submission includes a number
of ``tough choices.'' Yet, a close examination of their
requests found that only the construction account would receive
less money in the upcoming fiscal year.
Members of the Subcommittee held several oversight hearings
on the Lacey Act and its unintended consequences. The Act was
enacted in 1900 to protect native flora and fauna by banning
the interstate transportation and sale of illegally obtained
animal and certain plants. However, since then it has been
amended several times, including expansions to include foreign
laws, fish, and the importation and sale of illegally obtained
timber and other plant products. The broad expansion of the law
has increased job-destroying red-tape and resulted in
unanticipated consequences that have negatively impacted
individuals and American businesses. In September, the
Subcommittee furthered its oversight of the Lacey Act by
examining the potential effects of the Fish and Wildlife
Service's proposal to short-circuit, by executive fiat,
existing rules for adding species to the Lacey Act's injurious
wildlife list.
The Subcommittee also conducted oversight into the National
Wildlife Refuge System. The National Wildlife Refuge System is
comprised of federal lands that have been acquired or
designated for the conservation and enhancement of fish and
wildlife, and on which compatible recreation is allowed.
However, the current maintenance backlog recorded for the Fish
and Wildlife Service now stands at $2.3 billion. The
Subcommittee specifically examined the Fish and Wildlife's
decision and the amount it would cost taxpayers to expand the
boundaries of the Chickasaw and Lower Hatchie National Wildlife
Refuges in Tennessee by 120,078 acres. The expansion of the
Chickasaw and Lower Hatchie National Wildlife Refuges is a
classic case of the federal government's desire to buy an
unlimited amount of private land, while ignoring its
responsibilities to maintain the land it already owns. Along
those lines, the Committee adopted legislation sponsored by
Subcommittee Chairman Fleming to require a Congressional
authorization of all new national wildlife refuges and extend
the conservation of wildlife on 30 million acres of military
lands.
The Subcommittee reviewed legislation to update authorized
appropriations for laws that support programs to assist
commercial and recreational vessels transiting through U.S.
waterways--H.R. 1399, the Hydrographic Services Improvement Act
and H.R. 2219, the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation
System Act. The programs authorized by these laws support: the
collection of hydrographic survey data to produce nautical
charts and the collection of data on currents, waves, and wind
speed used by vessels transiting into U.S. ports; the
collection of physical, geological, biological and chemical
data to support ocean research, monitoring and forecasting, as
well as fisheries management; the collection of ocean
circulation patterns data to assist coastal managers in
understanding the movement of marine debris to protect human
safety and health; and the collection of ocean currents and
storm surges to assist in the safe design of ocean structures
(i.e. oil and gas platforms) to reduce damage and loss of life.
The Subcommittee also reviewed legislation dealing with
severe marine debris events--H.R. 1425, to allow grant funding
to be used to address these severe events and H.R. 1491, which
would allow the Administrator of the National Oceanographic and
Atmospheric Administration to reimburse states for past,
current and any future marine debris clean-up costs related to
the 2011 Japan tsunami event.
Finally, the Subcommittee moved legislation (H.R. 573) to
provide the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands management
authority over 3 nautical miles of its territorial sea giving
the Commonwealth parity with the other U.S. territories. It
became P.L. 113-34.
Indian and Alaska Native Affairs Subcommittee
Chaired by Rep. Don Young (AK, at large), the Subcommittee
this year focused on promoting job creation and economic growth
on Tribal and Alaska Native lands.
The Subcommittee held multiple hearings on Tribal
development of energy resources and the creation of energy jobs
on Indian lands. While Indian lands contain vast energy
resources, actions by the Obama Administration have prevented
many tribes from developing resources, creating jobs, and
improving their local tribal economies. Since taking office,
the Obama Administration has implemented numerous roadblocks to
Indian Energy development. The Subcommittee has conducted
vigorous oversight of the Administration in order to shine
light on these policies and ensure accountability.
In November, the House passed H.R. 1965, the Federal Lands
Jobs and Energy Security Act. This included legislation, the
Native American Energy Act, introduced by Subcommittee Chairman
Young, to streamline burdensome and duplicative government
regulations and increase the opportunity for Indian tribes to
develop energy resources on their own land.
The House also passed H.R. 2728, the Protecting States'
Right to Promote American Energy Security Act, which included
an amendment that would protect the rights of tribal nations by
keeping the federal government from imposing additional
hydraulic fracturing regulations on tribal lands. Many tribes
have expressed concerns that they were left out of the Interior
Department's rulemaking process on hydraulic fracturing and
that the proposed rule could greatly impede Tribes' ability to
develop their own energy resources.
The Subcommittee conducted oversight this year on the
implementation of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC)
rule on the Universal Service Fund and the importance of
expanded broadband access to Indian and Alaska Native
communities. Nearly one in three Native Americans lacks basic
telephone service and only one in ten have broadband service.
Finally, the Subcommittee held an oversight hearing on the
Executive Branch standards for land-in-trust decisions for
gaming purposes. This hearing examined concerns that have been
expressed by tribes, state and municipal governments, and
private organizations that the Bureau of Indian Affairs' policy
guidelines do not adequately take into consideration the
adverse impacts of off-reservation gaming. Indian gaming
revenues have grown from a very small amount in 1988, to $16.8
billion in 2003, to $27.9 billion in 2012, the highest revenue
amount on record. There are more than 420 casinos run by about
240 tribes across 28 states.
Public Lands and Environmental Regulation Subcommittee
Chaired by Rep. Rob Bishop (UT-01), the new Subcommittee on
Public Lands and Environmental Regulation has held 24 hearings
this Congress that have focused on protecting and maintaining
federal lands and ensuring public access and multiple-use of
public lands in order to create jobs and grow our economy.
The Subcommittee has jurisdiction over matters related to
the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and all public
lands including the National Park System, U.S. Forests, Bureau
of Land Management lands and National Monuments. NEPA was
previously handled at the Full Committee and the creation of
this new Subcommittee allows it to be reviewed in a more
focused manner. NEPA impacts nearly every sector of our economy
and the Subcommittee focused on how it relates to federal lands
and activities, as well as private, state, and local economic
development. At the lead of Subcommittee Chairman Bishop, a
letter was sent to the Government Accountability Office (GAO)
requesting a comprehensive economic and administrative
evaluation of federal agencies' required compliance with NEPA
over the last five fiscal years. The letter also asks the GAO
to examine costs associated with NEPA related litigation and
delays in regulatory approvals.
This year, the House passed legislation to renew the
federal government's commitment to manage federal forests for
the benefit of rural schools and counties. Over a hundred years
ago, the federal government made a promise to rural schools and
counties that they would share in the benefits of wisely
managed forests. Our federal forests were designed to be
multiple-use land but over the years, due to faulty federal
regulations and litigation, forest management and forest health
have dramatically declined. As a result, thousands of people
have lost their jobs, counties lack the resources to pay for
basic services, and our forest became increasingly susceptible
to disease and wildfire. H.R. 1526, Restoring Healthy Forest
for Healthy Communities Act, will create over 200,000 direct
and indirect jobs; provide stable funding for counties to use
for education and other basic services; provide nearly $400
million in savings over 10 years; improve local management of
our federal forests; and help reduce the risk of wildfires.
The Subcommittee also held numerous oversight hearings
examining the differences between state and federal forest
management. Subcommittee Members heard from state leaders,
local land managers, and timber experts on the inadequacies and
burdens of current federal forest management practices that
have contributed to poor forest health, underfunded schools,
lost jobs, and suppressed economic activities and recreational
opportunities in communities near National Forests. In
comparison, state managed forests can often produce hundreds of
times more revenue, from just a fraction of the land base while
maintaining vibrant, healthy forests to support local
communities. The Subcommittee also held hearings on the need
for increased forest management to address forest health and
reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires.
In June, the Full Committee approved H.R. 1126, the Dwight
D. Eisenhower Memorial Completion Act. This bipartisan
legislation, sponsored by Subcommittee Chairman Bishop, seeks
to build consensus around a new Eisenhower Memorial by
implementing a new design competition and providing a three-
year extension of the memorial site designation, which is set
to expire at the end of 2013. The current design and
competition process has been the subject of repeated scrutiny,
including by members of the Eisenhower family who are opposed
to the current extravagant and inappropriate design. Since
1999, Congress has appropriated $63 million in taxpayer funds
for the design of the Memorial and operations of the
Commission, and the Commission has requested an additional $51
million in Fiscal Year 2014 to begin construction.
The Committee also approved H.R. 687, the Southeast Arizona
Land Exchange and Conservation Act of 2013, introduced by Rep.
Paul Gosar (AZ-04). This legislation would authorize a fair
value land exchange in Southeast Arizona that would open up the
third largest undeveloped copper resources in the world. The
mining project would support nearly 3,700 jobs and create an
economic impact of nearly $62 billion while bringing in nearly
$20 billion in tax revenue to federal, state, and local
governments. Additionally, this project would produce enough
copper to meet 25 percent of the current U.S. demand and would
fully protect environmental and tribal rights.
H.R. 657, the Grazing Improvement Act, introduced by Raul
Labrador (ID-01), was passed by the Full Committee in June.
This bipartisan legislation would amend the Federal Land Policy
and Management Act of 1976 to extend the period of a term for
permits and leases from 10 to 20 years for domestic livestock
grazing on public lands or lands within national forests.
Livestock grazing represents one of the earliest uses of
federally managed lands and is essential to the livestock
industry, wildlife habitat, open space, and the rural economies
of many western communities.
In May, the Subcommittee held an oversight hearing
featuring testimony by Utah Governor Gary Herbert, Chairman of
the Western Governors' Association. The hearing highlighted the
challenges of Western states regarding federal and state land
management. At the hearing, Members and Governor Herbert
discussed how states are able to find their own solutions to
land management, tailored to their unique circumstances. In
contrast, the federal government is bound by a statutory,
attitudinal and regulatory framework that hinders effective
land management. Utah and other states are successfully
managing their lands in ways that better protect natural
resources, promote a healthy economy, and protect public
access.
Finally, the Subcommittee conducted oversight into
impediments to public recreation on public lands. If managed
wisely, our vast system of public lands could provide greater
opportunities for the full range of wholesome, outdoor family
recreation than are currently allowed. Hearings examined the
obstacles by the federal government that put more costs and
burdens on small businesses and limit public recreational
access to public lands.
Water and Power Subcommittee
Led by Chairman Tom McClintock (CA-04), the Water and Power
Subcommittee held 10 hearings this year and advanced multiple
bills that focused on creating new American jobs and protecting
and promoting water and electric supply infrastructure.
Numerous oversight hearings were held on protecting
existing hydropower facilities from litigious special interest
groups, protecting non-federal hydroelectric dams from costly,
burdensome and often unrelated requirements imposed by federal
agencies, and expanding large and small-scale hydropower
production.
This August, H.R. 678, The Bureau of Reclamation Small
Conduit Hydropower Development and Rural Jobs Act, was signed
into law (P.L. 113-24) by President Obama. This law, authored
by Rep. Scott Tipton (CO-03) authorizes hydropower production
on Bureau of Reclamation water canals and pipes and reduces
administrative and regulatory costs for developing these clean
and renewable energy projects. This will create jobs and
generate thousands of megawatts of hydropower at no cost to
taxpayers and will create revenue for local power providers and
the federal government.
In a separate action, the House also passed H.R. 1963, The
Bureau of Reclamation Conduit Hydropower Development Equity and
Jobs Act in December. The bill, authored by Rep. Steve Daines
(MT-At Large) removes outdated federal statutory barriers to
conduit hydropower development at eleven Bureau of Reclamation
projects in the intermountain west. The House also passed H.R.
2640 (Rep. Greg Walden, OR-02) and H.R. 254 (Rep. Jason
Chaffetz, UT-03) to facilitate hydropower production at
specific federal facilities. H.R. 254 became P.L. 113-20 with
the President's signature.
The Subcommittee led the way in questioning the validity
and the potential effects of the Obama Administration's
National ``Blueways'' Secretarial Order. Signed by former
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar in 2012, the Blueways program
allowed unilateral Secretarial discretion to designate entire
watersheds as so-called Blueways with very little local
community involvement and questionable legal authority. Since
February, the House Natural Resources Committee, the Water and
Power Subcommittee, the Congressional Western Caucus and the
Arkansas and Missouri delegations have conducted oversight into
the National Blueways Program. In a letter sent on June 28th,
Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) asked for explanations about the
designation process, the makeup of the National Blueways
Committee, the potential for federal land acquisition and
regulations, and the involvement of the Interior Department's
Senior Advisor Rebecca Wodder. In July, the Subcommittee held
an oversight hearing on the Blueways program with a host of
affected citizens. Later that month, the Subcommittee held a
field hearing in West Plains, Missouri examining the harmful
effects of the National Blueways Order following the
designation (and eventual rescission) of the White River
Blueway. Over 500 local citizens attended this hearing while
the Administration (Ms. Wodder) refused to testify once again.
Meanwhile, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell announced that she
had ``paused'' the Blueways program and in August, Wodder left
the Interior Department. While it remains unclear whether this
``pause'' permanent or temporary, the Subcommittee will
continue to monitor the currently defunct Blueways program and
any future efforts to re-implement it.
In October, the Subcommittee held a hearing to showcase the
need for new water storage. Entitled ``A Roadmap for Increasing
our Water and Hydropower Supplies: The Need for New or Expanded
Multi-Purpose Surface Storage Facilities,'' the hearing
examined the growing need for and the multiple-use benefits of
increased water storage and ways to expedite the construction
of such facilities.
The Subcommittee also took action this year to protect
western water rights. Following an oversight hearing held in
April on federal impediments to protecting water rights, the
Subcommittee held a legislative hearing on H.R. 3189 (Tipton),
the Water Rights Protection Act to protect state recognized
water rights, prohibit federal water grabs, and uphold state
water laws. This bipartisan legislation will end further
attempts by the Obama Administration to take privately held
water rights and jeopardize jobs in communities throughout the
Western States. The Natural Resources Committee then passed the
bill in November with bipartisan support and a Senate companion
bill has been introduced by U.S. Senator John Barrasso (WY) and
six colleagues.
Multiple hearings were also held to discuss the challenges
and priorities of the Power Marketing Administrations. In
April, the Subcommittee held an oversight hearing examining the
spending priorities outlined in the President's FY2014 budget
requests for the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), the four
Power Marketing Administrations (PMAs), and the U.S. Geological
Survey's Water Program. At the hearing, Members discussed the
importance of restoring abundance as the mission of federal
water and power policies in order to prevent man-made water
shortages, job losses, higher electricity prices, and
questionable spending.
In June, the Subcommittee held an oversight hearing
entitled ``The Power Marketing Administrations: A Ratepayer
Perspective.'' This hearing featured testimony from some of the
electricity ratepayers who receive and pay for hydropower
generated at federal dams and transmitted by the four federal
PMAs. For generations, millions of electricity consumers have
received low-cost hydropower generated at federal dams and
reservoirs. The core mission of the four PMAs is to transmit
this emissions-free resource to their customers. Through their
rates, these customers pay for the electricity supply, the
transmission needed to deliver this power, and the capital
components of both generation and transmission infrastructure
plus interest to the federal government.
Doc Hastings,
Chairman.
APPENDIX VII
Dissenting Views
The Views we provided on the final Report on Legislative
and Oversight Activities filed by the Natural Resources
Committee in the 112th Congress concluded with the following
statement: ``Hopefully, the failures of this Congress will
inspire improved cooperation and consensus next Congress, as
the natural resource challenges we face are only
intensifying.'' This Report for the First Session of the 113th
Congress documents an aggressive pace of hearings and mark-ups,
for which the Majority is to be commended, but the cooperation
and consensus we had hoped for has not materialized.
The Republican energy agenda is still marked by a slavish,
partisan devotion to flawed and futile policies. Instead of
stubbornly sticking to their 2008 talking points, the Majority
should have acknowledged the on-going oil and gas boom--one
that is soon to make the United States the top oil producer in
the world--and spent the Committee's time this year working in
a bipartisan manner to ensure that enhanced oil and gas
development is environmentally responsible and compatible with
local communities and all other uses of our federal lands.
While the rate of activity continues to skyrocket in the
deepwater Gulf of Mexico, Congress has not enacted a single
reform to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act in response to
the Deepwater Horizon tragedy, which happened over three and a
half years ago. Numerous outside groups, including the
President's Oil Spill Commission, have called on Congress to
make badly-needed and long-overdue changes to enhance the
safety of offshore operations, yet Natural Resources
Republicans refused to consider those, preferring instead to
focus on giving the oil and gas industry unfettered access to
even more of America's oceans.
In the midst of a fracking boom which is altering the
landscape of our energy markets and the landscape of many local
communities, the Majority brought forth a poorly written bill
that, in an attempt to prohibit even minimal regulation,
includes loopholes allowing industry to circumvent all federal
environmental and safety protections.
The Majority has pursued aggressive attacks on Federal
lands, ignoring broadly-supported proposals to establish
National Monuments and declare new wilderness areas, while
advancing bills to dispose of federal land and short-circuit
public input in the land use planning process. Instead of
finding bipartisan ways to enhance recreation and conservation
opportunities, the Majority's agenda has emphasized undermining
landmark laws like the National Environmental Policy Act. These
partisan attacks put politics above policy and prevented the
Committee from engaging in more productive work.
The Majority has invested enormous time and energy
investigating implementation of budget sequestration and the
federal government shutdown by the Forest Service and National
Park Service, both of which were the result of House Republican
intransigence on the budget. Instead of working with the
Minority to address the problems caused by sequestration, the
Majority issued subpoenas to the U.S. Department of Agriculture
and the Office of Management and Budget over the Obama
Administration's determination that Secure Rural Schools funds
are subject to sequestration. The Majority's open-ended
investigation into this matter has been a distraction when we
could have been working on bipartisan legislation to accomplish
our shared goal of restoring these critical funds to rural
counties.
Perhaps the low point of the year was a joint hearing with
the Oversight and Government Reform Committee during which the
Majority attempted to shift blame for the Republican shutdown
by launching mean-spirited, personal attacks against the
Director of the National Park Service, a dedicated and
accomplished forty-year public servant. Hopefully, the budget
deal approved this week is an indication that what the
Republicans learned through their investigation of the shutdown
is that shutdowns should be avoided.
It appears that the Committee may turn its attention away
from the ``Oil Above All'' agenda to reauthorizing the
Magnuson-Stevens and Endangered Species Acts. This recognition
of the importance of these issues is welcome. The oversight
hearings on these laws have been partisan, lopsided affairs,
however, raising grave concerns regarding the Majority's
openness to constructive, bipartisan, bicameral efforts to
update these critical statutes. We have repeatedly expressed
our interest in working cooperatively on these issues and
remain hopeful our invitation will be accepted.
We also hope the Majority will begin to take seriously the
global crisis in wildlife poaching, illegal logging, and pirate
fishing that is decimating species, funding terrorists, and
undercutting legitimate American businesses. We requested
hearings on these matters during the first session, but instead
of granting those requests, the majority continued its
misguided crusade to chisel away at the Lacey Act, one of our
bedrock conservation laws. The pace at which organized criminal
syndicates are clearing forests, depleting fisheries, and
killing elephants, rhinos, and tigers warrants immediate action
from Congress.
The Committee has abdicated its responsibilities regarding
our vital insular areas, holding only a single budget hearing
this year. Not only does this approach leave serious economic
and conservation issues unaddressed, it also ignores
significant national security issues.
Finally, the most egregious failure of the Natural
Resources Committee Majority in 2013 is the refusal to consider
budgetary savings in programs within the Committee's
jurisdiction during a time of severe budget shortfalls. In
2011, Democrats on this Committee submitted a proposal to the
Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction that would have
saved $20 billion over ten years from programs within the
Natural Resources Committee's purview. These proposals included
reform of the General Mining Law of 1872, repeal of massive
revenue payments to the U.S. Gulf States, increased royalty
rates for oil and gas development on federal lands and reform
of outdated grazing laws; the Majority opposed all of these
proposals. In a time when federal support for the long-term
unemployed and nutrition assistance to the working poor are
being cut, the refusal of the Majority to even consider
reducing the enormous windfalls enjoyed by those who use our
public lands for private profit is indefensible.
We now have three full years of evidence that the
Republican agenda for the Natural Resources Committee is at
odds with the priorities and values of the American people. We
remain eager to engage in the kind of negotiation and
cooperation that have yielded real legislative accomplishment
in the past and could do so in the future.
Peter DeFazio, Ranking Member,
Committee on Natural Resources.
Grace F. Napolitano.
Rush Holt.
Raul M. Grijalva.
Madeleine Z. Bordallo.
Niki Tsongas.
Jared Huffman.
Alan Lowenthal.
Matthew Cartwright.