Welcome to the "week in review" diary for the House Committee on Natural Resources for the 110th Congress; this diary is part of the Daily Kos Congressional Committees Project.
Democratic Rep. Nick Rahall (WV) is the chairman of the Committee on Natural Resources, and his first act as chairman was to put the word "natural" back into the committee's name -- a word that was removed under the Chairmanship of Don Young when the "Gingrich Revolution" came to power with Republican majorities in 1995. We thank Chairman Rahall for reminding citizens that this committee oversees the protection and management of nature's America.
The Committee on Natural Resources oversees a wide range of environmental issues and is comprised of five subcommittees: Subcommittee on National Parks and Public Lands; Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health; Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans; Subcommittee on Water and Power; and Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources. These subcommittees oversee the national parks and national wildlife refuges, forests created from the public domain, water resources, oceans policy, environmental policy, energy legislation, and mining policies and programs.
Although Chairman Rahall is from the coal state of West Virginia, he is considered to be a generally strong friend of the environment, and during the two sessions of the 109th Congress, he received a pro-environment voting score of 83% and 92% from the League of Conservation Voters.
Agenda of American Values
After assuming his new leadership role, Chairman Rahall issued his "Agenda of American Values" for the 110th Congress. This document sets the tone for the Committee on Natural Resources and also for the Congress. Below are the highlights from Chairman Rahall's agenda -- an agenda which illustrates why we prefer to have Democrats overseeing our natural resources rather than Republicans:
Addressing America's Energy Needs: Provide sufficient energy for America, which is critical to our national defense and economic security. Develop energy resources on our federal lands but ensure a fair return to the American people. Develop new fuels, improve fuel efficiency, and stimulate responsible production on non-federal lands.
Empowering Insular Areas: Ensure territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, the US Virgin Islands, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands have right of political self-determination. Federal policy must be considerate of the unique economic impediments confronting each respective insular area.
Ending Corporate Welfare: Reform Mining Law of 1872, which allows multinational corporations to mine valuable hardrock minerals from western federal lands without paying a royalty to American people and allows companies to purchase lands at 1872 prices.
Ending Drilling in the Federal Treasury: Reform the current oil and gas royalty system that allows companies to undercut payments to the American people, and eliminate corruption in the Interior Department that allows corporations to rob the American people of a fair return for America's resources.
Enhancing the Potential of Public Lands: Find a responsible balance between use and protection of our National Parks, over 500 National Wildlife Refuges, National Forests, and wilderness areas.
Ensuring Sustainable Water Supplies for the West: Direct funds to new and innovative projects to develop new and sustainable water supplies, help communities recycle water and create new supplies through desalting ocean water in coastal areas where appropriate, and aggressively direct priority attention to projects that will restore watersheds and aquatic habitats.
Honoring Our Oceans: Work to maintain healthy oceans, keep corals and marine mammals alive, ensure that our fisheries are sustainable, and protect jobs.
Investing in Our Forests and Forest Communities: Reinstate sound management and stewardship to forest policy, such as balancing timber production with forest restoration. Prioritize road maintenance backlogs before constructing new roads, and concentrate on creating new jobs and protecting communities.
Keeping Faith with Native Americans: Immediately reauthorize the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, which the Republicans allowed to expire in 2001.
Maintaining Public’s Right to Know: Protect and maintain the public's right to know and comment on the environmental impact of federal actions. The National Environmental Policy Act -- a law that protects the public's right to know -- has been under intense attack by the Bush administration, and Americans are increasingly being cut out of federal decisions affecting their environment.
Reclaiming America: Reauthorize the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Program, which is set to expire at the end of fiscal year 2007. The program assesses fees on the coal industry, and the money raised helps restore abandoned mine sites that pose a threat to the public.
Respecting Sacred Sites: Enact a comprehensive law that empowers Indian tribes to protect sacred places in Indian Country.
Returning Common-Sense Stewardship to Our National Parks: Review park proposals to ensure that they are consistent with the overriding mission of the Park Service, and conduct oversight of decisions made by the Administration to ensure sound stewardship of our natural and cultural heritage.
Safeguarding God's Creatures: Ensure adequate funding of the Endangered Species Act so that federal agencies can use tools in the law to recover threatened and endangered species, reduce the number of species that are candidates for listings, and work with landowners to address their concerns in a timely manner. Also there must be oversight to ensure that the Administration's polices result in species conservation.
Legislation
As for legislation, some of the most notable natural resource bills that have been recently introduced include the following:
H.R. 6 — To reduce our Nation's dependency on foreign oil by investing in clean, renewable, and alternative energy resources, promoting new emerging energy technologies, developing greater efficiency, and creating a Strategic Energy Efficiency and Renewables Reserve to invest in alternative energy.
Details from the Committee on Natural Resources website:
As part of House Democrats’ first 100 hours legislative agenda, Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick J. Rahall (D-WV) and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (D-NY) today introduced a bill to curb taxpayer-funded subsidies to oil and gas companies and to invest those funds in renewable energy.
H.R. 6, the Creating Long-term Energy Alternatives for the Nation (CLEAN) Act, includes two components that will roll back the unnecessary tax benefits and costly federal oil and gas leasing provisions included in the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The legislation would also help to correct the botched leases issued by the Interior Department between 1998 and 1999 – which, if left unchanged, could cost the Federal Treasury an estimated $60 billion over the next 25 years.
"The American people are owed a fair value for the resources they own – yet, when the government gives tax breaks in the form of royalty relief to Big Oil and fails to accurately monitor its oil leasing programs, it is the American people who are footing the bill," said Rep. Rahall. "This carefully crafted legislation we are introducing today will address the broken royalties system that has plagued the Interior Department, and put these payments right back where they belong – in the Federal Treasury."
"We are rolling back subsidies for big oil to invest in alternative energy and find solutions to our nation’s energy problem. These tax breaks came at a time of record profit for oil corporations and were so large that even the Bush Administration called them excessive. In order to reduce our dependency on foreign oil, we need to stop lining the pockets of oil corporations and rewarding our enemies in the Middle East," said Rep. Rangel.
H.R. 39 — To preserve the Arctic coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, as wilderness in recognition of its extraordinary natural ecosystems and for the permanent good of present and future generations of Americans.
Details from Rep. Edward Markey's website:
Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-MA), a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce and Resources Committees, was joined by Rep. Jim Ramstad (R-MN) in introducing the Udall-Eisenhower Arctic Wilderness Act, which would designate the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as a wilderness area with permanent protections. Rep. Markey is introducing this bill as H.R. 39, the original bill number given to Rep. Udall’s bill that became law in 1980 doubling the size of the wildlife refuge.
Rep. Markey said, "Our addiction to oil is real and enduring and still largely untreated. Drilling in the refuge would amount to a declaration that we remain in denial about this addiction, its impact on our planet and our obligation to future generations."
Rep. Ramstad said, "I am proud to cosponsor this important legislation to permanently protect this pristine wilderness for all Americans."
H.R. 249 — To restore the prohibition on the commercial sale and slaughter of wild free-roaming horses and burros.
Details from the Committee on Natural Resources website:
"Horses are an integral part of the tapestry of this country – a symbol, a promise of possibility, a companion, and a treasured childhood memory," said Rep. Rahall. "Americans have always championed their survival, and expect that that these creatures will be protected. To allow them to be sacrificed and slaughtered represents great disrespect to the will of the American people and is an affront to our nation’s history."
The bipartisan legislation, H.R. 249, introduced by Rep. Rahall and Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY), will restore the prohibition on the commercial sale and slaughter of wild free-roaming horses and burros that was eliminated by a provision in the Fiscal Year 2005 omnibus appropriations bill. The provision, which overturned 34 years of federal policy protecting wild horses, has essentially allowed the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Forest Service to turn a blind eye to individuals or corporations who buy these animals with the clear intention of slaughtering them for profit. Often, these animals are slaughtered so their meat can be offered on menus for foreign diners in nations such as France, Belgium, and Japan.
The House Committee on Natural Resources will be a busy place for the next two years, as Democrats try to reverse much of the damage done by former chairman Richard Pombo and his anti-environmental agenda. We look forward to helping the Democrats succeed in making America an environmental leader once again. You can follow the Natural Resources Committee on the Congressional Committees Project wiki.
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