Issue Position: Energy and Natural Resources

Issue Position

Dr. Gosar sits on the House Committee on Natural Resources, an incredibly important committee for Arizona's 4th Congressional District. The Committee has jurisdiction over federal water, land, energy, and Native American policies.

Paul is the Vice-Chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Power, and Oceans. Dr. Gosar is also the Vice-Chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus.

As a son of a geologist, Paul knows the vast economic and mineral security benefits increased mining can provide. He has strongly advocated for increased, but environmentally sound mining as a method to spur rural Arizona's economy.

Dr. Gosar is the first member of the Arizona Congressional Delegation to ever navigate the Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act to House-passage. Not only did he pass this bill through the House multiple times but he was able to get this legislation signed into law in December of 2014. This critical bill facilitates a land exchange that will allow for the development of the largest copper mine in North America. The bill will create approximately 4,000 new jobs, generate $60 billion for Arizona's economy and provide 25% of the United States' copper supply. This important jobs legislation is also a conservation bill as it allows for the exchange of recreational and conservation areas that are greatly desired.

In February of 2014, the majority of Dr. Gosar's Catastrophic Wildfire Prevention Act was signed into law. This important bill will create jobs and authorized stewardship contracting, good neighbor authority and other proactive management programs in order to allow for more wildfire prevention projects to move forward in a more timely manner.

Energy independence is a must. It is a matter of national security. Arizona is rich with natural resources and has diverse climates that make our state well-equipped for an energy driven economy.

Dr. Gosar has strongly advocated for an all-of-the-above energy strategy. Paul has introduced legislation, the Public Lands Renewable Energy Development Act, that streamlines the permitting process for wind, solar, and geothermal energy development on public lands. The bill also establishes a fair revenue sharing mechanism that allows a portion of rents and royalties to go to the state, to the county of origin, to permit processing, and to sportsmen and conservation purposes which include increasing access for outdoor recreation like hunting and fishing.

The House passed the Native American Energy Act in October 2015. Dr. Gosar was the only cosponsor of this worthwhile legislation that will allow tribes to more efficiently develop energy resources on their land.

Paul led the charge to prevent the BLM from closing its Arizona field office and moving all of its employees to the New Mexico office. In May of 2015, Dr. Gosar and several of his colleagues first contacted the BLM in opposition to this proposed merger. In September 2015, the BLM finally announced it was scrapping this misguided proposal.

In November 2013, the the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) over-inflated the costs of repairing a broken water supply line by millions of dollars so it could arbitrarily terminate the rainbow trout stocking program at the Willow Beach National Fish Hatchery and focus on raising chubs and suckers. This misguided bureaucratic decision threatened 1,700 jobs and nearly $75 million in associated economic output in Mohave County alone. In response, Paul introduced the Fish Hatchery Protection Act, H.R. 5026, which he successfully passed through the House Natural Resources Committee. This bill and his berating of the Service's Deputy Director resulted in a pledge to restart the rainbow trout program and the Service has committed to completing repairs by July 29, 2016.

The House passed three amendments in May of 2015 offered by Dr. Gosar that sought to protect Western water supplies and increase water storage.

Paul helped lead the charge to block the U.S. Forest Service's sweeping Groundwater Directive that unnecessarily sought to increase agency control over private subsurface water rights. Thanks to significant pressure from Dr. Gosar and his colleagues, the Service withdrew this proposed mandate.

Paul has voted more than 10 times to approve the Keystone Pipeline. Conservative estimates from the State Department project that the Keystone XL Pipeline will support more than 42,000 jobs.

Paul introduced and passed the Grand Canyon Bison Management Act through the House in order to develop a strategic management plan for combating invasive beefalo in the Grand Canyon. These massive beats are destroying Native American landmarks, trampling the park and causing public safety issues. Dr. Gosar's bill allows volunteer hunters to keep the bison meat in exchange for their work to protect the Grand Canyon from the beefalo.

In April of 2014, the House passed four bills cosponsored by Dr. Gosar that made much needed improvements to the Endangered Species Act. These commonsense pieces of legislation saved taxpayer money and increased transparency, capped the hourly rate attorneys can charge taxpayers for Endangered Species Act lawsuits, ensured local involvement in the species conservation and designation process, and required the federal government to make ESA listing information available online.

In November of 2015, the House passed the Open Book on Equal Access to Justice Act, bipartisan legislation introduced by Dr. Gosar and five of his colleagues to require that agencies track and disclose attorney fees paid out from environmental lawsuits. For more than 20 years, the federal government has refused to track these costs and we don't even know how much taxpayer money is being squandered under this flawed system.

Dr. Gosar passed an amendment through the House to prohibit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) from listing the Sonoran Desert Tortoise (SDT) as an endangered species. This listing would have locked-up 15 million acres, significantly restricted activities on State Trust lands and reduced funding for education, and prevented important agriculture, grazing and energy development activities. As a result of Rep. Gosar's efforts and other conservation efforts, the Service announced in October 2015 that the agency was removing the SDT from the Endangered Species Act candidate list.

Paul has introduced the bipartisan Mexican Wolf Transparency and Accountability Act, legislation that seeks to block the United States Fish and Wildlife Service's new regulations that expanded the habitat these wolves can roam.

Dr. Gosar has been leading the charge to hold the EPA accountable for the agency's continued overreach and has introduced legislation to initiate impeachment proceedings against EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. On multiple occasions EPA Administration McCarthy lied to members of Congress and committed perjury. Under her failed leadership, the EPA continues to break the law in order to expand agency control and force job-killing regulations down our throats. Paul has introduced legislation and inserted funding riders to block the EPA's unlawful Waters of the United States (WOTUS), Clean Power Plan, and Ozone rules.

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