Articles
By Ben Wolfgang, The Washington Times
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Deteriorating relations with Russia have not harmed Americans' ability to get astronauts to the International Space Station, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden told Congress on Thursday, trying to reassure lawmakers who fear the diplomatic rift could derail the U.S. space program.
Devils Tower National Monument, one of two national monuments in Wyoming, is shown in an undated file photo. A coalition of conservation groups are urging U.S. House members to kill a bill that would limit the president's ability to designate lands as national monuments.
In what's shaping to be a battle on the authority of the executive branch, House Republicans and conservationists are squaring off over a century-old law that gives presidents the authority to designate lands as national monuments.
Roll Call
by Reps. Rob Bishop (UT-01) and Steve Daines (MT At Large)
The Antiquities Act was established in 1906 as a way for the president to single-handedly create new national monuments. The law provides the president with the express authority to proclaim "historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest" as national monuments, "the limits of which in all cases shall be confined to the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected."
by Amy Joi O'Donoghue, Deseret News
While environmental groups and Utah's political conservatives batter each over fossil fuel development and have entrenched battle lines, there are examples of where compromise and alternative approaches are building solutions to the strife.
SALT LAKE CITY — Amid all the contentious strife over energy development, access to Utah lands and the federal government, Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, is trying to broker a solution that strikes at compromise.
by Bryan Schott, Today At Utah Policy
A new analysis of the 113th Congress finds Rep. Rob Bishop on a very short list of members who were able to get legislation acted on.
The Huffington Post calculated "efficiency ratings" for each member of Congress based on the number of bills a member was able to get out of committee in relation to the total amount of legislation they sponsored.
Bishop scores a 71% rating for having 12 of his 17 bills pass out of committee.
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Phil Taylor, E&E reporter
MOAB, Utah -- The Potash Scenic Byway snakes south of town along the muddy Colorado River past ancient rock art, dinosaur tracks and stunning red rock walls.
The road ends at the Intrepid Potash Mine, where brine is pumped into two massive evaporation ponds that shimmer in the desert sun.
Whether the 400-acre brine pools -- vital to producing potash, an ingredient in fertilizer -- befit a "scenic" highway depends on who's looking.
by FOX 13 News
Rep. Rob Bishop R-Utah, called on the Administration and Sen. Harry Reid to support legislation that would fund national parks while Congress continues to negotiate a budget agreement, according to a statement from the congressman Tuesday.
The "Open Our National Parks and Museums Act" was passed by the House and sent to the Senate Oct. 2.
by John McArdle
E&E News
Federal and local law enforcement are still trying to determine whether an assault on a uniformed maintenance worker at Chiricahua National Monument last week was related to cross-border activity at the southeast Arizona park, which is on a route known to be used by human traffickers and drug runners about 60 miles from the Mexican border.