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Upon learning that leaked Bureau of Land Management (BLM) emails were said to contain information regarding the misuse of BLM funds, Congressman Rob Bishop (R-UT), who serves as Chairman of the House National Parks, Forests and Public Lands Subcommittee, issued the following statement:
full story here in The Hill
By Pete Kasperowicz - 02/16/12 06:19 PM ET
The House on Thursday evening passed a bill that seeks to encourage oil shale development, drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), and offshore drilling in the Atlantic, Pacific and the Gulf of Mexico, as well as force approval of the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline.
http://www.cq.com/doc/member-15463 (subscription required)
Bishop has woven a consistent narrative thread through more than two decades in elected office: an aversion to big government. Democrats and liberal policies are a frequent target of his dry and irreverent humor, but he has turned his wit on fellow Republicans as well.
"I want to leave this office with less power to do things than when I came here," he is fond of saying.
The National Security and Federal Lands Protection Act passed along party lines 26 to 17 and will now be reported to the full House for a vote.
The dominant factor preventing agents from catching human and drug smugglers is limiting their access along the border region, says Rep. Rob Bishop (R.-Utah) the bill's sponsor.
The House Natural Resources Committee advanced contentious GOP legislation on Wednesday that, as amended, would exempt a Department of Homeland Security border agency from more than three dozen federal environmental protection laws while conducting border-security operations.
The panel approved the amended bill (HR 1505) in a 26-17 party-line vote, despite objections from panel Democrats who characterized the bill as an attack on environmental regulations.
By Judson Berger
A proposal to prevent environmental rules from impeding the Border Patrol's ability to monitor and pursue illegal immigrants crossing into the U.S. was approved by a House committee Wednesday, in a move one congressman said could address the government's "cavalier attitude" toward illegal immigration.
Sponsor Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, claims environmental regulations are keeping border agents from doing their job. He unsuccessfully pushed a similar version of the bill last year, but said Congress still needs to intervene so that agents have the access they need.
By Amy Joi O'Donoghue, Deseret News
WASHINGTON — Congressional backlash over a leaked Department of Interior memo that detailed plans for the possible creation of 14 new national monuments — including two in Utah — continues to fester and was the focal point of a Tuesday congressional hearing.
Six bills that propose to exempt specific states from such presidential declarations — or severely curtail that power by the executive branch — were aired in the meeting chaired by Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah.