Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies

Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson, who chairs the House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, questioned Interior Secretary Ken Salazar regarding domestic oil production, the cost of environmental litigation, and the Secretary’s controversial “Wild Lands” initiative. The oversight hearing gave Chairman Simpson and other members of the subcommittee the opportunity to examine the President’s FY2012 budget request for the Department of the Interior.

Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson, Chairman of the House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, questioned Environmental Protection Administrator Lisa Jackson regarding the EPA’s budget request for FY2012. Simpson also grilled Administrator Jackson regarding what many perceive as the EPA’s regulatory overreach and the impact that the agency’s actions are having on the economy.

The Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies will be holding public witness hearings April 12-15, 2011.

Public witness hearings on Native American issues will be held on April 12, with two sessions at 9:30 AM and 1:00 PM, and April 13 at 9:30 AM.

Public witness hearings on all other issues related to programs in the subcommittee's jurisdiction will be held on April 14 and 15 at 9:30 AM.

Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson, Chairman of the House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, today began his hearing schedule for the 112^th Congress by holding the first of a series of oversight hearings on the agencies funded through the subcommittee’s bill. This morning’s hearing focused on management challenges at the Department of the Interior.