WASHINGTON, April 23 -- The Government Accountability Office has issued a report (GAO-20-329) is entitled "Oil and Gas Permitting: Actions Needed to Improve BLM's Review Process and Data System". The report was sent to Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Arizona, chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, and Rep. Alan Lowenthal, D-California, chairman of the House Natural Resources subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, on April 22, 2020. Here are excerpts of summaries associated with the rep  more

WASHINGTON, April 21 -- Rep. Raul M. Grijalva, D-Arizona, chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, issued the following news release on April 20: Chair Raul M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today released a report looking at the Trump administration's regulatory failures and rollbacks in light of the 10-year anniversary of the BP oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Among other findings, the report - available at https://bit.ly/3eCQD4U - highlights the financial, environmental, and worker s  more

WASHINGTON, April 22 -- Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Arizona, issued the following news release: Congressman Andy Biggs led a bipartisan group of Members of Congress in introducing the TEAM Veteran Caregivers Act. This legislation takes three steps to increase efficiency, transparency, and accountability in the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) family caregivers program: First, it will formally recognize all caregivers of veterans by identifying them in the health records of the veteran; Second, it wi  more

WASHINGTON, April 24 -- Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Arizona, issued the following statement on April 23: The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act. Congressman Biggs voted against the bill and issued the following statement: "The legislation passed today includes $12 billion to be distributed to state, local, and tribal jurisdictions for various purposes, including 'surveillance' and 'contact tracing.' The bill failed to define these terms,  more

WASHINGTON, April 25 -- Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Arizona, issued the following statement : Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) released the following statement after the Maricopa County Industrial Development Authority failed to provide financial support to Chicanos Por La Causa (CPLC). CPLC is a community development financial institution (CDFI) that provides affordable capital to underserved, minority-owned small businesses throughout Arizona. "Chicanos Por La Causa is a trusted partner in promoting econ  more

WASHINGTON, April 23 -- Rep. Paul A. Gosar, R-Arizona, issued the following news release: The non-partisan and independent government watchdog organization, GovTrack, released its 2019 rankings for Members of Congress. In 2019, Congressman Gosar was ranked as the most effective Republican in getting bills passed, and the second most effective overall in the entire House of Representatives. The rankings are based only on the number of independent bills sponsored by each member of Congress and u  more

WASHINGTON, April 22 -- Rep. Paul A. Gosar, R-Arizona, issued the following statement: U.S. Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) released the following statement after President Donald J. Trump announced plans to sign an executive order halting immigration to the United States: "At a time when millions of Americans are facing unemployment, the very last thing we need to do is import additional foreign labor. "I'm grateful to President Trump for halting immigration to the United States,   more

WASHINGTON, April 21 -- Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Arizona, issued the following news release on April 20: Chair Raul M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) released a report looking at the Trump administration's regulatory failures and rollbacks in light of the 10-year anniversary of the BP oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Among other findings, the report - available at https://bit.ly/3eCQD4U - highlights the financial, environmental, and worker safety standards the Trump administration has weakened on beh  more

WASHINGTON, April 24 -- Rep. Raul M. Grijalva, D-Arizona, chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, issued the following statement on April 23 on a report by the Nuclear Fuels Working Group recommending radical deregulation of the uranium mining industry: "The Trump administration wants uranium mining near the Grand Canyon without even minimal public oversight, and it doesn't care about the consequences. "Today's report is a roadmap for giving the uranium mining industry everything i  more

WASHINGTON, April 25 -- Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Arizona, issued the following news release: Reps. Raul M. Grijalva (AZ-03), Ruben Gallego (AZ-07), and Greg Stanton (AZ-09) sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross requesting a temporary suspension or waiver of additional inspections of imported fruit and vegetables coming into the United States through Arizona and urging the implementation of new, rigorous health and hygiene protocols. "As our nation   more

WASHINGTON, April 24 -- Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Arizona, issued the following statement: This week, President Trump issued an executive order to suspend the allocation of green cards for 60 days. In response, Rep. Raul M. Grijalva issued the following statement: "Don't be fooled. This executive order isn't about protecting jobs. It's about xenophobia. Since announcing his candidacy for the Presidency in 2015, Trump and advisers like Stephen Miller have made it an explicit goal to end immigratio  more

WASHINGTON, April 23 -- Rep. Raul M. Grijalva, D-Arizona, chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, issued the following news release on April 22: A new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report requested by Chair Raul M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.) finds that oil and gas companies were sitting on 9,950 unused permits to drill as of the end of fiscal year 2019. The report finds that the Trump administration's "energy dominance" push to grant the industry m  more

WASHINGTON, April 24 -- Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Arizona, issued the following news release: Rep. Kirkpatrick flew to Washington D.C. to vote for the passage of the interim emergency coronavirus package, Congress's fourth piece of legislation to respond to the pandemic. The legislation follows the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, enacted on March 27; the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, enacted on March 18; and the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplem  more

WASHINGTON, April 24 -- Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Arizona, issued the following statement after voting for additional funding for the successful Paycheck Protection Program: "I was proud to support additional funding for the Paycheck Protection Program which is helping small businesses and their workers across Arizona and the United States. "My only regret is that millions of small businesses had to wait for access to these vital funds as my Democrat colleagues dragged their feet. "This money wa  more

WASHINGTON, April 24 -- Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Arizona, issued the following statement after the House vote to create Speaker Nancy Pelosi's politically partisan oversight committee: "I support the vital role of congressional oversight. That is why I supported including three separate oversight functions in the CARES Act and why I support the oversight duties of our House's six different standing committees. "I voted against Speaker Pelosi's politically partisan new oversight committee, however  more

WASHINGTON, April 23 -- Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Arizona, issued the following news release: The bipartisan co-chairs of the Congressional Victims' Rights Caucus commemorated National Crime Victims' Rights Week which is being observed April 19-25, 2020. "As a co-chair of the Congressional Victims' Rights Caucus, it is my honor to commemorate National Crime Victims' Rights Week and stand with all of the crime victims and survivors across America," said Congresswoman Debbie Lesko (R-AZ). "As a survi  more

WASHINGTON, April 25 -- Rep. Tom O'Halleran, D-Arizona, issued the following news release: Congressman Tom O'Halleran (AZ-01) announced that, under Congressional pressure, the U.S. Treasury updated its interim rule to allow casinos and tribal gaming enterprises with under 500 employees to apply for loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). "This relief for tribal economies is long overdue and should have been made available under earlier distributed PPP loans," said O'Halleran. "I am   more

WASHINGTON, April 22 -- Rep. Tom O'Halleran, D-Arizona, issued the following news release on April 21: Following reports that funding for state, local, and tribal governments would not be included in the next legislative package that Congress is expected to consider this week, Congressman Tom O'Halleran (AZ-01) sent a letter to Congressional leadership urging leaders on both sides of the aisle to reconsider this decision prior to formal introduction of the next legislative package. "Rural comm  more

WASHINGTON, April 24 -- Rep. Tom O'Halleran, D-Arizona, issued the following statement on April 23: Congressman Tom O'Halleran voted in favor of the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, a $484 billion interim emergency legislative package to address the economic fallout and public health emergency caused by the coronavirus. Yesterday, ahead of his vote, Congressman Tom O'Halleran (AZ-01) released the following statement: "Tomorrow, I plan to vote in favor of the Paychec  more

WASHINGTON, April 23 -- Rep. Tom O'Halleran, D-Arizona, issued the following statement on April 22: Ahead of tomorrow's House vote on the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, a $484 billion interim emergency legislative package to address the economic fallout and public health emergency caused by the coronavirus, Congressman Tom O'Halleran (AZ-01) released the following statement: "Tomorrow, I plan to vote in favor of the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enha  more

WASHINGTON, April 21 -- Rep. Tom O'Halleran, D-Arizona, issued the following news release: Congressman Tom O'Halleran (AZ-01), as a member of the House Problem Solvers Caucus--a bipartisan group comprised of 25 Republicans and 25 Democrats--released their Recovery and Back to Work Checklist, a multi-prong, data-driven proposal for reopening America that focuses first on health care needs and then on reigniting the economy safely. The 50-Member Caucus has found consensus on a bipartisan set of   more

WASHINGTON, April 22 -- Rep. David Schweikert, R-Arizona, has issued the following news release: Congressman David Schweikert joined House colleagues on a letter to the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration urging them to speed up the evaluation and approval process for a COVID-19 vaccine, and to prepare for a more rapid deployment to the public. The letter was signed by 35 Members of Congress. Under current processes, the approval time  more

WASHINGTON, April 23 -- Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Arizona, issued the following statement in response to President Trump's executive order blocking green cards from being issued to individuals legally immigrating: "This executive order hurts Arizona, and only serves to demonize and scapegoat immigrants. Our nation is in crisis and rather than put all of his effort behind protecting the American people, the President has taken his eye off the ball. "Immigrants strengthen our economy. They are entrep  more

WASHINGTON, April 22 -- Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Arizona, issued the following news release: Rep. Greg Stanton is pushing the Trump Administration to waive the 25 percent local cost share on FEMA Public Assistance disaster funding, a move that would ease the financial burden of coronavirus response efforts for state, local and tribal governments. President Trump's major disaster declaration for the state of Arizona provided much-needed relief in additional federal assistance for state, local and   more

WASHINGTON, April 24 -- Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Arizona, issued the following news release on April 23: Rep. Greg Stanton supported an interim emergency funding bill to provide resources critically needed in the fight against COVID-19. The latest funding package passed by Congress included an additional $310 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program, $50 billion for SBA disaster lending, $75 billion for hospitals and health care workers, and $25 billion more for testing. Stanton voted in favor   more

WASHINGTON, April 21 -- Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Arizona, issued the following news release: Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) introduced H.R. 6535 last week to expand Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) coverage to urban Indian health organizations, giving them a desperately needed boost in resources as they suffer shortages, closures, and financial hardship as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Indian Health System, commonly referred to as the ITU system, is made up of t  more

WASHINGTON, April 24 -- Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Arizona, issued the following news release: Reps Raul M. Grijalva (AZ-03) and Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ-02) led 56 Members of Congress in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy urging them to include funds in the next stimulus bill for the USPS and to prevent the closure or consolidation of any postal facility that will delay services and reduce the efficiency of USPS. During the COVID-19 pandemic, USPS has played  more

WASHINGTON, April 24 -- Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Arizona, issued the following news release: This week, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a long-awaited report on the alleged mistreatment of pregnant women in ICE detention facilities. After numerous reports of horrific conditions in ICE custody--including solitary confinement and the denial of adequate healthcare--Reps. Raul M. Grijalva (AZ-03), Karen Bass (CA-37), and Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler (NY-10) led 30 Members of C  more

TUCSON, Arizona, April 24 -- Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Arizona, issued the following news release: Reps Raul M. Grijalva (AZ-03) and Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ-02) led 56 Members of Congress in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy urging them to include funds in the next stimulus bill for the USPS and to prevent the closure or consolidation of any postal facility that will delay services and reduce the efficiency of USPS. During the COVID-19 pandemic, USPS has  more

PHOENIX, Arizona, April 21 -- Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Arizona, issued the following news release: Reps. Greg Stanton and Debbie Lesko sent a joint bipartisan letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) asking for immediate assistance for Arizona farmers working to maintain food supply chains amid the COVID-19 emergency. The CARES Act allocated $9.5 billion to the USDA to provide direct financial relief to farmers and ranchers--with an emphasis on those who supply to local food systems suc  more

PHOENIX, Arizona, April 21 -- Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Arizona, issued the following news release: Reps. Greg Stanton and Debbie Lesko sent a joint bipartisan letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) asking for immediate assistance for Arizona farmers working to maintain food supply chains amid the COVID-19 emergency. The CARES Act allocated $9.5 billion to the USDA to provide direct financial relief to farmers and ranchers--with an emphasis on those who supply to local food systems suc  more

WASHINGTON, April 21 -- Rep. Tom O'Halleran, D-Arizona, issued the following news release: Friday, Congressman Tom O'Halleran (AZ-01) sent a letter to Congressional leadership urging them to amend a funding formula for the Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) established under the CARES Act that leaves many rural communities left wanting. "Although the CARES Act built on the CDBG program by providing an additional $5 billion in much needed funding for state and local governments, i  more

WASHINGTON, April 25 -- Sen. Martha McSally, R-Arizona, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Martha McSally (R-AZ) on Friday announced the release of over $2 million in CARES Act funding for Arizona's rural communities. The University of Arizona will receive over $1.3 million for the Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program, and over $800,000 in funding for its Telehealth Resource Center. "Arizona's rural communities have been hard hit by this public health crisis and our rural hos  more

WASHINGTON, April 22 -- Sen. Martha McSally, R-Arizona, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Martha McSally (R-AZ) and a bipartisan group of senators sent a letter calling for the Senate to finally provide much-needed financial certainty during the COVID-19 crisis for rural communities to ensure long-term funding needed for essential services. In a letter addressed to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., the senators pushed  more

TUCSON, Arizona, April 21 -- Sen. Martha McSally, R-Arizona, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Martha McSally (R-AZ) joined the Victory Worship Center in Tucson to deliver lunch and care packages to health care workers at Northwest Medical Center. "This is just an amazing example of how people all over the state are stepping up to help," McSally said. "We're seeing churches now adopting different hospitals and everyone is just chipping in what they can. We're going to get through  more

WASHINGTON, April 25 -- Sen. Martha McSally, R-Arizona, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Martha McSally (R-AZ) announced that small tribal gaming enterprises under 500 employees can now apply for financial relief through the Payment Protection Program (PPP). McSally fought for specific language in the CARES Act to ensure this tribal parity, and has persistently pushed federal agencies to execute the legislation as intended. In addition to the many phone calls to members of the   more

WASHINGTON, April 22 -- Sen. Martha McSally, R-Arizona, issued the following statement on April 21: U.S. Senator Martha McSally (R-AZ) issued the following statement Tuesday after the Senate voted to provide an additional $484 billion dollars in relief to support small businesses, hospitals, and increased testing in Arizona. The package now heads to the U.S. House of Representatives for consideration. This package will give an additional $321 billion dollars to the Paycheck Protection Program  more

WASHINGTON, April 24 -- Sen. Martha McSally, R-Arizona, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Martha McSally (R-AZ) is urging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to rapidly distribute CARES Act funding to children's hospitals in its next round of payments to health care providers. In a letter to HHS Secretary Alex Azar and CMS Administrator Seema Verma, McSally and U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) stressed t  more

WASHINGTON, April 23 -- Sen. Martha McSally, R-Arizona, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Martha McSally (R-AZ) and Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) led a bicameral letter with 52 members of Congress to Senate and House leadership calling for an end to taxpayer funding of China's dangerous Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) laboratory, which has been linked to the origin of the coronavirus outbreak. In the letter, the members expressed their deep concern over past federal funding   more

PHOENIX, Arizona, April 25 -- Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Arizona, issued the following news release: Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema and Republican Senator Mitt Romney (Utah) urged the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to implement a robust contact tracing system to protect Arizonans from the spread of the coronavirus and future pandemics. "Protecting Arizonans from future waves of the coronavirus, or other dangerous diseases, requires comprehensive information  more

WASHINGTON, April 21 -- Sen. Martha McSally, R-Arizona, issued the following news release: Senators Martha McSally (R-AZ) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) will introduce the Stop China-Originated Viral Infectious Diseases (COVID) Act to ensure the Chinese Communist Party faces consequences for its role in spreading the coronavirus. The Stop COVID Act will empower Americans to sue China in U.S. court and seek compensation for the devastating harm the deadly virus has caused to the economy and human l  more

WASHINGTON, April 18 -- Sen. Martha McSally, R-Arizona, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Martha McSally (R-AZ) shared the following information regarding the Treasury Department's announcement Friday that they are working with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to ensure that our veterans and their beneficiaries who collect Compensation and Pension (C&P) benefit payments will automatically receive their one-time coronavirus relief check. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Ec  more