Mother Jones | On Saturday, President Donald Trump announced via Twitter that his Interior secretary, Ryan Zinke, will be leaving his position in the coming weeks. Zinke’s tenure overseeing the nation’s public lands has been controversial and has resulted in a number of federal investigations. (He reportedly used taxpayer money to purchase a $139,000 door, for example.) A new secretary will be announced next week. It would be an understatement to say that environmentalists and Democratic politic... Read more

Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Ranking Member of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee’s Environment Subcommittee, and Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA), Vice Ranking Member of the Committee, led 96 members in urging President Trump to heed the dire warnings in the second volume of the Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA) and act on climate change. The NCA is the most comprehensive science-based evaluation of the consequences of climate change, the risks of inaction, and pote... Read more

The Hill | Nearly 100 Democratic lawmakers called on President Trump to back federal climate change initiatives. In a letter, 96 House members urged Trump to heed warnings included in his administration’s national climate assessment released last month which spoke of the harsh economic repercussions climate change would reap on the U.S. “We write to convey our grave concern that time is running out for the United States to work to reverse and mitigate the worst effects of a warming climate,” the... Read more

Rep. Don Beyer today issued the following statement on the Trump Administration’s proposal to significantly weaken protections for wetlands and waterways under the Clean Water Act’s jurisdiction: “Trump’s proposed rule to gut the Clean Water Act’s environmental protections for streams and wetlands will put at risk the water sources that tens of millions of Americans depend upon,” said Rep. Beyer. “Trump is again acting to boost the profits of industry magnates and corporate polluters who spent m... Read more

The Hill | A major Republican donor gave former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief Scott Pruitt $50,000 for his legal defense fund before he stepped down in July. In an ethics filing the EPA released Thursday, Justina Fugh, the agency’s top ethics official, said the donation was “believed to be in cash” and that Pruitt did not seek ethics advice on receiving it. The EPA did not know about it until he filed the disclosure in November, a requirement upon leaving the government. The gift c... Read more

Rep. Beyer today called for swift consideration of his bill, the bipartisan Atlantic Seismic Airgun Protection (ASAP) Act, following an announcement by the National Marine Fisheries Service that the Trump Administration had formally approved permitting for seismic blasting in the Atlantic ocean. Beyer said: “Coastal states, communities, small businesses, political leaders from both parties, and the United States Navy all stand united in opposition to drilling, seismic blasting, and invasive petr... Read more

The Hill | The Trump administration took a major step Friday toward allowing testing for offshore oil and natural gas under the Atlantic Ocean. The National Marine Fisheries Service, part of the Commerce Department’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), is letting five companies commit “incidental” harassment of marine mammals like whales and dolphins as part of their seismic testing to determine oil and gas deposits under the ocean floor, the agency said. It’s the first time ... Read more

McClatchy | The Trump administration on Friday approved permits for seismic testingon the Atlantic Coast, a prelude to offshore oil drilling and move that is sure to antagonize Republican governors and lawmakers in the Southeast, whose support the president will need in a 2020 re-election bid. The National Marine Fisheries Service, an arm of the U.S. Commerce Department, approved permits for five companies to conduct seismic testing between northern Delaware and central Florida. That testing is ... Read more

Rep. Don Beyer issued the following statement today on the National Climate Assessment, after the Trump Administration’s release of that document over a holiday weekend: “The National Climate Assessment makes it clear that climate change is killing Americans now. It also makes it clear that the level of danger will grow over time, that inaction will be far costlier than confronting the problem, and that it is not too late to act. These truths will affect millions of American lives whether Donald... Read more

Falls Church News Press | U.S. Rep. Don Beyer, who represents the 8th District of Virginia that includes the City of Falls Church, issued the following statement today on the National Climate Assessment, after the Trump Administration’s release of that document over a holiday weekend: “The National Climate Assessment makes it clear that climate change is killing Americans now. It also makes it clear that the level of danger will grow over time, that inaction will be far costlier than confronting... Read more