U.S. Department of the Interior
Interior to launch mental health program for wildland firefighters, boost wildfire spending
The U.S. Interior Department will create a health and wellbeing program for wildland firefighters and boost spending on firefighting efforts by $103 million in fiscal 2022, the department said in an exclusive to States Newsroom on Friday. The additional funding, to be announced in Boise, Idaho, by Secretary Deb Haaland, comes as part of the $1.5 […]
U.S. Interior secretary to promote big spending jump for tribal, climate programs
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland will ask a U.S. House spending panel to increase funding for the department’s tribal programs and climate resilience efforts, according to written testimony released ahead of a hearing scheduled for Thursday. The administration’s budget request for fiscal 2023 would significantly increase spending for the Interior Department. Its agencies oversee onshore oil and gas drilling, […]
Interior would see big funding boost under Biden budget proposal, including tribal programs
President Joe Biden’s budget request, released Monday, would boost funding for the Interior Department by nearly one-fifth, well above what the administration has proposed for most discretionary spending. The president’s $5.8 trillion request to Congress for fiscal 2023 proposes a 5% increase for domestic discretionary programs. Interior would see $17.5 billion in discretionary spending, a 19% increase from the […]
Haaland promises governors federal help for fires, drought
U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland pledged federal resources and cooperation with governors from 19 Western states to tackle wildfire resilience, drought management, oil and gas cleanup efforts and other issues made more difficult by climate change. Speaking at the Western Governors Association meeting outside San Diego on Thursday, Haaland touted funding for Interior priorities in […]
Interior Department calls for oil and gas leasing updates, but not ending production
The U.S. Interior Department recommended increased fees for oil and gas exploration on federal lands as part of a long-awaited report released Friday that environmental groups said didn’t go far enough in limiting fossil fuels and Republicans derided as an attack on domestic producers. The report, ordered by President Joe Biden during his first week in […]
Biden to nominate first tribal member to lead National Park Service
President Joe Biden plans to nominate the first enrolled tribal member to head up the National Park Service — Oregon conservationist Charles F. Sams III, the White House announced Wednesday. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, he would be the first full-time director since Jonathan B. Jarvis left the job at the end of the […]
White House pledges to fight court order on oil and gas leases, but activists want more
The Biden administration plans to appeal a federal court decision forcing the government to restart oil and gas leases that have been paused since January. But administration officials are also promising to comply in a way that takes into account the damage caused by fossil fuel development. The two-part move worries progressive activists and members […]
Federal judge halts Biden pause on new oil and gas leases across the U.S.
A federal judge in Louisiana has ordered the Biden administration to restart regular sales of oil and gas leases, forcing the administration to prematurely abandon a central piece of its climate change agenda. In a preliminary ruling issued Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty granted the request of Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry and 12 other Republican-led […]
New unit launched at Interior to investigate cases of missing and murdered Indigenous people
The U.S. Department of the Interior is creating a new unit to lead and help coordinate investigations into the ongoing crisis of murdered and missing American Indian and Alaska Native people. Interior Secretary Debra Haaland, the first Indigenous person to lead the agency, announced Thursday the formation of the Missing & Murdered Unit within the Bureau of […]
Increases in royalties paid by oil and gas producers, lease rates targeted in Biden review
Interior Department officials indicated Thursday the Biden administration would change some federal oil and gas policies in an effort to roll back the aggressive fossil fuel agenda of former President Donald Trump. Interior leaders at an online forum said that rates the oil and gas industry pays for leasing, royalties and bonding could be due […]
Senate confirms Haaland as first-ever Native American to serve in the Cabinet
WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Debra Haaland made history on Monday when she became the first Native American to ever be confirmed by the U.S. Senate to hold a position in a president’s Cabinet. In a narrow 51-40 vote, senators confirmed Haaland, a New Mexico Democrat, to serve as secretary of Interior, where she will run […]
Senate panel advances Deb Haaland’s historic nomination to lead Interior Department
WASHINGTON — Deb Haaland has moved a step closer to becoming the first Native American to serve as a federal Cabinet secretary, with a Senate committee on Thursday advancing her nomination to lead the Department of the Interior. The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources voted 11-9 to send her nomination to a vote by the […]