Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) identified on Tuesday funding to fight wildfires, reforming the Endangered Species Act and steps to alleviate the impact of drought as priorities for the Interior Department in the near future.
Calvert, the chairman of the House Appropriations Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Subcommittee, delivered his remarks during a hearing in which Interior Secretary Sally Jewell presented a budget request for fiscal year 2015.
“The budget presented (on Tuesday) by Secretary Jewell is a starting point for the subcommittee’s consideration of our FY15 bill,” Calvert said. “My colleagues and I are looking forward to hearing from the other agencies funded in our bill as we move towards crafting a bill that is fiscally responsible, sensibly manages our federal lands and unleashes the economic benefits of domestic energy resources.”
Calvert said providing adequate funding to fight wildfires is one of the biggest challenges facing the committee and puts pressure on all aspects of the Interior Department’s budget.
“Another challenge facing the department and the subcommittee relates to the Endangered Species Act,” Calvert said. “The ESA, in my opinion, was a well-intentioned statute that is long-overdue for a major overhaul….”
In particular, Calvert said he was concerned that a possible future decision to list the sage grouse as an endangered species would curtail oil and gas development in the west and negatively impact the national economy.
Calvert also said in the midst of drought that will likely have far-reaching consequences in the western states, Jewell should ensure that the department does not release critical water supply into the Pacific Ocean.