The House GOP's new top watchdog plans to intensify oversight of the Interior Department and U.S. EPA in the 114th Congress, spotlighting everything from alleged restrictions on federal lands to employee misconduct.
Jason Chaffetz, the recently minted chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, created an Interior Subcommittee to oversee Interior, EPA, and the Energy and Agriculture departments.
The four-term Utahn could be a formidable obstacle for the Obama administration as it pursues executive protections for Western public lands, including national monuments, and seeks to balance energy development with protections for wild lands, water and the climate.
Chaffetz's home state is flush with oil, natural gas and other minerals, but roughly two-thirds of the land is federally controlled by the Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service and National Park Service.
Chaffetz said he's deeply concerned with the ability of Utahns to access federal lands and the "ever expanding" size of the federal estate.
...Chaffetz's new Interior subpanel will be led by Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), who yesterday was also named chairwoman of the Congressional Western Caucus, a GOP group that has vigorously opposed Obama's lands agenda.
The panel's staff director will be Bill McGrath, former legislative counsel with Safari Club International who spearheaded the group's legislative and political strategy around public lands and the Endangered Species Act. At Safari Club, McGrath oversaw legislation on polar bear trophies and ivory regulations and was treasurer of the group's Republican-aligned political action committee.
Chaffetz also hired Machalagh Carr, an oversight staffer from the Natural Resources Committee who led investigations of Obama's energy and wildlife agenda.
Chaffetz said the Interior panel will take a microscope to the Antiquities Act -- the 1906 law that allows presidents to unilaterally set aside lands from energy development -- and the National Environmental Policy Act and ESA. It will also scour the Federal Register for decisions affecting federal lands.
Interior Secretary Sally Jewell has taken note. She set up a half-hour meeting with Chaffetz last month in which the two discussed the need for openness and transparency in the executive branch.
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