Democrats grill BLM chief over plans to move officials out of DC

Democrats tore into the chief of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) at a hearing Tuesday, questioning the merits of a Department of Interior plan to decentralize the public land agency and send its top officials west. BLM acting Director William Pendley testified before the House Natural Resources Committee, where he faced tough questions about the details of the move, how it will save taxpayers money, and whether the agency can be effective as its headquarters staff are broken apart and placed in different offices in different states. “The Department of the Interior has done nothing to alleviate concerns that this move has been hastily planned, poorly researched, and questionably motivated,” said Chairman Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.). “There is no doubt this plan fits this administration’s pattern of trying to sell out our environment and natural resources.” For Pendley, a controversial figure given his past support for selling off federal lands, it was his first appearance before lawmakers since being quietly appointed to lead the bureau through an order from the Interior secretary. “Nothing beats being on the ground,” Pendley told lawmakers at the hearing, defending the relocation plan. “Nothing beats seeing something up close and personal.”...MORE

I've embedded Pendley's written testimony below, or you can view his written testimony here or watch the entire hearing here.