Raúl Grijalva: “I strongly oppose H.R. 4090. This bill hands the mining industry the power to gut its own regulations. It directs the…”

“I strongly oppose H.R. 4090. This bill hands the mining industry the power to gut its own regulations. It directs the Secretary of the Interior to expedite and approve any mine that the administration deems a priority, and it tells the Department of the Interior and the Forest Service to identify any public lands that should be a priority for mining, without any public input or Tribal consultation. In the eyes of this administration mineral dominance means mining above all else--above protection of our public lands, above the people who will live with toxic pollution, and above the local communities' interests. My home State of Arizona is all too familiar with the harms left behind from an unregulated mining industry. Over a century of mining left polluted waters, poisoned land, and generations of families feeling the health impacts, including my own. Tribal nations had their lands stolen and sacred sites desecrated by the mining industry. Some may argue that the mining industry is different now and that our regulations are in need of change. I agree that we are in need of modernization, but H.R. 4090 is a move in the wrong direction.”