Environment
Washington, D.C – Today, Congressman Frank Pallone (NJ-06) announced that he would reintroduce the Clean Ocean and Safe Tourism (COAST) Anti-Drilling Act that would ban offshore oil and gas drilling in the Atlantic Ocean, Straits of Florida, and the Eastern Gulf of Mexico. In 2017, President Trump signed an executive order aimed toward allowing offshore oil and gas drilling along the East Coast.
Today, at a passing of the gavel celebration on Capitol Hill, Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) announced the first three hearings the Committee will hold later this month after it has officially organized for the 116th Congress:
Hearing 1: Assessing the environmental and economic impacts of climate change. There is no more pressing issue for our economy, our communities and our planet than climate change, and this is the first of many hearings the Committee will hold on this growing crisis.
Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) applauded a multi-state lawsuit filed to reverse federal approval of seismic testing along the eastern seaboard. Governor Murphy, NJ Attorney General Grewal and NJ Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Catherine R. McCabe helped lead the lawsuit designed to protect coastal communities from the dangers of seismic testing and offshore drilling.
Washington, D.C. - Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) and New Jersey environmental leaders met today at the Urban Coast Institute at Monmouth University to discuss the urgent need to address climate change. Last month, the Fourth National Climate Assessment was released and provided further evidence of the devastating impact that climate change will have on our environment and the global economy.
Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) blasted the Trump administration's approval of five Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) permits for companies planning to conduct seismic geological and geophysical surveys along the Atlantic coast. The permits authorize five companies to use seismic airguns that can disturb, harm, and potentially kill not only marine mammals but also a wide range of marine life that support coastal economies from Florida to Maine.
Washington, D.C. – Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) released the following statement today after President Trump announced his replacement program for the Obama Administration's Clean Power Plan:
"As expected, the Trump Administration has replaced the Clean Power Plan with a Coal Protection Plan that fails to safeguard our families and communities from harmful carbon pollution. Once again, this Administration is choosing polluters' profits over public health and safety.
Washington, D.C. – Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) released the following statement today following Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt's resignation:
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) today led a letter to Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT) ,Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, and to Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Committee, expressing strong opposition to Republican legislation that would penalize states like New Jersey, who have responded to their coastal community's demands by effectively banning oil and gas development off of state shores.
Washington, DC - Today, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) announced that Rutgers University has been awarded a National Science Foundation grant of $177,318. The grant will support a project entitled "Connecting Common Era climate and sea level variability along the Eastern North American coastline" and will help improve the scientific understanding of sea level changes along the east coast and their relationship with climate.
Washington, D.C. – Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-N.J.) issued the following statement today after President Trump released his budget proposal for fiscal year 2019:
"President Trump is once again proposing a budget that has little basis in reality and continues his ongoing assault on working families struggling to make ends meet.