2024: Fitzpatrick Voted Against Allowing Mining Companies To Stake
Claims On Public Lands Without Proof Of A Mineral Deposit. In May
2024, Fitzpatrick voted against , according to Congressional Quarterly,
"the bill that would amend current law on mining plans to allow a mining
claimant to have the right to use and occupy the land to conduct
operations on public land with or without the discovery of a valuable
mineral if the claimant makes timely payment of fees, including lands
for mining-support activities such as waste or processing sites. It
would stipulate that a claimant who fulfills the fee requirements would
be deemed in compliance with current law regarding payment for the fair
market value of the use of public land and its resources." The vote was
on passage. The House passed the bill by a vote of 216 to 195. [House
Vote 191, 5/8/24;
Congressional Quarterly, 5/8/24; Congressional Quarterly,
5/1/24; Congressional
Actions, H.R.
2925]
The Bill Could Have Allowed Activities Like The Burial Of Toxic
Waste Or Stalled Renewable Energy Projects. According to
Congressional Quarterly, "Critics of the bill said it could allow
activities such as burial of toxic waste on public lands, or simply
allow opponents of renewables projects to place stakes in the ground
and thereby claim the land for themselves in order to stall
progress." [Congressional Quarterly,
5/1/24]
The Bill Was Previously Pulled From The Floor Due To A Protest
Vote By GOP Hardliners. According to Congressional Quarterly, "The
House on Wednesday will revisit a Republican-drafted mining bill
that was pulled from the floor last week in what seemed to be a
rebuke of Republican leadership by a few of the party's hard-line
members. Six Republicans joined the Democratic-led motion to
recommit the bill (HR 2925) on May 1, a step normally employed by
the minority party that's rarely successful. Despite its success
this time, however, leadership was not technically required to send
the bill back to the House Natural Resources Committee, and instead
can bring it back to the floor." [Congressional Quarterly,
5/8/24]
2024: Fitzpatrick Effectively Voted For A Bill Allowing Mining
Companies To Stake Claims On Public Lands Without Proof Of A Mineral
Deposit. In May 2024, Fitzpatrick voted against , according to
Congressional Quarterly, the "Leger-Fernandez, D-N.M., motion to
recommit the bill to the House Natural Resources Committee." The bill
would "allow hardrock mining companies to stake claims on public lands
without first having proven the existence of a valuable mineral deposit
was yanked off the floor and sent back to committee on Wednesday, a
procedural move that hasn't been seen possibly in decades." The vote
was on the motion to recommit. The House rejected to the motion by a
vote of 203 to 208. [House Vote 190,
5/8/24; Congressional
Quarterly, 5/8/24;
Congressional Quarterly,
5/1/24; Congressional
Actions, H.R.
2925]
2024: Fitzpatrick Effectively Voted For A Bill Allowing Mining
Companies To Stake Claims On Public Lands Without Proof Of A Mineral
Deposit. In May 2024, Fitzpatrick voted against , according to
Congressional Quarterly, the "Leger-Fernandez, D-N.M., motion to
recommit the bill to the House Natural Resources Committee." The bill
would "allow hardrock mining companies to stake claims on public lands
without first having proven the existence of a valuable mineral deposit
was yanked off the floor and sent back to committee on Wednesday, a
procedural move that hasn't been seen possibly in decades." The vote
was on the motion to recommit. The House agreed to the motion by a vote
of 210 to 204. [House Vote 175,
5/1/24; Congressional
Quarterly, 5/1/24;
Congressional Quarterly,
5/1/24; Congressional
Actions, H.R.
2925]
2019: Fitzpatrick Voted For Blocking Mining In The Pebble Mine of
Alaska. In June 2019, Fitzpatrick voted for an amendment that would,
according to Congressional Quarterly, "prohibit the use of funds made
available by the bill to finalize the environmental impact statement for
a proposed Army Corps of Engineers infrastructure project in southwest
Alaska, including a mine site, port, transportation corridor, and
natural gas pipeline." The vote was on adoption of the amendment. The
House adopted the amendment by a vote of 233-201. [House Vote 363,
6/19/19; Congressional
Quarterly, 6/19/19;
Congressional Actions,
H.Amdt.384;
Congressional Actions, H.R.
2740]
The Amendment Prevented Mining At Pebble Mine In Alaska, Which The
NRDC States Would Put A $1.5 Billion Annual Fishery At Risk.
According to NRDC, "Pebble Mine is a reckless scheme that carries
unprecedented risk. The giant gold and copper mine proposed at the
headwaters of Bristol Bay's legendary salmon runs is an
ill-conceived project fraught with economic, environmental, social
and legal risk [...] The mine would put at risk a $1.5 billion
annual sustainable commercial fishery that provides 14,000 jobs and
supplies half of the world's sockeye salmon [...] It's no surprise
that the Pebble Mine faces opposition from a fierce and diverse
group of people, including Bristol Bay tribes, village corporations,
commercial, subsistence, and recreational fishermen, hunters, lodge
owners, businesses, and conservationists." [NRDC,
1/21/19]
NRDC: The Trump Administration Was "Inexplicably Fast-Tracking A
Permit" For Pebble Mine. According to NRDC, "Nonetheless, the
Trump administration is inexplicably fast-tracking a permit for this
colossal mistake [...] the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is rushing
ahead with a fatally flawed and wholly inadequate draft
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The draft EIS lacks critical
information and analysis and fails to properly evaluate the risks of
Pebble to Bristol Bay water, fisheries, wildlife, communities, and
cultures." [NRDC,
1/21/19]
2020: Fitzpatrick Voted For Prohibiting New Mining Or Mineral
Production On 1.3 Million Acres Of Federal Land In Arizona And
Colorado. In July 2020, Fitzpatrick voted for an amendment to the FY
2021 NDAA that would, according to Congressional Quarterly, "effectively
prohibit any new mining or mineral production activities on
approximately one million acres of federal lands in the Grand Canyon
region of Arizona and approximately 261,000 acres of land in Colorado by
withdrawing the federal lands from eligibility for mining and mineral
and geothermal leasing. It would also designate or expand a number of
federal land management areas in Colorado; designate the Camp Hale
National Historic Landscape in Colorado and authorize $10 million for
its administration; and modify or expand certain Interior Department
land use authorities, including authorities related to land transfer and
acquisition, livestock grazing and military high altitude flight
training." The vote was on adoption. The House adopted the amendment by
a vote of 234-181. [House Vote 147,
7/21/20; Congressional
Quarterly, 7/21/20;
Congressional Actions,
H.Amdt.838;
Congressional Actions,
H.R.6395]
2018: Fitzpatrick Voted For The $1.3 Trillion FY 2018 Omnibus
Spending Deal Which Raised Spending By $138 Billion Over FY 2017
Levels, Including $374 Million For The Mine Safety And Health
Administration For Administration, Salaries And Expenses. In March
2018, Fitzpatrick voted for the FY 2018 Omnibus spending bill. According
to Congressional Quarterly, "Combined, the spending measures would
provide about $1.3 trillion in discretionary spending, with $1.2
trillion subject to discretionary spending caps, and $78.1 billion
designated as Overseas Contingency Operations funds. The measure's
spending levels are consistent with the increased defense and
non-defense budget caps set by the two-year budget deal agreed to last
month. That agreement increased the FY 2018 defense cap by $80 billion
and the non-defense cap by $63 billion. Given that the previous caps
were set to reduce overall discretionary spending by $5 billion, the
net increase provided by the omnibus is $138 billion over the FY 2017
level." The vote was on the motion to concur in the Senate Amendment
with an Amendment. The House agreed to the motion, thereby passing the
bill, by a vote of 256 to 167. The Senate later agreed to the
legislation, sending it to the president, who signed it into law.
[House Vote 127,
3/22/18; Congressional
Quarterly, 3/22/18; Congressional
Actions, H.R.
1625]
2017: Fitzpatrick Voted For Legislation That Would Have Repealed
Significant Portions Of Dodd-Frank, Including Repealing A Rule Requiring
Mining Companies Include Mine Safety And Health Violations In SEC
Reports. In June 2017, Fitzpatrick voted for the Financial Choice Act.
According to NPR, "House Republicans voted Thursday to deliver on their
promise to repeal Dodd-Frank --- the massive set of Wall Street
regulations President Barack Obama signed into law after the 2008
financial crisis. In a near party-line vote, the House approved a bill,
dubbed the Financial Choice Act, which scales back or eliminates many of
the post-crisis banking rules." The vote was on passage. The House
passed the bill by a vote of 233 to 186. The Senate took no substantive
action on the legislation. [House Vote 299,
6/8/17; NPR,
6/8/17;
Congressional Actions, H.R.
10]
The Financial Choice Act Repealed Section 1503 Of Dodd-Frank.
According to the text of H.R. 10, "SEC. 862. REPEAL. (a)
REPEAL.---The following sections of title XV of the Dodd-Frank Wall
Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act are repealed, and the
provisions of law amended or repealed by such sections are restored
or revived as if such sections had not been enacted: (1)
Section 1502. (2) Section 1503." [Congress.gov, H.R.
10]
Section 1503 of Dodd-Frank Required Mining Companies To Include
Safety Violations In SEC Reports. According to the SEC, "Under
Section 1503 of the Dodd-Frank Act, mining companies are required to
include information about mine safety and health in the quarterly
and annual reports they file with the SEC. The Dodd-Frank Act
disclosure requirements are based on the safety and health
requirements that apply to mines under the Federal Mine Safety and
Health Act of 1977, which is administered by the Mine Safety and
Health Administration (MSHA). The new SEC rules, which take effect
30 days after publication in the Federal Register, specifically
require those companies to provide mine-by-mine totals for the
following: Significant and substantial violations of mandatory
health or safety standards under section 104 of the Mine Act for
which the operator received a citation from MSHA Orders under
section 104(b) of the Mine Act Citations and orders for
unwarrantable failure of the mine operator to comply with section
104(d) of the Mine Act Flagrant violations under section 110(b)(2)
of the Mine Act Imminent danger orders issued under section 107(a)
of the Mine Act The dollar value of proposed assessments from MSHA
Notices from MSHA of a pattern of violations or potential to have a
pattern of violations under section 104(e) of the Mine Act Pending
legal actions before the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review
Commission Mining-related fatalities The accompanying instructions
specify that a mining company must report the total penalties
assessed in the reporting period, even if the company is contesting
an assessment. For legal actions, mining companies are instructed to
report the number instituted and resolved during the reporting
period, report the number pending on the last day of the reporting
period, and categorize the actions based on the type of proceeding."
[SEC,
12/21/11]