Environmental Protection and Sustainability

Congressman Alan Lowenthal (CA-47) today introduced legislation to address a growing number of fatal cargo vessel strikes on endangered whales along the Southern California coast, while also improving air quality. The Blue Whales, Blue Skies legislation, H.R. 3682, would create a federal recognition program to encourage efforts to reduce vessel speed in shipping lanes along the Santa Barbara channel, close to the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. These lanes are a high threat area for b... Read more

Congressman Alan Lowenthal today, along with 21 Congressional colleagues, called on Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to rely on National Marine Fisheries Services’ (NMFS) 2016 technical guidance for assessing the effects of man-made sound, such as seismic testing, on marine mammals during any future ocean environment oil or gas development. “Marine mammals are highly intelligent animals that use sound to communicate, find food, and inform social interactions. But the impacts of underwater sound an... Read more

Congressman Alan Lowenthal (D-CA) today introduced bipartisan legislation which will create a dedicated revenue source to strengthen America’s economic competitiveness by investing in the rebuilding of our crumbling national freight infrastructure. “Goods movement is the backbone of our economy. In order to maintain the standing of the United States as a global economic leader, we must invest in expanding the capacity, reliability, and efficiency of our nation’s goods movement system and freight... Read more

Congressman Alan Lowenthal (CA-47) today issued the following statement on President Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement on climate change: “President Trump, in a short-sighted and infantile move, has now set the U.S. against the world. We are now the outsiders. We are now isolated. And while I am sure President Trump would have it no other way, his cowardly decision to leave the Paris Agreement does nothing to help anyone. Quite the opposite. “It is clear tha... Read more

Congressman Lowenthal (D-CA) today led a bipartisan group of more than 100 Members of the House of Representatives in urging Department of Interior (DOI) Secretary Ryan Zinke to keep Atlantic and Pacific oceans off-limits to new oil and gas leases. In the letter to Secretary Zinke, the Congressman and his colleagues pointed out that the tourism and fishing industries, both directly threatened by offshore drilling accidents, are a $63 billion economy supporting 1.3 million jobs on the U.S. East C... Read more

Congressman Alan Lowenthal (CA-47), Congressman Don Beyer (VA-08), Congressman Earl Blumenauer (OR-03), and Congressman Jared Huffman (CA-02), Congressman Scott Peters (CA-52), and Congressman Bobby Rush (IL-01), along with 53 of their colleagues, sent a letter to the House Appropriations Committee in support of the United States pledges for the Green Climate Fund (GCF), a multinational effort to address climate change. The letter points out that the GCF is a critical tool for the multinational ... Read more

Congressmen Alan Lowenthal (CA-47) and Dave Reichert (WA-08) today introduced a bipartisan House Resolution that would affirm the sense of Congress that America’s Federal public lands are a “national treasure” that belong to all Americans and should be maintained for future generations. The resolution details the innumerable positive benefits that public lands provide to the nation. These include thousands of jobs, diverse outdoor recreational activities, and world-class hunting and fishing oppo... Read more

In a letter to California Senator Kamala Harris, Congressman Alan Lowenthal (CA-47) today raised concerns about President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Senator Harris will question Pruitt during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee tomorrow. The text of the letter, delivered today and also copied to California Senator Diane Feinstein, reads: Dear Senator Har... Read more

Congressman Alan Lowenthal (CA-47) today issued the following statement on the release of a new methane waste prevention rule covering public lands by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management: “This rule does two very important things. First and foremost, this rule is designed to prevent the waste of a valuable public resource. There is simply no good reason to freely allow companies to take natural gas, a valuable commodity that can be used to power and heat our homes, an... Read more

Congressman Alan Lowenthal (CA-47) today issued the following statement regarding President Obama’s announcement that the historic Paris Climate Accord between the United States and nearly 200 countries has reached the international threshold for implementation: “With the Paris Agreement on climate change reaching its global implementation threshold this week, we have crossed a major milestone toward historic international progress on climate change. “The Paris Agreement is a global acknowledgem... Read more