A House of Representatives subcommittee is set to investigate the influence of environmental activist groups on the Department of the Interior (DOI), according to an internal memo. The focus will be on the actions of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and her dealings with groups like the Pueblo Action Alliance, amid concerns of increased sway from extreme environmental NGOs under President Joe Biden's administration.
The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, which has jurisdiction over federal agencies and policies, has announced a hearing for April 30 to address these issues. The memo sent to subcommittee members highlights worries that NGOs are significantly influencing federal rulemaking, often beyond public scrutiny, despite stringent compliance and ethics standards.
Republicans contend that the White House is unduly influenced by activist nonprofits and organizations with "leftist social and environmental justice agendas." The upcoming hearing will explore "questionable communications" between DOI officials and environmental groups under Secretary Haaland's leadership. The memo suggests intimate and potentially improper relationships have been established with "radical NGOs" driving the administration's environmental agenda.
According to The Washington Times, Secretary Haaland, before her appointment, had ties with the Pueblo Action Alliance and coordinated with its members on initiatives such as restricting oil and gas leasing and mining in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. The Department, in a June 2023 press release, mentioned actions taken to protect Chaco Culture National Historical Park, citing "extensive public engagement" but without referencing any interaction with the Pueblo Action Alliance.
Republicans express "serious concerns" over the DOI's relationship with various NGOs, based on media reports, documents from FOIA requests, and oversight from the House Committee on Natural Resources. Specifically, Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) and his subcommittee are troubled by "undisclosed ex parte communications" and private meetings between DOI officials and nonprofit staff.
The memo also raises alarm over possible ties between some environmental groups and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) or other foreign entities. The April 30 hearing will feature testimony from Scott Walter of the Capital Research Center and Richard Painter, former chief ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush.
Jamie Williams of The Wilderness Society and Julia Fay Bernal of the Pueblo Action Alliance declined to testify at the hearing. The inquiry follows a report by the watchdog group Protect the Public’s Trust, which claimed the Biden administration waived development fees for a wind energy company shortly before the company's attorney joined the DOI.
