Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                                                                      May 23, 2012

CONTACT:                                                                                            Apryl Marie Fogel

                                                                                    AprylMarie.Fogel@mail.house.gov

    Congressman Gosar Reacts to Obama Admin. Distortion of Facts

“The people of Arizona and America deserve better”

PHOENIX, AZ –U.S. Congressman Paul Gosar, D.D.S (R-AZ) released the following statement today in response to the recently-discovered internal emails that  suggest  the Obama Administration deliberately overstated the environmental impacts of uranium mining to justify its 20-year ban on uranium development on one million acres of federal land in Northern Arizona:

“When the Obama Administration announced their one million acre land-grab earlier this year, I said their actions distorted the truth and outright denied the facts in order to push their big government agenda.  Nearly six months later, my committee has discovered documents that suggest the National Park Service had the scientific evidence, collected by the agency itself, detailing the reality of government deception. 

Today’s reports come at a time when residents of rural Arizona continue to face record unemployment and the need for jobs.  The Obama Administration’s ban should be reversed, and the people of Arizona should be allowed to move forward with these important economic development projects.  These mines could provide over 1,000 high-paying jobs, generate $29 billion in economic output, and would have many other indirect economic benefits that would revitalize our region.

The people of Arizona and of America deserve better than junk science and political cover up.  They deserve a government that is responsible to the people and focuses on facts, not scare tactics and misinformation.  As a member of the House Natural Resources Committee, I will continue efforts to expose the Administration’s misinformation campaign and to work to spur economic development in Arizona.”

On January 9th, 2012, the Obama Administration announced it would impose a 20-year ban on uranium mining on one million acres of federal land in Arizona—one of the most uranium-rich areas in the United States.  Internal emails obtained by the House Natural Resources Committee raise significant questions into the science used by the Obama Administration to justify its ban.  In the emails, scientists within the National Park Service discuss how the potential environmental impacts were “grossly overestimated” in the Administration’s record of decision and that the potential impacts were “very minor to negligible.”  More information on the House Natural Resources Committee’s findings can be found here.

Congressman Trent Franks (R-AZ), Paul Gosar (R-AZ) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ) have introduced the "Northern Arizona Mining Continuity Act of 2011," known as H.R. 3155.  The bill would reverse the Secretary of the Interior’s 20-year ban.

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