Press Releases

WASHINGTON D.C. - Congressman Paul Gosar (AZ-04) issued the following statement after voting against H.R. 803, the Grand Canyon Protection Act.

“This falsely-named legislation has absolutely nothing to do with protecting the Grand Canyon. Instead, it is an open attack on Northern Arizona mining and the hard-working people of my district.

Speaker Pelosi and her liberal allies refused to hold a single hearing for meaningful consideration or debate of this legislation. In doing so, Democrats foisted a massive land grab of more than one million acres and permanently banned mining and other multiple-use activities in our great state of Arizona.

It is estimated that this harmful bill will destroy as many as 4,000 jobs and cost $29 billion in sacrificed economic activity. The withdrawal area also contains 4,204 acres belonging to the Arizona State Land Department for the benefit of Arizona’s school children. This withdrawal will mean hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenues for local communities and for our schools.

This bill is also an attempt to lock out the ability to mine high-grade uranium, a critical element for carbon-free renewable energy that has irreplaceable applications in defense and medicine. The real beneficiaries of this bill are Russia and other bad state actors who we must turn to in order to secure uranium for our domestic needs.

Because the domestic supply is scant, the United States imports 97% of uranium from foreign sources, including Russia. If we pass bills like the Grand Canyon Preservation Act, we will forever close this area and soon 100% of our uranium will be supplied by foreign nations. At the same time, our ability to provide for the defense or our nation and other necessary industries will be comprised because of this bill.

I urge my colleagues in the Senate to defeat this badly flawed legislation,” said Rep. Gosar.