16 CapitalPress.com
January 23, 2015
Hastings sees hope for ESA, energy bills
By DAN WHEAT
Capital Press
PASCO, Wash. — As chairman
of the House Natural Resources
Committee for the past four years,
Doc Hastings shepherded bills on
Endangered Species Act reform and
energy development through the Re-
publican-controlled House only to
see them die in the Democratic-con-
trolled Senate.
It was frustrating, he said, but he
doesn’t view his work as being in
vain. Instead, he believes it set the
stage for the likely passage of sim-
ilar measures this session. Republi-
cans now control the Senate and the
House.
If President Barack Obama ve-
toes them, it will highlight the differ-
ences between the parties for voters
in the 2016 elections, he said.
“With our technology and re-
sources, we have the potential to be
the largest producer of natural gas
and oil in the world. Why wouldn’t
we do that? The American people
instinctively understand that,” said
Hastings, who just retired after rep-
resenting central Washington state in
Congress for 20 years.
His bills would have increased
offshore drilling and streamlined the
process for drilling on public lands
onshore. The current reduction in gas
prices is largely because of increased
drilling on private and state lands
in west Texas and North Dakota, he
said. More oil could be accessed on
public lands.
Already Congress is moving to
pass the Keystone XL pipeline and
with a court ruling in Nebraska in its
favor, a key point of opposition has
been removed, Hastings said.
“It has bipartisan support in both
houses so this is the opportunity for
Former Con-
gressman Doc
Hastings stands
in his home with
a painting com-
missioned with
private funds of
him as chairman
of the House
Natural Resourc-
es Committee.
The bust of
Ronald Reagan,
a gift years ago
from his staff,
was in his office
in Washington,
D.C.
Dan Wheat/
Capital Press
the president to join in the discus-
sions,” he said.
Obama is threatening a veto.
Endangered species
Several years ago a “mega settle-
ment” between the U.S. Department
of the Interior and environmental
groups led to the potential listing
of 750-plus species as threatened or
endangered across the country, Hast-
ings said.
From a mussel in Arkansas to a
bat in Pennsylvania, it affected parts
of the country never before impacted
by the ESA, increasing concern in
Congress.
Hastings’ Endangered Species
Transparency and Reasonableness
Act would have made public the
data used by federal agencies in de-
termining ESA listings.
“It boils down to transparency,”
Hastings said. “This was to be the
presidency that was going to be the
most transparent in history and it
hasn’t been.”
The issue is critical for agricul-
ture, especially in regard to fish, be-
cause that involves water and “water
fuels agriculture,” he said.
“I know there is strong interest
in the Senate on this issue,” he said.
“We talked about ESA (for four
years) and I don’t think there is any
question the momentum we created
will have a positive impact in the
Senate this session. I think that’s true
with energy policy also.”
Immigration reform
Hastings said he was among
those educating House colleagues
on the need for immigration reform
to include a better guestworker pro-
gram for labor-intensive agriculture,
such as the tree fruit industry in his
district.
“There’s broad agreement in
the House and Senate that the issue
needs to be addressed. That wasn’t
necessarily the case in (immigration
reform efforts) 2005 and 2006,” he
said.
President George W. Bush was
aggressive on immigration reform
and Obama could have built on that
momentum and passed something in
this first two years when Democrats
controlled the presidency and Con-
gress, he said.
“But there wasn’t a peep, not
even a peep of immigration legisla-
tion. It didn’t become an issue until
after they lost the House in 2010.
There had to be political motivation
behind that,” he said.
There’s a chance Congress will
pass immigration reform, but the
question is whether the president
will engage in give-and-take, he
said. The president’s executive order
granting legal status to some people
was an overreach of executive au-
thority, he said.
Federal debt
While radical Islamic terrorism
is a threat to the United States, so is
the national debt, Hastings said. The
House repeatedly passed bills to re-
duce entitlement spending by giving
people greater choices in health care
and retirement, he said. That needs
to happen, he said, noting that Pres-
ident Bill Clinton, a Democrat, and
a Republican Congress balanced the
federal budget for four years, creat-
ing surpluses and reducing the na-
tional deficit.
That was reversed by the wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan after the 911 at-
tacks but the peak of annual deficits
under Bush was half to a third what
they have reached under Obama, he
said.
Hastings faults the president for
being unwilling to compromise or
even engage in meaningful talks
with Congress on many issues. “The
most disappointing thing in my po-
litical life was 2012 when he was
re-elected,” he said.
Hastings won’t say if he has a fa-
vorite for the GOP presidential nom-
ination in 2016, but says it should be
someone with executive experience,
a governor.
He has an admonition for farm-
ers.
People directly involved in agri-
culture don’t have the political clout
they did 100 years ago because now
they make up only 3 percent of the
population.
“That’s why I encourage them to
get involved in commodity groups
and the Farm Bureau,” he said.
“They need to continue to speak as
loudly as they can.”
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By Danelle Sabathier
Meet Andres Parra: 2014 4-H Youth in Action (YIA) Award recipient.
Growing up as part of a Mexican immigrant family, Andres Parra experienced many obstacles in life, was
overweight, unhealthy, and struggled to find the motivation to excel in school. He was introduced to the 4-H/United
Healthcare Eat4-Health program and discovered a passion for nutrition and exercise, which led to more productive
academic and personal health habits.
Through the program, Parra dropped from 200 to 146 pounds, and had an opportunity to lead community events and
interactive educational activities, empowering other young people to pursue healthy lifestyles. As a teen ambassador,
Parra taught more than 200 5th and 6th graders about nutritious eating habits and making healthy choices.
Andres credits 4-H for putting him on a path to success, and empowering him to have a similarly positive impact on
his peers and community by teaching them the benefits of healthy eating habits, nutrition and a healthy lifestyle.
Why did you apply for the 4-H Youth in Action (YIA) Award?
Applying for the award was the next big step in my career. I needed to show my community, but most importantly
the youth, that living healthy can literally turn your life around, and provides awesome opportunities to meet people
that enjoy the same healthy living lifestyle as I do.
Where were you when you learned you were selected as the national 4-H YIA Award winner?
I was teaching youth in the morning at work and knew the CEO of National 4-H Council was coming to the Tucson
Village Farm, a non-profit organization that connects youth back to food production and how to live healthier lives.
We all took a seat once I finished teaching. Luckily, we already had food catered that day because we had lots of
VIP’s visiting the farm. I was anxious as to whether I had won the award or not and would check my email every 30
minutes, beginning to worry that I wouldn’t receive a response. Soon after we finished eating, the CEO of National
4-H Council, Jennifer Sirangelo, stood up to make an announcement and personally announced the award to me. I
was so excited, I jumped out of my seat and hugged her as tight as I could. I felt as though I was at the top of the
world. Words could not describe my feelings of excitement that I managed to win the award. I later went home that
day to tell my family that I had won and was extremely happy and proud of myself. The next thing that came to my
head was that my efforts to live healthy actually resulted in a national award. I was so happy!
How did you feel about traveling to D.C. and participating in the awards event?
Traveling to D.C. was the best time I’ve ever had in my life because all the hard work I had been doing finally paid
off.
What is your greatest memory about your 4-H YIA experience in Washington, D.C.?
My greatest memory was when I got the opportunity to tour D.C. on my own. I saw monuments and buildings, which
coming from an immigrant family from Mexico, only seemed like a dream. I dedicated one whole day to jogging to
all the monuments to see them up close.
How has your experience as 4-H YIA helped or inspired you in the past year?
Receiving the award has only made me want to push even harder towards getting my Ph.D. Sometimes people come
to me and ask for advice or help and some teachers even ask me to give speeches at their schools to inspire the youth
to make better life decisions.
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