Rep. Cliff Bentz named chairman of House subcommittee on water, wildlife, fisheries

WASHINGTON (KTVZ) -- Rep. Cliff Bentz (OR-02) announced Wednesday that he has been named chairman of the Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries.

Bentz issued this statement:

“It is an honor to be selected as Chairman of the Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries Subcommittee of the Natural Resources Committee, and I thank Chairman Westerman for this opportunity.

"This subcommittee is tasked with the immensely important responsibility of overseeing and improving the federal policies and laws that so significantly affect America’s use and protection of our freshwater, our oceans, and our wildlife.

"Our subcommittee will improve the federal response to the crippling drought that is challenging the future of the west so that everyone—farmers, ranchers, homeowners, businesses, and tribes—can continue to live in and produce food and fiber, essential to our nation’s security, on our lands.

"Yes, we will be advocating for the storage of more water. Additionally, the Biden Administration, during this drought, has repeatedly perverted the application of the Endangered Species Act for the Administration’s political ends, wrongfully taking water away from those to whom water was promised, more than 100 years ago, by this same government.

"This subcommittee will conduct serious oversight of such heavy-handed, wrongheaded, and scientifically unbalanced federal agency actions taken over the past two years.

"Finally, we will ensure that recreational and commercial fishermen and women have fair access to fishing in the oceans. I am eager to get to work with my colleagues on behalf of the people of our United States of America.”

Rep. Bruce Westerman (AR-04), Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee:

“I’m so pleased to welcome back Congressman Bentz as the leader of our Water, Wildlife and Fisheries Subcommittee. From Western drought’s impact on food prices to the weaponized Endangered Species Act, America desperately needs innovation and transformation of the federal government’s approach to these issues. Given his professional background and work as the subcommittee’s ranking member last Congress, I’m confident Mr. Bentz will once again be a valuable advocate for modernizing our nation’s water infrastructure, drought-proofing parts of the West and modernizing outdated wildlife laws. Let's get to work!”