{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.gallego.senate.gov/news/press-releases/watch-senator-gallego-questions-blm-official-on-agencys-staffing-shortages-arizona-energy-projects/", "WATCH: Senator Gallego Questions BLM Official on Agency\u2019s Staffing Shortages, Arizona Energy Projects", "2025-11-19", "2025", "2025-11", "Democrat", "Senate", "AZ", "Ruben Gallego", "G000574", "www.gallego.senate.gov", "gallego", "https://www.gallego.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 Today, during a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing, Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) pressed Bureau of Land Management (BLM) officials on the agency\u2019s staffing shortages, Arizona renewable energy projects, and Tribal partnerships.\n\nWatch Senator Gallego\u2019s questioning HERE.\n\nIn his opening remarks, Senator Gallego underscored the dangers of BLM\u2019s staffing crisis, which undermines Arizona\u2019s land management goals.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ll get to some of the Arizona questions specifically, but first I want to point out an underlying challenge that impacts every potential use of public lands, which is staffing,\u201d said Senator Gallego. \u201cRegardless of what use you\u2019d like to see BLM lands go to, you need BLM staff to get it approved. And 15 to 20 percent of BLM staff have been fired or forced to retire since the beginning of this year, and not including layoff plans that are currently on hold. So that just doesn\u2019t make sense, and I urge the Administration to reverse course.\u201d\n\nArizona has 12.1 million acres of BLM lands and over 17 million subsurface acres. These lands are home to some of Arizona\u2019s most important resources, including sacred tribal sites, 45 miles of the Arizona scenic trail, and over 55 thousand mining claims.\n\nSenator Gallego also questioned witness Jim Kenna, former Arizona State Director for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) about his work on the Restoration Design Energy Project, which improved opportunities for renewable energy development by reusing disturbed and reclaimed mining sites.\n\n\u201cThere is no substitute for the on-the-ground knowledge and the on-the-ground information when you are doing land-use planning. Each plan and each area is going to be different and unique. That was true in the Restoration Design Energy Project,\u201d said Mr. Kenna. \u201cWhen a mine is decommissioned, mines generally are big consumers of power. The decommissiong historically, has been reclaim the site and take out the power line. But if you\u2019ve got an already disturbed site that\u2019s been flattened and it has power access into the grid, why not take advantage of that? So that was the concept behind it.\u201d\n\nSenator Gallego also emphasized the importance of Tribal consultation in energy projects. Arizona is home to 22 federally recognized tribes.\n\n11/19/25", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:52:45Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.gallego.senate.gov/news/press-releases/watch-senator-gallego-questions-blm-official-on-agencys-staffing-shortages-arizona-energy-projects/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.2286998573690653, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}