{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://grijalva.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=13&itemid=2252", "Reps. Grijalva, Huffman, 21 Members of Congress, Recommend Steps to President Obama to Deescalate Tensions at Dakota Access Pipeline", "2016-11-15", "2016", "2016-11", "Democrat", "House", "AZ", "Ra\u00fal Grijalva", "G000551", "grijalva.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 President Obama should take concrete steps to reduce the tensions at the Dakota Access Pipeline, argued Representatives Ra\u00fal M. Grijalva (D-AZ), Jared Huffman (D-CA), and 21 members of Congress today in a letter to the White House. The lawmakers recommend that the federal government deny the easement for the Dakota Access Pipeline to cross Lake Oahe, deploy observers to ensure water protectors and journalists are safe and their rights are upheld, and urge the state of North Dakota to stand down from its escalation of the use of force. The letter follows today\u2019s announcement by the Army Corps of Engineers that the agency will continue consultations with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe before making a final decision on the fate of the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline.\r\n\r\n\t\u201cThe EMAC is intended to help aid the victims of natural disasters -- not to help suppress our Constitutionally protected right to peacefully assemble,\u201d Rep. Grijalva said. \u201cIts use in this way, and the escalating\u00a0law enforcement\u00a0and National Guard presence in response to unarmed demonstrations, betrays our values as a nation and aids a private corporation whose pipeline threatens\u00a0Native American burial and sacred sites, and\u00a0clean drinking water.\r\n\r\n\t\u201cThe Army Corps is right to continue consulting with the Standing Rock Sioux \u2013 these consultations cannot succeed in the current atmosphere. Justice Department observers should be sent to the area without delay to ensure that this badly needed dialogue \u2013 which should have started much sooner \u2013 is not marred by civil rights abuses occurring just down the road.\u201d\r\n\r\n\t\u201cThe Dakota Access Pipeline has been a call to action for those who believe in protecting the climate and tribal lands and rights,\u201d said Rep. Huffman. \u00a0\u201cFortunately, President Obama can immediately ease this conflict by prohibiting the easement of the pipeline and sending observers from the Department of Justice to protect civil rights. In the coming months, President-elect Trump \u2013 who has personally invested in this pipeline company \u2013 will undoubtedly signal an oil and gas industry takeover of the White House. This will be one of the many battles we must fight and we must stand together to protect the environment, sacred tribal lands, freedom of the press, and the right to peaceful assembly.\u201d\r\n\r\n\tThe signatories on the letter along with Congressman Grijalva and Huffman are Representatives Steve Cohen (D-TN), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), John Conyers (D-MI), Sam Farr (D-CA), Mike Honda (D-CA), Henry C. \u201cHank\u201d Johnson, Jr. (D-GA), Brenda Lawrence (D-MI), Barbara Lee (D-CA), John Lewis (D-GA), Ted W. Lieu (D-CA), Alan Lowenthal (D-CA), James P. McGovern (D-MA), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Grace F. Napolitano (D-CA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA), Jackie Speier (D-CA), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI),\u00a0 and Luis V. Guti\u00e9rrez (D-IL).\r\n\r\n\tA copy of the letter is available here.\r\n\r\n\t###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "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": ["http://grijalva.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=13&itemid=2252"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.2972799595445395, "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"}