House Democrats call on Justice Department to investigate former Home Secretary David Bernhardand a federal report found that hundreds of Indigenous children died in government residential schools.

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Democrats call for investigation into ex-home secretary

Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee are calling on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate Trump-era Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, alleging he may have engaged in a “quid pro quo” concerning a drinking water permit.

The committee, for the first time in its history, made a criminal referral to the DOJ on the situation on Wednesday.

What is alleged? Lawmakers raised concerns that the federal government changed its stance on a permit around the same time the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee received donations from an inversion recipient.

The donations from the recipient and others, which totaled nearly $250,000, were outside of the typical election cycle and “highly unusual,” according to the reference.

“These facts raise serious concerns about a potentially criminal quid pro quo,” committee chair Raúl Grijalva (D-Arizona) and Rep. Katie Porter (D-California) wrote in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland.

Bernhardt did not immediately respond to The Hill’s requests for comment. A representative for the recipient, Mike Ingram, owner of developer El Dorado Holdings, said there was no wrongdoing.

“All Mr. Ingram did and El Dorado did was to ask the government to look at the facts and the law. Period. Nothing in return for campaign contributions. Nothing in exchange for political connections,” El Dorado legal counsel Lanny Davis told The Hill.

(Davis has contributed opinion pieces to The Hill.)

The details: The charges stem from a reversal of position by the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) on a permit for a development project in Arizona known as Villages at Vigneto.

Now-retired FWS field supervisor Steve Spangle told the Arizona Daily Star in 2019 that he was pressured by a “high-level politician” to reverse a decision that would have required a detailed analysis of how development might impact endangered species.

He said at the time that it had been “cancelled” and, in an October 2017 letter, reversed course in a way that made it easier to obtain a permit under the Clean Water Act. .

The Democrats’ report notes that in August 2017, Bernhardt and Ingram met over breakfast.

They also note that on October 6, 2017, when the license reassessment was announced:

• Ingram donated $10,000 to the Trump Victory Fund (TVF), a committee that disburses funds to both the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee (RNC)
• Between Oct. 5, 2017 and Oct. 10, 2017, Ingram and 12 other Arizona donors donated a total of $147,000 to the same organization, according to the reference.
• A donor gave an additional $94,600 to the RNC

Learn more about the benchmark here.

Hundreds of Indigenous children have died in federal schools: Inside

Hundreds of Native American children have died after being forcibly placed in public boarding schools for 50 years, the Interior Department said Wednesday in its first investigative report into the program.

• The survey found that a total of 408 schools were federally operated between 1819 and 1869, along with 89 others that received no federal funding.
• Department has so far identified more than 500 deaths at 19 schools, Home Secretary says Deb Haalandbut the ministry expects to identify others
• The report identified marked and unmarked burial sites at 53 schools, which are also expected to increase as the analysis continues.

A Dark Chapter: In schools, children were forced to cut their hair and speak only English rather than their native language, and were also subjected to what Assistant Home Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland called it “a weaponized and identity-altering methodology”.

Haaland’s grandfather was a survivor of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, whose founder, Richard Henry Pratt, described the institution’s mission as “kill the Indian, save the man.”

The survey also found that schools often focused on job skills and manual labor rather than academic work, leaving graduates with limited skills and job prospects.

He further determined that about half of the boarding schools may have enlisted the help or support of religious institutions, with the federal government in some cases paying religious organizations per capita for Native American students.

The survey found that schools existed in 37 states and 11 then-territories, with the largest number, 37, in Oklahoma. The department has recommended a number of additional steps to be taken in the investigation, including producing a detailed list of burial locations at boarding schools as well as a rough estimate of the amount of federal financial assistance they have received. received.

Learn more about the report here.

Biden official acknowledges ‘urgency’ of solar probe

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on Wednesday defended the Commerce Department’s investigation into solar panel component makers, telling the Senate Appropriations Committee that she hoped to conclude it as soon as possible.

In April, Rep. Scott Peters (D-California) expressed concern the case “could cost us 100,000 U.S. solar jobs and jeopardize our shared clean energy goals,” saying it had already delayed more than 300 projects.

During Wednesday’s hearing, Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) asked Raimondo about the investigation, which was launched in response to a petition from U.S. solar company Auxin Solar.

“Why is there no industry-backed threshold to initiate this anti-circumvention investigation?” asked Morane. “There is a process that is used to maintain tariffs [on solar panels] set up at the expense of industry by a small company.

Moran noted that Auxin would not have had access to any proprietary information about the conduct of the companies in question and asked whether the Commerce Department concluded, based on its own information, that the investigation was appropriate.

The investigation, opened in March, involves allegations that solar panel component makers in several Southeast Asian countries were fronts for Chinese component companies seeking to avoid U.S. tariffs.

“I’ve heard from many of you and many in the industry and I share the sense of urgency,” Raimondo replied. “I understand how fragile the solar supply chain is and how we need to move forward.”

Learn more about the probe here.

WHAT WE READ

• Manchin snuggles up with fracking billionaire Harold Hamm (E&E News)
• Oil giants are selling dirty wells to buyers with looser climate goals, study finds (The New York Times)
• Revealed: ‘Carbon bombs’ poised to trigger catastrophic climate breakdown (The Guardian)
• Ukraine has cut the flow of Russian gas to Europe through a key pipeline (The Wall Street Journal)
• Rising water use in California paves way for more penalties (CalMatters)

And finally, something quirky and quirky: What’s the buzz?

That’s all for today, thanks for reading. Check out The Hill’s Energy and Environment page for the latest news and coverage. Well see you tomorrow.

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