February 17, 2012

After Rep. Bishop Calls For ‘New Jersey’-Sized Mining Near Grand Canyon, Industry Throws Him Fundraiser

After Rep. Bishop Calls For 'New Jersey'-Sized Mining Near Grand Canyon, Industry Throws Him Fundraiser
Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT)

Late last year, Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT) — Chairman of Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands of the Natural Resources Committee — raised eyebrows when he began aggressively advocating for mining on and selling off public lands. He even told ThinkProgress reporters that he favored mining in an area around the Grand Canyon the size of the state of New Jersey.

Today, the mining industry rewarded Bishop for advocating for its causes. Bishop attended a fundraising breakfast today at D.C.-headquarters of the National Mining Association, where attendees were charged $1,000 and co-sponsors $2,000 each. The fundraiser was officially hosted by the National Mining Association PACs, Arch Coal PAC, and Alpha Natural Resources.

Republic Report confronted Bishop about his attendance at the fundraiser this morning. He offered to talk to us after the fundraiser, saying that it would be a “quick one.” Yet nearly two hours later, the congressman was nowhere to be seen, perhaps because he had chosen to exit the building through a different entrance. Watch Bishop enter the building and our attempt to interview him:

Republic Report was also warned by security personnel several times to not try to talk to tenants of the building, which includes officials with the National Mining Association.