Rep. Barragán Sends Letter to Secretary Zinke Regarding his false Testimony Amid Ethics Concerns Over Taxpayer-Funded Travel Habits

Press Release

Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-Calif.) today sent a letter to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke seeking clarification on comments he made during his testimony before the Committee on Natural Resources earlier this month. During his testimony, Secretary Zinke falsely claimed that he had already responded to Rep. Barragán's and Rep. Don Beyer's (D-Va.) Oct. 5, 2017 letter requesting information about his taxpayer-funded travel. The letter Zinke held up during the hearing, which he claimed was sent to "the ranking member" and Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah) on Oct. 31, 2017, was not a response to the letter from Reps. Barragán and Beyer and was never sent to any Democrat.

Rep. Barragán and Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today reiterated their call for Secretary Zinke to apologize for misleading the Committee, Rep. Barragán and the American people.

"Secretary Zinke's deception during a congressional hearing raises considerable questions about transparency and good faith," said Rep. Barragán. "The Secretary owes the public and this Committee an apology for his misleading testimony, but more than that he owes us the truth about his questionable spending of taxpayer dollars. This is an opportunity for Secretary Zinke to clear up any confusion about his statements and provide the American people with documentation showing that their tax dollars are being spent wisely."
"Claiming to have answered questions he knew he ignored and waving a piece of paper at Rep. Barragán as though it answered her legitimate questions is the height of arrogance," said Rep. Grijalva. "Secretary Zinke needs to come clean to the American people about how he conducts his affairs."

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