Washington, D.C.— Congressman Raúl M. Grijalva has respectfully declined the appointment on the House Ways and Means Committee.

Last week, Grijalva was appointed by the House Democratic Caucus and Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

In order to accept the appointment, Grijalva would have had to give up his seniority and Chairmanship on the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands on the House Committee on Natural Resources.

“I am grateful for the honor by Speaker Pelosi and the Democratic Caucus but I respectfully decline this appointment. Though the Ways and Means Committee is instrumental in crafting laws on taxation, tariffs, Social Security and other public benefits, the need to continue my work on the Committee on Natural Resources and, more specifically, my Subcommittee Chairmanship is more important at this time. There are several issues that will still need to be addressed, such as uranium mining in the Grand Canyon and the continued preservation of our public lands. I look forward to a new beginning for the 111th Congress.”

Grijalva will begin his 4th term in January 2009.