[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 176 (Wednesday, October 25, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5180-S5182]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS

  The following petitions and memorials were laid before the Senate and 
were referred or ordered to lie on the table as indicated:

       POM-77. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of Alaska urging the United States Secretary of 
     Commerce, the National Marine Fisheries Service, the Alaska 
     Department of Fish and Game, and other federal and state 
     agencies to defend the state's fisheries, including the 
     Southeast Alaska troll fishery; to the Committee on Commerce, 
     Science, and Transportation.

                      House Joint Resolution No. 5

       Whereas commercial fishing is a mainstay of the state's 
     economy and the largest private sector employer in the state; 
     and
       Whereas, in Southeast Alaska alone, the seafood industry 
     directly employed 11,300 workers and provided $653,000,000 in 
     total economic output in 2019; and
       Whereas the troll fleet is one of the largest fleets in the 
     state and the largest fleet in Southeast Alaska, and, in 
     2019, approximately 1,450 fishers earned income directly from 
     the fishery; and
       Whereas state residents comprise 85 percent of the state's 
     commercial troll permit holders, making it the highest level 
     of local ownership of any major fishery in the state: and
       Whereas commercial salmon trolling contributes to the 
     economy of Southeast Alaska year-round, with winter, spring, 
     and summer troll seasons sustaining employment in fishing, 
     seafood processing, and fisheries-related industries; and
       Whereas, when accounting for multiplier effects of the 
     fishing, seafood processing, and fisheries-related 
     industries, commercial trolling is one of the three most 
     valuable commercial fisheries in Southeast Alaska and has a 
     total annual economic impact of approximately $85,000,000, as 
     measured in terms of total output; and
       Whereas, as compared to the costs of entry to other state 
     fisheries, the affordability of the troll fishery provides an 
     entry level opportunity for new commercial fishers, and, as a 
     result, there are troll fishery permit holders in nearly all 
     33 communities in Southeast Alaska, all of which will suffer 
     if the Southeast Alaska chinook troll fishery is closed; and
       Whereas the Wild Fish Conservancy filed a lawsuit against 
     the United States Secretary of Commerce and the National 
     Marine Fisheries Service alleging that the Southeast Alaska 
     chinook troll fishery authorized by the National Marine 
     Fisheries Service is contributing to the extinction of an 
     endangered population of southern resident killer whales; and
       Whereas only two to three percent of the total Alaska catch 
     is from the Puget Sound chinook salmon and lower Columbia 
     River fall stocks, which constitute the most important stocks 
     for southern resident killer whales, and the Alaska fishery 
     catch is only a small portion of those stocks' runs; and
       Whereas numerous studies have identified habitat loss and 
     industrial activities in Puget Sound as factors negatively 
     affecting southern resident killer whales; and
       Whereas, while the population of southern resident killer 
     whales has struggled, most of the northern and Alaska 
     resident killer whale populations have at least doubled over 
     the last 40 years; and
       Whereas the Wild Fish Conservancy lawsuit has the potential 
     to result in the closure of the Southeast Alaska troll 
     fishery, despite the improbability of the closure resulting 
     in meaningful benefits to southern resident killer whales; 
     and
       Whereas, if successful, the Wild Fish Conservancy lawsuit 
     could affect other state fisheries by rescinding the state's 
     delegated authority to manage and implement salmon fisheries 
     in state water and in the exclusive economic zone off the 
     shores of the state, requiring changes in the allocation of 
     salmon under the Pacific Salmon Treaty and implementing new 
     restrictions and closures in the state's fisheries; and be it 
     further
       Resolved, That the Alaska State Legislature urges the 
     National Marine Fisheries Service to find a way to hold the 
     Southeast Alaska troll fishery harmless and prioritize 
     preparation of the necessary documents and processes to 
     support the continuation of the Southeast Alaska winter and 
     summer troll fisheries while the National Marine Fisheries 
     Service prepares a new biological opinion; and be it
       Resolved, That the Alaska State Legislature urges the 
     National Marine Fisheries Service and the Alaska Department 
     of Fish and Game to commit the necessary resources to 
     effectively defend the state's fisheries in present and 
     future lawsuits, including the Wild Fish Conservancy lawsuit; 
     and be it
       Resolved, That the Alaska State Legislature urges the state 
     to work with the Alaska Congressional delegation to keep the 
     Southeast Alaska troll fishery open should the court adopt 
     the magistrate judge's recommendation that the troll fishery 
     be closed.
       Copies of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable 
     Joseph R. Biden, President of the United States; the 
     Honorable Kamala D. Harris, Vice President of the United 
     States and President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Gina 
     Raimondo, United States Secretary of Commerce; the Honorable 
     Richard W. Spinrad, Ph.D., United States Under Secretary of 
     Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and National Oceanic and 
     Atmospheric Administration Administrator; Janet Coit, 
     Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Oceanic and 
     Atmospheric Administration; the Honorable Doug Vincent-Lang, 
     Commissioner, Alaska Department of Fish and Game; and the 
     Honorable Lisa Murkowski and the Honorable Dan Sullivan, U.S. 
     Senators, and the Honorable Mary Peltola, U.S. 
     Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.
                                  ____

       POM-78. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of Alaska disapproving the proposed rule by the 
     National Park Service limiting non-subsistence hunting 
     methods and urging the National Park Service to withdraw the 
     rule; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

                     House Joint Resolution No. 10

       Whereas the United States Supreme Court has long 
     interpreted the United States Constitution to provide state 
     primacy in wildlife management; and
       Whereas art. VIII, sec. 4, Constitution of the State of 
     Alaska, provides for the conservation and sustainable use of 
     wildlife, including the maintenance of healthy predator 
     populations; and
       Whereas federal law recognizes the state's authority to 
     manage wildlife, including the Alaska Statehood Act and the 
     Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act; and
       Whereas the state has managed wildlife on both state and 
     federal land in Alaska since the United States Department of 
     the Interior granted the state management authority in 1959; 
     and
       Whereas the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act 
     established each of the national preserves in the state as 
     National Park Service land that would remain open to hunting 
     and trapping under state management; and
       Whereas the National Park Service proposed a rule to amend 
     its regulations for non-subsistence hunting and trapping in 
     national preserves that would prohibit certain hunting 
     practices that have been approved by the Alaska Board of Game 
     following a public process with significant input from 
     biologists, local residents, and other stakeholders; and
       Whereas, ignoring the state's objection, the National Park 
     Service has labeled certain hunting practices as predator 
     control or

[[Page S5181]]

     predator reduction actions and has prohibited that predator 
     control or predator reduction in national preserves; and
       Whereas, as a result, the ability of state residents to 
     hunt bears, wolves, and even caribou is limited, without 
     biological basis and with contrary evidence from the Alaska 
     Department of Fish and Game, which shows that those practices 
     do not pose conservation, public safety, or public 
     administration concerns; and
       Whereas the proposed National Park Service rule would limit 
     the ability of state residents to engage in traditional 
     hunting practices; and
       Whereas the proposed National Park Service rule is contrary 
     to the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act and 
     the Alaska Statehood Act; and
       Whereas the proposed National Park Service rule is an 
     overreach of federal authority and would inappropriately 
     limit the state's authority to manage wildlife on national 
     preserves; be it
       Resolved, That the Alaska State Legislature disapproves of 
     the proposed National Park Service rule; and be it further
       Resolved, That the Alaska State Legislature strongly urges 
     the National Park Service to withdraw the proposed rule 
     without adoption and to affirm the mandates within its 2020 
     national preserves rule in any new rule that is prepared in 
     response to court order; and be it further
       Resolved, That this resolution is the policy of the Alaska 
     State Legislature until it is withdrawn or modified by 
     another resolution.
       Copies of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable 
     Joseph R. Biden, President of the United States; the 
     Honorable Kamala D. Harris, Vice President of the United 
     States and President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Kevin 
     McCarthy, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; the 
     Honorable Deb Haaland, United States Secretary of the 
     Interior; the Honorable Charles F. Sams III, Director, 
     National Park Service; and the Honorable Lisa Murkowski and 
     the Honorable Dan Sullivan, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable 
     Mary Peltola, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska 
     delegation in Congress.
                                  ____

       POM-79. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of Alaska supporting oil and gas leasing and 
     development within the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska 
     and urging President Biden and the United States Department 
     of the Interior to approve the Willow Master Development 
     Plan; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

                      House Joint Resolution No. 6

       Whereas, in 1923, President Warren G. Harding issued an 
     Executive Order establishing Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 4 on 
     the North Slope region to provide a potential supply of oil 
     for the United States Navy; and
       Whereas 42 U.S.C. 6501 (Naval Petroleum Reserves Production 
     Act of 1976) redesignated Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 4 as 
     the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska and transferred 
     responsibility for its administration to the Secretary of the 
     Interior; and
       Whereas the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska 
     encompasses 23,500,000 acres, with boundaries extending south 
     from Icy Cape to the drainage divide of the Brooks Range, 
     then following the divide eastward to 156 degrees west 
     longitude, then north to the Colville River, and following 
     the Colville River downstream to its mouth; and
       Whereas the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska falls 
     entirely within the boundary of the North Slope Borough and 
     includes the communities of Anaktuvuk Pass, Atqasuk, Nuiqsut, 
     Utqiagvik, and Wainwright; and
       Whereas, in 2017, the United States Geological Survey 
     estimated there to be 8,700,000,000 barrels of recoverable 
     oil and 25,000,000,000,000 cubic feet of recoverable gas 
     reserves in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska; and
       Whereas the 2020 National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska 
     Integrated Activity Plan and Environmental Impact Statement 
     estimates potential annual government revenue, including 
     local, state, and federal taxes and royalties, of 
     $730,000,000 to $4,750,000,000 from oil and gas development 
     in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska; and
       Whereas the 2020 National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska 
     Integrated Activity Plan and Environmental Impact Statement 
     estimates that the exploration, development, and production 
     of oil and gas in the reserve could generate 3,600 direct 
     jobs and 2,750 indirect jobs annually over a period of 30 
     years; and
       Whereas the Willow oil and gas prospect, known as the 
     Willow project, is located in the Bear Tooth Unit of the 
     National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska and would be the 
     farthest-west producing field on the North Slope; and
       Whereas the Willow project would tap into reserves of an 
     estimated 600,000,000 barrels of oil and, at peak production, 
     produce 180,000 barrels a day; and
       Whereas the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact 
     Statement for the Willow Master Development Plan was 
     developed over multiple years through a rigorous process with 
     significant involvement by and support from local communities 
     and Alaska Native entities and was specifically designed to 
     protect surface values and the Inupiat way of life; and
       Whereas, on February 1, 2023, the United States Department 
     of the Interior released its Final Supplemental Environmental 
     Impact Statement for the Willow project, which demonstrates 
     that the project is legally sufficient and environmentally 
     sound; and
       Whereas the Inupiat people are the longstanding stewards of 
     the land on which the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska 
     sits, and take seriously the need for careful and balanced 
     stewardship; and
       Whereas the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, the Inupiat 
     Community of the Arctic Slope, the North Slope Borough, the 
     Alaska Federation of Natives, the Alaska Native Village 
     Corporation Association, the ANCSA Regional Association, the 
     City of Utqiagvik, the City of Wainwright, the City of 
     Atqasuk, and the Kuukpik Corporation are all united in 
     support of the Willow project; and
       Whereas the Willow project has received the support of 
     labor unions and trade groups, including the Alaska Petroleum 
     Joint Crafts Council, the Alaska Support Industry Alliance, 
     the Alaska AFL-CIO, the International Union of Operating 
     Engineers, the Laborers' International Union of North 
     America, the National Association of Manufacturers, the North 
     America's Building Trades Unions, and the Alaska Chamber of 
     Commerce; and
       Whereas Representative Mary Peltola, Senator Lisa 
     Murkowski, and Senator Dan Sullivan, the Alaska delegation in 
     Congress, unanimously support approval of the Willow project; 
     and
       Whereas state royalties from oil and gas development in the 
     National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska are allocated to the 
     National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska Impact Mitigation Fund, 
     which is used to provide the local communities of Anaktuvuk 
     Pass, Atqasuk, Nuiqsut, Wainwright, Utqiagvik, and the North 
     Slope Borough with grants to mitigate impacts related to oil 
     and gas development; and
       Whereas oil and gas development in the National Petroleum 
     Reserve in Alaska would strengthen national security and 
     provide long-lasting benefits to the national economy by 
     creating thousands of jobs nationwide, generating billions of 
     dollars in government revenue, providing affordable energy to 
     American consumers, and decreasing dependence on foreign 
     energy; and
       Whereas resource development in the state has benefited 
     rural communities by bringing family-supporting jobs and 
     wages, increased educational opportunities, safe water and 
     wastewater facilities, and expanded health care services to 
     those communities; and
       Whereas, because of resource development, compared with the 
     national average, rural areas of the state experienced 
     greater increases in life expectancy between 1980 and 2014 in 
     locations where resource development activities, including 
     oil and gas development, mining, and fisheries operations, 
     have occurred; and
       Whereas safe and responsible oil and gas exploration, 
     development, and production has been demonstrated by over 50 
     years of activity on the North Slope region without adverse 
     effects on the environment or wildlife populations; and
       Whereas the state's leadership in the nation's energy 
     future includes robust support for the development and 
     implementation of renewable energy systems and sources to 
     ensure that cost-effective energy and power are provided to 
     communities and individuals in the state; and
       Whereas responsible resource development today equips 
     communities in the state to make investments in technology 
     and infrastructure to support the use of renewable sources of 
     energy and power; and
       Whereas the Willow project is an important part of a 
     diverse energy future for the state and the nation; be it
       Resolved, That the Alaska State Legislature urges the 
     United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land 
     Management, to maximize the area available for oil and gas 
     leasing and development within the National Petroleum Reserve 
     in Alaska while conserving and protecting valued fish, 
     wildlife, subsistence, and cultural resources; and be it
       Resolved, That the Alaska State Legislature urges President 
     Biden and the United States Department of the Interior to 
     move forward with final approval of the Willow project by 
     selecting the preferred Alternative E plan, which allows 
     three drill sites, the minimum for the project to remain 
     economically viable; and be it
       Resolved, That a further delay in approval or construction 
     of the Willow project undermines the values and benefits of 
     the project to the state and its residents and the nation, 
     and is not in the public interest; and be it
       Resolved, That the Alaska State Legislature urges the 
     United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land 
     Management, when considering management activities related to 
     the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, to take into 
     account the long history of safe and responsible oil and gas 
     development on the North Slope region and the enormous 
     benefits that development of oil and gas resources in the 
     National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska would bring to local 
     communities, tribal governments, the state, and the nation.
       Copies of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable 
     Joseph R. Biden, President of the United States; the 
     Honorable Kamala D. Harris, Vice President of the United 
     States and President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Deb 
     Haaland, United States Secretary of the Interior; the 
     Honorable Tracy Stone-Manning, Director, Bureau of Land 
     Management, U.S. Department of the Interior; Steve Cohn, 
     Alaska State Director, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. 
     Department of the Interior; and the Honorable Lisa Murkowski 
     and

[[Page S5182]]

     the Honorable Dan Sullivan, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable 
     Mary Peltola, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska 
     delegation in Congress.

                          ____________________