[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 144 (Wednesday, September 3, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H3782-H3787]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT RELATING TO ``MILES CITY FIELD OFFICE RECORD
OF DECISION AND APPROVED RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN AMENDMENT''
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 672, I call
up the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 104) providing for congressional
disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule
submitted by the Bureau of Land Management relating to ``Miles City
Field Office Record of Decision and Approved Resource Management Plan
Amendment'', and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.
The Clerk read the title of the joint resolution.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 672, the joint
resolution is considered read.
The text of the joint resolution is as follows:
H.J. Res. 104
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, That Congress
disapproves the rule submitted by the Bureau of Land
Management relating to ``Miles City Field Office Record of
Decision and Approved Resource Management Plan Amendment''
(issued November 20, 2024, as a record of decision and
resource management plan amendment, and a letter of opinion
from the Government Accountability Office dated June 25,
2025, printed in the Congressional Record on June 26, 2025,
on pages S3552-S3554, concluding that such record of decision
and resource management plan amendment is a rule under the
Congressional Review Act), and such rule shall have no force
or effect.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The joint resolution shall be debated for 1
hour, equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority
member of the Committee on Natural Resources or their respective
designees.
The gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Westerman) and the gentleman from
Colorado (Mr. Neguse) each will control 30 minutes.
The Chair now recognizes the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Westerman).
General Leave
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material on H.J. Res. 104.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Arkansas?
There was no objection.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.J. Res. 104, sponsored by
Representative Downing of Montana.
This Congressional Review Act resolution would permanently repeal the
Bureau of Land Management's misguided resource management plan
amendment for the Miles City Field Office in Montana, finalized under
the Biden administration.
This resource management plan, or RMP, amendment locked up 11.7
million acres of land and mineral estate. To put that in perspective,
that is an area roughly the size of the States of Rhode Island,
Delaware, Connecticut, and New Jersey combined.
RMPs are meant to be collaborative approaches to land management that
balance multiple uses, including energy and mineral production, outdoor
recreation, grazing, and timber harvesting. When done correctly, RMPs
help guide public land management in a way that provides fuel, food,
and fiber for the Nation and conserves our natural resources.
RMPs manage the resources that are the backbone of western rural
economies and support thousands of good-paying jobs. That is what makes
the Miles City Resource Management Plan amendment so egregious.
This RMP amendment virtually ended future coal leasing across
Montana's entire Powder River Basin, dealing a severe blow to America's
energy security and threatening Montana jobs and economic growth.
The national security and economic importance of this region cannot
be overstated. Montana holds nearly 30 percent of our Nation's coal
reserves. In total, coal from the Powder River Basin produced in
Montana and Wyoming makes up about 85 percent of Federal coal
production and 40 percent of overall coal production in the entire
United States.
Coal is reliable and affordable, and we know we are going to need
this critical resource of baseload power as electricity demands
continue to skyrocket. If your State has coal, we should be developing
it, not burying it under bureaucracy. No one produces coal cleaner or
more responsibly than the United States. Nobody understands this better
than President Trump, who is reversing the war on American energy and
ushering in a new age of energy dominance. He is putting Montana over
Moscow and the Powder River Basin over the PRC.
By passing the CRA today, we are advancing President Trump's
executive orders on unleashing American energy and reinvigorating
America's beautiful clean coal industry.
The CRA will immediately reinstate future coal leasing and open
access to 37.8 billion short tons of coal, enough to meet U.S. demand
for the next 73 years.
In addition, passing Representative Downing's CRA will unleash
Montana's coal industry and generate millions of dollars in revenue for
the Federal Government and the State of Montana.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, this CRA will generate
$16 million in revenue for the Federal Government over the next decade.
This resolution also protects approximately $46 million in annual
revenue for Montana's K-12 public education system.
These estimates are conservative, as they don't account for the
thousands of good-paying jobs supported by Montana's coal industry and
the broad positive economic effects of producing energy here at home.
The CRA isn't just about Montana. Energy security is national
security, and Montana's mining industry plays a vital role in ensuring
America and our allies maintain a strategic energy advantage over our
adversaries.
We can be sure of one thing: The people who benefit from America not
harnessing our abundant natural resources are currently sitting in
Beijing, China, where they are building new coal-fired power plants at
the rate of one per week. In this global energy race, we cannot afford
to lose.
{time} 1430
Unleashing American energy should not be a partisan issue. Harnessing
and unleashing American energy brings down electricity prices for
families and boosts real wages for hardworking
[[Page H3783]]
Americans who keep our economy running.
This CRA is about grid reliability, energy affordability, and
ensuring that States across the country have access to dispatchable
baseload power, especially during extreme weather and peak demand. It
will create jobs, generate millions of dollars in revenue, and provide
for our national security.
I commend the entire Montana delegation, Representatives Downing and
Zinke, and Senators Daines and Sheehy, for their tireless work and
leadership on this issue.
Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support the CRA, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. NEGUSE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, we are on the floor this week debating three
Congressional Review Act resolutions that would overturn balanced,
forward-looking resource management plans, or RMPs, that have been
carefully developed over the past 4 years.
Now, with all due respect to my friend and colleague, the chairman, I
heard a lot of slogans, a couple of references to Moscow. I will just
say that the CRA before this body is very simple. It is an effort by
House Republicans to do something that has never been done before in
the history of the Congressional Review Act, which is to overturn a
resource management plan.
Why, you might ask, Mr. Speaker, do Republicans intend to take this
unprecedented step? It is simply because they would like to open up
millions of acres in Montana, North Dakota, and elsewhere to coal
extraction. That is it, very simple.
We can probably dispense with, I guess, the hour of debate that we
are allocated for purposes of these CRAs. It doesn't really get more
complicated than that: Balanced resource management plans were
developed in consultation with the communities and States at issue, and
this Republican Congress has decided that it is of the utmost priority
to, via legislative action, overturn resource management plans that, by
the way, Mr. Speaker, could simply be reversed with a phone call to the
Secretary of the Interior.
Last time I checked, the Secretary of the Interior happens to be the
former Governor of North Dakota, so insofar as my colleagues on the
other side of the aisle are so invested in overturning this resource
management plan, perhaps they should call the former Governor of North
Dakota, who now works 2 miles from the U.S. Capitol as the Secretary of
the Interior, and ask the agency to follow the process by which a
resource management plan is historically reconsidered.
Instead, we are here on the House floor debating a CRA on the
resource management plan, a giveaway to some of the biggest mining and
oil companies on the planet. That is how House Republicans have decided
to spend our time on the floor today.
There are a lot of priorities, Mr. Speaker, that my constituents back
in Colorado believe this House should consider. Reversing the draconian
and cruel healthcare cuts that House Republicans pushed through just a
mere 7 weeks ago is at the top of the list. I can tell you what is not
on the list: CRA resolutions to overturn resource management plans so
that more coal extraction and mining can be done in Montana. That is
not on the list of priorities of my constituents, and I suspect that is
the case for the vast majority of Americans.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, all Americans should have on the top of
their priority list energy security and national security. When we
block off millions of acres of land from any kind of energy
development, that is something that should come right up to the top of
priorities.
I heard mention of balance. To think that there was balance in the
RMP that the Biden administration put out, especially on this land in
Montana, is no kind of balance that I have ever seen. It is totally
unbalanced. It locks things down, shuts things off, and leaves the
American people to deal with the ramifications of it, with higher
energy prices, less reliable energy, and also less national security.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Montana (Mr.
Downing), the lead sponsor of this legislation, who, along with
Representative Zinke, knows more about Montana than anybody else in the
House.
Mr. DOWNING. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of my resolution, H.J.
Res. 104.
For 4 years, President Biden and his autopen waged war on American
energy. He targeted the very foundations of our energy independence. No
industry felt the brunt of the administration's attack more than the
coal industry. Coal mines, coal-fired power plants, and the communities
they support were pushed to the brink of collapse.
The 2024 amendment to the Miles City Resource Management Plan would
have cut off access to 30 percent of the Nation's coal reserves.
The vast majority of Americans rely on coal for at least part of
their electricity every single day, and at no point did Biden's Bureau
of Land Management stop to consider the $46 million in lost revenue to
the State of Montana, money that helps pay for K-12 education.
Make no mistake, this amendment was not a moderate, science-based
decision. This was the heavy hand of Big Government crushing an entire
industry in the name of a radical Green New Deal agenda. It was the
inevitable result of an antihuman, America-last ideology that has been
knocked on its heels in the wake of President Trump's election.
Today, I am thankful that we have the opportunity to reverse this
rule before any permanent damage could be done. Today, we are advancing
President Trump's executive order to expand American energy production
and achieve energy dominance. We are standing up for the people of
Colstrip, for the workers of eastern Montana, and for the thousands of
Montanans whose livelihoods depend on responsible coal production. We
are standing up for affordable electricity, for State and local
governments that rely on revenue from Federal leases, and for a
commonsense energy strategy that does not depend on imports from
adversaries, like China.
This resolution is not about politics. It is about putting working
families before bureaucrats. It is about keeping the lights on in
America and keeping paychecks flowing in Montana.
When the Federal Government acts recklessly, it is the responsibility
of Congress to step in and course correct. That is exactly what H.J.
Res. 104 does.
The war on coal must end. It must end here with a vote to overturn
this dangerous and shortsighted rule. I urge my colleagues to vote
``yes'' on H.J. Res. 104 and send a clear message that energy security,
economic stability, and the voices of rural America will not be
ignored.
Mr. NEGUSE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from California (Mr. Huffman), the distinguished ranking
member of the Natural Resources Committee.
Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I strongly oppose all three of these
Congressional Review Act resolutions on the floor because the reality
is that these would overhaul years of public input. They would silence
Tribal voices and erase science-based planning, all so that this
administration can hand millions of acres of our public lands over to
the fossil fuel industry for extraction.
Public lands should be our country's proudest legacy. They are our
natural heritage, a national treasure, and the agencies responsible for
stewarding them, like the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest
Service, diligently manage these resources for the future through the
careful development of these resource management plans and forest
plans.
The BLM plans, or the RMPs, are carefully crafted to establish
safeguards for wildlife, recreation areas, and watersheds, and to
identify suitable areas for energy development, as well. That also
includes grazing, logging, and other commercial activities. They have
to balance all of it in these RMPs.
It is also based on robust input from communities, stakeholders, the
public, and government-to-government consultation with the impacted
Tribes, as well.
The Republican majority has proven time and again that they don't
want any of that public process. They simply want to hand things over
to Big Oil and
[[Page H3784]]
Big Coal, and this week, they are right back at it.
{time} 1440
The majority is making us vote on legislation that would turn the
management of public lands upside down, throwing it into chaos, all
just to score that quick win for their fossil fuel buddies because the
existing plans don't give away the store the way they would like to.
It doesn't matter that this might upend the system that grants land
ownership to Alaska Native veterans of the Vietnam war, which is what
one of these RMPs does, or that the Tribal governments have spent years
working in good faith with the Federal Government to develop land
management plans that both allow for energy development and protect
subsistence hunting and fishing resources.
That is what they are blowing up with these CRAs, not to mention that
if these CRAs are signed into law, the validity of every single permit,
lease, and Federal approval that has been issued based on these RMPs
would suddenly be called into question and subject to litigation.
I remind my colleagues once again that they don't have to go down
this road.
The gentleman from Colorado mentioned that the CRA has never been
used to overturn a resource management plan. There are perfectly valid
ways of achieving the same goals in the Federal Land Policy and
Management Act. It is what the Biden administration did to update these
plans, and it is what the Trump administration has already announced it
intends to do.
I certainly expect to disagree with the outcomes and the objectives
of the Trump administration's efforts to amend these RMPs. If they
followed the formal process at least, though, we would have a chance to
make our case in that process, and it wouldn't imperil existing permits
and leases. Most importantly, it would require community input and
Tribal consultation.
I strongly urge my colleagues not to continue this race to the
bottom. Republicans have already thrown so many norms out the window.
Republicans have already disregarded Democrats in all of their
legislation and have started this radical appropriations process, where
it is party line, Republican only. So many norms are being trashed, and
now, for the first time, they are going to do this using the CRA on
resource management plans.
Stop the race to the bottom. Vote against this CRA resolution
package.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I want to point out that the CRAs do have Tribal
consultation. If there wasn't Tribal consultation, it was during the
development of the RMP.
Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter from the Navajo
Transitional Energy Company in support of the CRA repealing the Miles
City RMP amendment.
Navajo Transitional
Energy Company,
Broomfield, CO, July 18, 2025.
Hon. Steve Daines,
U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Daines: On behalf of over one thousand
employees, I write to express my strong support for S.J. Res.
61, which seeks to rescind the 2024 Miles City Resource
Management Plan Amendment (``RMPA'') under the Congressional
Review Act (``CRA''). Navajo Transitional Energy Company, LLC
(``NTEC'') is the third largest thermal coal producer in the
United States. NTEC is unique in that it was formed in 2013
by the Navajo Nation to ``promote the development of the
Navajo Nation's resources and new sources of energy, power,
transmission and attendant resources to develop the economic,
financial, social and cultural well-being of the Navajo
People and the Navajo Nation.'' See Navajo Nation Council
Resolution CAP-20-13 (2013), NTEC is, thus, a Navajo Nation
limited liability company with one shareholder, the Navajo
Nation. NTEC owns and operates three surface coal mines
within the Powder River Basin, including one mine--the Spring
Creek Mine--located in Montana and within the U.S. Bureau of
Land Management's Miles City Office's Resource Management
Planning Area.
As NTEC's Chief Executive Officer, I've seen firsthand how
the RMPA prohibits the leasing and development of new federal
coal. The overwhelming majority of the coal within the RMPA
is either federal coal or coal granted to the State of
Montana. The RMPA prohibits the development of all such coal
because it is physically and economically impossible to only
develop coal resources possessed by the State of Montana. The
RMPA will hinder not only Montana's economic growth, as well
as that of the entire Powder River Basin but also disrupt
America's vital energy security well into the future.
The current RMPA prohibits the leasing of federal coal,
leaving skilled workers questioning the sustainability of the
current economic environment. Passing the CRA resolution
sends a clear message to families, small businesses, and
energy partners that Montana is open for responsible
development. I urge the Senate to support S.J. Res. 61 so we
can secure Montana's economic future and maintain America's
hard fought energy independence.
Returning to the 2015 RMP--and allowing leasing that
balances energy security with environmental stewardship--will
yield these immediate results:
A surge in local capital investment as energy companies bid
on new leases, stimulating equipment sales and service
contracts.
Increases to county and state tax revenues to fund schools,
roads, and public safety.
Job creation not only in mining but also in construction,
trucking, and professional services supporting mining
operations.
Spur millions in royalty payments to state and federal
coffers, offsetting budget shortfalls.
Preserve family-sustaining wages for miners, engineers, and
support staff across Montana.
A stable, domestic fuel source that lowers electricity
costs for manufacturers and keeps Montana competitive.
Securing a domestic fuel source to supply affordable
baseload power during a period of unprecedented electricity
demand growth and ballooning projected future development.
The RMPA unfairly targets coal at the expense of working
families and rural economies. Congressional disapproval under
the CRA is the swiftest remedy and will pave the way for a
thoughtfully drafted future management plan that guarantees
the prosperity of the United States, Montana, and
individuals. I urge the Senate to vote ``yes'' on this
resolution and help safeguard Montana's economic backbone for
generations.
Thank you for your leadership on this critical issue.
Sincerely,
Vern K. Lund,
Chief Executive Officer.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, the Navajo Transitional Energy Company is
the third largest coal producer in the United States and operates three
mines in the Powder River Basin. They were strongly opposed to the
previous RMP amendment and support this CRA to ``preserve family-
sustaining wages for miners, engineers, and support staff across
Montana.'' The NTEC also stated that the RMP ``prohibits the leasing of
Federal coal, leaving skilled workers questioning the sustainability of
the current economic environment. Passing the CRA resolution sends a
clear message to families, small businesses, and energy partners that
Montana is open for responsible development.''
Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Wyoming (Ms.
Hageman).
Ms. HAGEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for the time.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Congressional
Review Act joint resolutions that we are bringing forward to overturn
the Biden administration's disastrous and radical resource management
plans, beginning with H.J. Res. 104 to repeal the Miles City RMP in
Montana to ensure continued access to the Powder River Basin.
These Biden-era plans lack balanced resource management and, in fact,
are mineral withdrawals in disguise, which runs contrary to Federal
law. They lock up America's resources, kill jobs, and undermine energy
security.
The Miles City Resource Management Plan amendment, combined with the
Buffalo RMP amendment in Wyoming, bans future coal leasing across the
Powder River Basin, which holds roughly 30 percent of our Nation's coal
reserves.
The Powder River Basin does not just power Montana and Wyoming,
however, but our Nation at large. The Miles City plan strips away
access to 37.8 billion short tons of coal, which is enough to meet U.S.
demand for the next 73 years.
The consequences are vast, including higher energy costs for American
families, the loss of $46 million annually in Montana State revenue
that supports public education, and the elimination of countless high-
paying jobs that sustain rural communities.
Wyoming knows this fight all too well. The Buffalo field office was
hit with the same environmentalist-driven lawsuits and agency
overreach, with
[[Page H3785]]
bureaucrats pushing ``no leasing alternatives'' that amount to nothing
more than backdoor energy bans.
To this day, I am still baffled and horrified that, for 4 years, our
government intentionally tried to impose energy poverty on the American
people, all to please the vocal but minority climate lobby.
When the Powder River Basin turns off, so does America.
Energy security is national security. The Biden administration's RMPA
undermines both. By restricting access to our own resources, it pushes
America toward greater dependence on foreign nations, including our
adversaries.
I applaud Congressman Downing of Montana for introducing this joint
resolution, which aligns with President Trump's executive orders to
reinvigorate America's clean coal and unleash American energy, restore
strength to our energy policy, and put the needs of his constituents
and all Americans first.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution to
restore American energy dominance.
Mr. NEGUSE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, with respect to the Miles City Resource Management Plan
update, it is just important contextually to say that it was a very
extensive and inclusive public comment period. BLM provided a 90-day
public comment period, two public meetings, a 30-day public comment
period, and a 60-day review period for the Governor. BLM directly
contacted over 40 private landowners, all, according to BLM, to help
refine and guide development of that RMP amendment. That robust public
input was instrumental in shaping a plan that reflects the values of
the communities it impacts.
I want to go back to, I guess, a core point that the ranking member
articulated previously, Mr. Speaker. I wonder if perhaps the chairman
knows. It is a fairly empty Chamber here. I don't see any other
Members. Maybe he might engage in a bit of discourse here in a
colloquy.
I am trying to understand why the CRA is necessary, given that the
Interior Department retains the ability to amend and modify these
resource management plans in any way that the Secretary deems
necessary.
I wonder, Mr. Speaker, if I might inquire through you as to whether
the chair could help us better understand why they have decided to
pursue the CRA rather than simply amending the resource management
plan.
Mr. Speaker, I will reserve for response and that colloquy.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, in regard to my colleague's request for a colloquy, I
will just say that it is necessary to do a CRA because the previous
administration issued bad resource management plans. Had they not
issued bad resource management plans, then we wouldn't be here today.
The thing about a CRA is if Congress passes this law, then another
administration can't go back and put it in place. I think that is why
my colleagues fear this process of using the CRA because then it would
be up to a future Congress to go back and undo what we do in this
Congress if we actually pass a Congressional Review Act.
Again, we are here today because the Biden administration decided to
unbalance the scales and put onerous burdens on States, on our natural
resources, and on the ability to produce our energy here.
{time} 1450
Mr. Speaker, they started it by issuing the bad RMP. Hopefully, we
will finish it by passing the CRA.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Colorado (Ms.
Boebert).
Ms. BOEBERT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr.
Westerman) for bringing this important issue up today.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.J. Res. 104, which nullifies the
Bureau of Land Management's restrictive Miles City Field Office
Resource Management Plan.
This resolution is a critical step toward restoring American energy
dominance, a cornerstone of President Trump's agenda to secure our
Nation's economic and energy future.
The BLM's rule stifles resource development in Montana, limiting
access to our abundant natural resources and threatening the
livelihoods of our ranchers, energy workers, and small businesses. By
imposing burdensome land management policies, it undermines the very
communities that power our great Nation.
H.J. Res. 104 aligns directly with President Trump's vision to
unleash American energy by removing regulatory barriers and
prioritizing domestic production. This resolution ensures our lands are
used to bolster energy security and not obstruct it.
By passing H.J. Res. 104, we reject bureaucratic overreach and
champion affordable and reliable energy for all Americans. Let's stand
with President Trump's mission to make America energy dominant, protect
jobs, and empower our communities, and I urge my colleagues to vote in
favor of this resolution.
Mr. NEGUSE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, first and foremost, facts matter. Under President Trump,
Americans are paying more for their electricity than ever before.
Energy costs right now are higher than they have ever been. They are
increasing at twice the rate of inflation.
As Republicans preside over an economy in which everything is getting
more expensive, spare us lectures about energy costs. Healthcare is
more expensive. Groceries are more expensive. Energy costs are going
through the roof. Seriously?
Their answer to all of this is more coal. That is it. That is the sum
total of the Republican response to the cost-of-living crisis in the
United States of America today. From Arkansas to Colorado to Minnesota
and everywhere in between, more coal is their prescription, Mr.
Speaker.
In Colorado, we certainly don't think that is a prudent approach. I
will say I regret that the Speaker didn't indulge me in the colloquy
that I had hoped I could engage in with the chairman whom, of course, I
greatly respect. Mr. Speaker, he did reveal the plot here in his answer
as to what the impetus was for the CRA.
Of course, it is not as simple as amending or modifying the resource
management plan. The reason House Republicans are pursuing this tool is
to prevent not just this Department of the Interior but any Department
of the Interior into perpetuity from issuing a resource management plan
that is in any way substantially similar to the one that is at issue
here. That is what this is about. That is this effort.
I don't think my colleagues on my side of the aisle will be confused
by the chairman's arguments. Just in case, I want to make sure it is
crystal clear for the record that a vote in favor of this CRA is not a
vote to modify or amend the resource management plan. It is a vote to
prevent the agency and subagency, in the case of the BLM, from
promulgating any resource management plan that remotely tries to do
something similar to what has been done here.
Mr. Speaker, I understand my colleague. Again, on the other side of
the aisle, they have their ideological reasons for pursuing that. It is
more coal. Again, that is the sum total. It is two words. In my view, I
think most Americans would think and agree that this isn't how we
should be spending our time.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I do have ideological reasons for wanting to lower
energy costs across America. The last time I checked at the gas pump,
the energy prices are going down there. We are seeing a huge demand for
energy across this country that is being driven even more by AI and
data centers with unimaginable amounts of energy required for these
facilities.
I heard about the announcement of a data center that would require
the amount of electricity to run the city of Denver five times over in
a year. One data center needs that much energy.
We see electric prices increase because there is more demand for
electricity. We have had horrible energy policy in the past, and we
haven't kept up with the demand.
The Chinese, on the other hand, are building new coal-fired plants.
Every 2
[[Page H3786]]
days, they are building a new coal-fired plant, which is even harder to
imagine. They are trying to beat us in this race on AI, and they are
not going to let energy be the deciding factor on that.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr.
Stauber).
Mr. STAUBER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of these
three CRA resolutions that reverse the Biden administration's Bureau of
Land Management Resource Management Plans that attack Alaska, attack
North Dakota, and attack Montana, locking up millions of acres of land
from responsible oil and gas and coal development.
Last year, on their way out of office, the Biden administration
finalized these three resource management plans that not only
threatened the hardworking miners and energy workers across Alaska,
North Dakota, and Montana but also millions of dollars in direct State
and Federal taxes and royalties.
These dangerous policies also jeopardize the entire United States and
our access to reliable and affordable energy. These resource management
plans were just another example of the Biden administration's energy
agenda: anywhere but America, any worker but American.
They just couldn't help themselves, launching one last attack on
American energy independence, even on their way out of office.
Mr. Speaker, over the past 4 years, my colleagues in this Chamber
have heard me speak out against the Biden administration's attempt
after attempt to attack my constituents and shut down northern
Minnesota.
At every single turn, the Biden administration tried to shut down
responsible mining in northern Minnesota, home to the largest untapped
copper-nickel find in the entire world. The administration did to
northern Minnesota what they did to Alaska, North Dakota, and Montana.
The CRAs before us today will reverse the Biden administration's
antiresponsible resource development policies and will allow
responsible mining and oil and gas projects to continue through the
regulatory and environmental review process, allowing them to fight
another day.
Most importantly, these resolutions will prevent future anti-American
energy administrations from taking similar actions in the future.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues from Alaska, North Dakota, and
Montana for introducing these important resolutions to reverse the
disastrous Biden administration's policies, and I urge my colleagues to
join me in supporting these resolutions today.
Mr. Speaker, the prior administration was the most antimining, anti-
oil and gas administration in the history of this country. I was just
up in the great State of Alaska. In the national refuge, they are
safely and responsibly extracting oil that Alaskans need.
They are going to put in an LNG pipeline, which is the safest and
best pipeline in the world, for Alaskans, our country, and our allies.
It is going to take a lot of years to fix the disastrous policies of
the last administration.
{time} 1500
Remember, Mr. Speaker, that the Secretary of the Interior banned
mining in northeastern Minnesota, and when asked in the Senate: Why did
you stop these critical minerals from coming forward?
Her answer was: I didn't think there were critical minerals there.
Mr. Speaker, it was the biggest find in the world.
We have an opportunity right now, today, to start changing these
disastrous Biden policies and get this economy turning. We must become
American energy independent and critical mineral dominant. We need to
be. COVID has taught us so much. We cannot rely on foreign adversarial
nations for our much-needed strategic national security supply. Our
supply chains need to be coming from American development, American
communities, American technology, American workers, and American
families. We can do it. We have to have the political will to do it.
These three CRAs are worth voting for. I commend my colleagues from
these three States. I have a suspicion there might be several more
coming in the near future because of the disastrous decisions of the
prior administration.
There is a breath of fresh air across America right now. As the
chairman just talked about the reduction in the gas prices, that is
real money for the working-class and middle-class Americans when they
can save $15 or $20 at the gas pump. That is real money when they can
save money on their natural gas or propane to heat their house. That is
real money for the constituents whom I serve.
Mr. Speaker, this is good policy, and I urge my colleagues to vote
for it.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time. I am
prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. NEGUSE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I was trying to keep track, and I lost track at some
point, but my colleague from Minnesota I think said the word ``Biden''
eight times, if I am not mistaken.
Mr. Speaker, if you couple that with references to the prior
administration, then that jumps up to 12 or 13.
It is unclear to me when Republicans are going to stop complaining
and actually do something to address the challenges that face our
country. They spend more time talking about Joe Biden than they do
about reducing costs. Every sentence from that side of the aisle,
Biden, a verb, an adjective, and more coal. That is essentially the sum
total of every sentence.
By the way, my colleagues, I suspect, are watching from their
offices. I know that more of my colleagues are going to come to the
floor here to engage in debate on, I don't know--how many CRAs are they
putting on the floor today, three, four, or five?
That is all we do around here are CRAs. I encourage them as they are
watching to, please, when they come to the floor, maybe spend some time
talking about their affirmative vision for the country and not so much
time talking about the prior President.
Republicans are in charge. Republicans have a majority in the House
and a majority in the Senate and the Presidency, and we spend all of
our time on the House floor doing CRAs or resolutions of disapproval,
the weakest vehicle that this House could consider.
Mr. Speaker, I know you are aware of this, but the House has been on
vacation for like the last 6 weeks. Republicans recessed us out of
session early, a 6-week vacation for Republicans. Finally, we are back
in Washington, September, 10 months into the Trump Presidency, and this
is how you choose to spend your time, with resolutions of disapproval
and reversing resource management plans for North Dakota?
Of all of the concerns of the people in Arkansas or Colorado, this is
the priority?
It is a shame, Mr. Speaker. It is deeply disappointing and
disheartening, I suspect to most Americans, to those who might be
watching C-SPAN, to learn that this august body in the world's greatest
democracy is wasting its time debating resource management plans issued
by the prior administration.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. NEGUSE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to
close.
Mr. Speaker, I will give a brief closing because, as I said, I think
all we are doing today are these resolutions of disapproval, so I am
going to have more opportunities, apparently, to make this argument. I
encourage my colleagues to dispense with what, in my view, are actually
very dishonest arguments about these resource management plans. I think
fundamentally they should continue the work that was done by the prior
administration through an open and a transparent process.
That is the way these resource management plans are meant to be
developed. I get it. I understand that my Republican colleagues have
disagreements about the resource management plans. That is understood.
Mr. Speaker, call Secretary Burgum. Call the BLM director. I don't
think there is a BLM director 10 months into the administration. Call
whoever is running the show over at the BLM now and ask them to reopen
the process.
Mr. Speaker, listen to the Tribes, listen to the American people, and
update
[[Page H3787]]
the resource management plan. That is the way it is done.
Using the Congressional Review Act to overturn the plan is the wrong
approach. I understand why it may seem easier for Republicans to just
bring the hammer down and use this blunt instrument, but all you will
be left with, Mr. Speaker, are smashed pieces, and you will forever
close the ability of these agencies to protect some of the most
treasured lands in our country, lands that belong to the citizens of
this country, to you, Mr. Speaker, your children, your grandchildren,
and the future generations.
Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote on the CRA, and I yield back the
balance of my time.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, it is a good thing that we have this tool called the
Congressional Review Act that asserts the Article I authority that
Congress has. You see, Mr. Speaker, we don't have to go begging a
Secretary or asking the administration what actions we take. We get to
determine which actions we take, and the Congressional Review Act is
one of those tools that we have to take a big hammer to a bad policy.
I am glad that we are taking that big hammer to a terrible policy. We
are also making it so that a future administration can't enact another
bad policy like the ones that were put into place with these three RMPs
that we will be addressing today. That is a good thing.
It is a good thing that we are focusing on unleashing American
energy. The time to do that is now. The time to restore balanced
management to our public lands is now.
It is now time to put Big Sky Country ahead of Beijing. It is past
time that we do that. If allowed to continue, the Miles City RMP
amendment developed by the previous administration could have
devastating impacts on Montana and the entire U.S. economy.
Passing this CRA will help reinvigorate America's coal industry. Also
it will unleash American energy.
In my district, I have a coal-fired plant that was built in 2010. To
my knowledge, that was the last coal-fired plant built in the United
States. Again, I mentioned earlier that China is building 120 gigawatts
a year. That is one every 2 days, one of those 650-megawatt coal plants
every 2 days that they are putting on line.
What are we doing with coal plants across America?
We have been closing them down. They provide reliable baseload
energy.
That coal plant in my district that provides energy to businesses and
energy to homes can't operate without coal, and that coal comes from
the Powder River Basin. When we harness our resources out West and use
those, it is a good thing, but when we lock them up, then we keep
electricity from being affordable and we keep it from being reliable
not just for constituents in Montana but for people all across this
country.
That is exactly one of the many reasons I am supporting this CRA
today. It means affordable, reliable energy. It means improved national
security. It means good-paying jobs for rural Americans and millions of
dollars in revenue for the U.S. Treasury.
Mr. Speaker, I urge the adoption of this bill, and I yield back the
balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Williams of Texas). All time for debate
has expired.
Pursuant to House Resolution 672, the previous question is ordered on
the joint resolution.
The question is on the engrossment and third reading of the joint
resolution.
The joint resolution was ordered to be engrossed and read a third
time, and was read the third time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the passage of the joint
resolution.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Mr. NEGUSE. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this question will be postponed.
____________________