[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 166 (Wednesday, October 8, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6998-S7003]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
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''
Government Funding
Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, following up with what the majority
leader just said, I have here the Washington Post from this morning,
and they have an editorial. And what they have in bold print says:
Democratic leaders play a dangerous game.
That is what the Democrats are doing.
We just heard the majority leader talk about what we are trying to
do, what we are facing, how Chuck Schumer is being held hostage by the
liberal groups that set up the war room with him. And what we see is a
dangerous game being played and threats to the American people.
This goes on to say:
There is a clean funding bill on the table.
This is the Washington Post, this morning.
There is a clean funding bill on the table. Only a handful
of Senate Democrats need to vote for it.
The minority leader is leading the Democratic Party into a box
canyon. You can't get out, and it is a dangerous game. And it is not
just dangerous for them; it is dangerous for the American people. That
is where the danger lies.
So I come to the floor because the American people are facing an
immediate crisis, and they know why. Anybody watching knows why. It is
because Senate Democrats have now voted five times against a clean,
bipartisan continuing resolution that would open the government today.
This is day 8 of the Schumer shutdown--day 8. The country is held
hostage by the Democrats, and they are playing a dangerous game. This
isn't a game, but that is what the Democrats have turned it into.
So the question before us is simple: What have the Democrats
accomplished during this dangerous game that they are playing? On
October 10, on Friday, in 2 days, Border Patrol agents and other
Federal workers will receive only half a paycheck. That is the result
of the Democrats' dangerous game. It will be their last paycheck until
the Schumer shutdown ends and Democrats vote to reopen the government.
They could do it today.
The House of Representatives passed a clean continuing resolution at
current funding levels. Democrats voted 13 times under Joe Biden for a
continuing resolution to keep the government funded.
A continuing resolution funds our military, pays for law enforcement,
continues food assistance for moms and young children, and keeps small
business loans flowing.
Thirteen times they voted for this. Now they reject it because they
want to please their radical, extreme base--the base that has put up a
war room that Chuck Schumer has bowed down to. That is what we just
heard from the majority leader--that they are the ones calling the
shots--and that is why we find ourselves in this situation.
Democrats are demanding radical, new policies before they allow the
government to reopen. I have seen their demand letter--$1.5 trillion in
new expenses, as the majority leader just outlined here on the floor.
Their ransom note is filled with liberal policies. I look at it--it is
stitched together like Frankenstein's monster: $1.5 trillion in
reckless new spending; free healthcare for noncitizens; free Medicaid
for working-age, able-bodied adults who refuse to work. There are over
5 million of these individuals in the United States, and yet they
refuse to work. And the Democrats want them all to get free Medicaid.
Fifty billion dollars the Democrats want to cut from vulnerable rural
hospitals, hospitals in rural communities. Do the Democrats not care at
all about those communities even though there are rural communities in
their States?
[[Page S6999]]
They are beholden to the big cities and the mayors, the sanctuary
cities that control the Democratic Party.
That is what we are dealing with here. That is why the Washington
Post calls what the Democrats are doing--as I pick it up again, Mr.
President--``a dangerous game.'' They are holding the American people
hostage to extract far-left wing concessions. They are telling our
servicemembers their paychecks are negotiable. They are telling small
businesses their dreams are collateral damage in a partisan fight. They
are telling mothers and young children that WIC benefits are leverage
for the far-left demands of healthcare for noncitizens.
Republicans remain committed to ensuring families receive the support
they deserve. The Democrats have chosen repeatedly to keep the
government closed for political purposes only.
American families are feeling the pain nationwide.
In Georgia, more than 100,000 Federal employees are wondering where
they will find the money to pay their bills and buy their groceries.
In Arizona, 344,000 children enrolled in SNAP face uncertainty. The
benefits are running out.
Time is of the essence. Shutdown Democrats are telling these families
their problems aren't urgent. Well, they are urgent to those families,
and the Democrats don't seem to care.
In New York, almost half a million individuals who rely on WIC will
lose access at the end of this week. It is already Wednesday. We are
talking about pregnant women. We are talking about new mothers. We are
talking about young children. They depend on this program.
In Illinois, every week the shutdown continues, it costs the State's
economy over $500 million. That is jobs lost, paychecks missed,
opportunities evaporated.
In Michigan, small businesses face delays of $92 million in loans
because the Small Business Administration is frozen due to the
shutdown. These businesses are the backbones of our communities and our
economy. They should be able to make payroll, keep their doors open--
not as the Democrats continue to play what has been termed ``a
dangerous game.''
In Nevada, for each month the shutdown continues, consumer spending
from lost wages will fall by over $200 million. It is money that won't
flow into local businesses, won't pay rent, won't put food on the
table.
In New Jersey, telehealth programs are on hold. I am a doctor.
Without these programs, patients could be put at greater risk.
In New Hampshire, workers maintaining our nuclear attack submarines--
they face furloughs and unpaid work.
Look, this goes beyond missing a paycheck; this is about national
security. The Schumer shutdown--the dangerous game that he is playing--
puts America's safety at risk.
At airports nationwide, we are already seeing the direct effects of
the shutdown. Flights are being delayed. Security lines are growing
longer.
Even the head of the Teamsters union, Sean O'Brien, says that
Democrats' political theater is something he can see right through.
He said:
A shutdown will hurt working people. Period. American
workers are not bargaining chips.
That is the leader of the Teamsters union, Mr. President.
He goes on to say:
Senators should stop screwing around and pass the House-
passed clean, short term funding bill.
That is where we are today. He is right. But regrettably, Senate
Democrats are treating the American people as bargaining chips, as
hostages, and that is why they sent the list of demands as ransom.
Democrats have now voted five times against opening the government,
five times against supporting our military, five times against paying
law enforcement officers, five times against food assistance for women
and infants and children, five times against the small business loans
that help Main Street. Five times, Democrats have looked at the
mounting damage of the Schumer shutdown and shrugged their shoulders.
That is the situation we have today.
The American people overwhelmingly say Democrats should pass a clean
continuing resolution and end the shutdown immediately.
There is a clean, bipartisan resolution before the Senate ready for a
vote right now. It reopens the government today. It would protect the
paychecks and the programs the American people depend upon. It would
end the uncertainty that is gripping millions of American families.
The question is not whether the Democrats can end the shutdown; it
is, Will they have the integrity to do it or will they continue to play
this dangerous game with our Nation and with our families?
Nominations
Mr. President, on a separate matter, before Senate Democrats shut
down the Federal Government, they shut down the very Senate floor on
which I stand, and they did it by freezing the confirmation process.
For months, their blockade created a growing backlog of qualified
nominees, so many of whom have come out of committees with bipartisan
votes; nominees for positions that, during prior administrations,
sailed through the Senate by unanimous consent or by voice vote--but
not with this Democrat minority, oh, no.
So in September, Senate Republicans broke the blockade, and now the
blockade is being cleared. At the peak of the Democrat obstruction,
more than 150 well-qualified nominees, approved by Senate committees,
were waiting for a vote on the Senate floor. Yesterday, we confirmed
107 of those nominees, and we did it in a group. This is one of the
largest confirmations in the history of the United States. Now there
are only 26 nominees on the Executive Calendar.
Our committees are hard at work to approve more nominees, and we are
going to confirm them in short order.
As of this morning, President Trump has had 298 nominees confirmed in
his second term. By comparison, at this point, Joe Biden had confirmed
only 201 at this point in his first and only term. President Trump had
confirmed only 183 nominees at the same time in his first term. So the
Senate's constitutional duty of advice and consent is now back.
President Trump now has his team confirmed and ready to be sworn in.
From Assistant Secretaries, to Ambassadors, to U.S. attorneys, the
Federal Government is in a better position today to keep our Nation
safe and secure and prosperous.
Senate Republicans are going to continue to work to get America back
on track no matter what obstacles the Democrats continue to throw in
our path.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The minority whip.
Government Funding
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I came to the floor a few minutes after
Senator Thune, the Republican leader, spoke, and I missed part of his
statement, but I think I heard most of it. I listened carefully to the
statement by the Senator from Wyoming.
Let me say at the outset that I consider them both to be friends. We
disagree on many things politically, but over the years, I have come to
work with both of them and look forward to doing that again someday.
I was disappointed in both of their statements because of what was
not said. How can you talk about the government shutdown without ever
mentioning healthcare costs to American families? How can you do that?
I mean, it is a situation where we understand, I hope, that the
Democrats are not in this position for any reason other than to stop
the dramatic increase in healthcare premiums that American families
will face unless we do something and do it now.
In State after State, the notices are going out that the cost of
health insurance for working families in America is going to go up
dramatically--in some cases, more than 100 percent. That is going to be
hurtful to many. They will have to look for different health insurance
plans that they can afford, which means more money out of pocket, or
they are going to drop their health insurance coverage altogether.
How can the Republican leader stand before us and even refuse to
acknowledge that that is the issue that drives this government
shutdown?
The Republicans are insisting on their approach to the budget because
they don't want to see American families protected when it comes to
these
[[Page S7000]]
health insurance increases. And the increases are already being
announced. Ten States so far have announced them.
October 27 is the magic date, if you will, for the announcement in my
State of Illinois. I know what is going to happen. I am going to hear
from hundreds, if not thousands, of families across my State that
increasing the cost for families is creating a hardship they never
anticipated.
We believe on the Democratic side that this is the time to act, now,
to move together to stop these increases from taking place because
these increases were part of the big beautiful Republican budget--the
Trump budget, voted for by every Republican Senator and no Democratic
Senators; the Trump budget, which, of course, he signed into law. That
is what is leading to these increases, because the Affordable Care Act
insurance plans are no longer going to enjoy a subsidy, a tax credit,
to help families pay the premiums, and that is why the cost is going to
go up so dramatically.
We can change it. We can do it, but we have to do it quickly. We
ought to move on it this week.
I wish the House of Representatives were in session. They haven't
shown up for 2 weeks. Speaker Johnson happens to believe that being
AWOL is the right thing for his Republican Members. I don't think it is
the right thing for America.
Democrats and Republicans should be in this Capitol negotiating,
sitting at a table together, and the first item on the agenda has to be
healthcare costs for American families.
All this talk about a dangerous game and radical-left policies and
management--it is not a radical-left idea that a working family ought
to have affordable health insurance; it is basic in America.
As flawed as our health system is in this country and as great as it
is in many respects, if people cannot afford to have coverage for their
family, then hardship follows.
That is the real reason.
They say: Well, what about the cost? Remember, this is an
administration that wants to give $20 billion to Argentina. Twenty
billion dollars this President is planning to give. I am worried more
about 20 million Americans who will lose their health insurance if we
don't do something and do it quickly.
The American people get it. This issue has gone from the beltway to
the backyards of America. People know that this is coming, and they are
worried about it, and they should be. They want us to do something, and
they want it done now.
We are making the fight on this continuing resolution because it is
timely, and we need bipartisan support to pass it. So let's do
something positive in a bipartisan way, and dealing with the cost of
health insurance is my approach that I would suggest.
Illinois
Mr. President, let me take this to another issue that is near and
dear to my heart, and that is what is happening in my home State of
Illinois. We all know the popular quote:
When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first
time.
Or, in President Trump's case, if a person shows you who they are a
million times over, believe them.
President Trump has shown us his unlawful and inhumane priorities
over and over again, city after city. He continues to deploy
militarized immigration agents and National Guard troops to more
American cities purely for political theater. He wants America to talk
about the Texas National Guard in Illinois, not about healthcare costs
facing American families.
But it is not going to work.
Unfortunately, the men and women of the Texas National Guard who are
in the State of Illinois, as of yesterday, have been sent off on a
political assignment, political theater. Instead of working to find a
bipartisan way to reopen the government, lower the cost of healthcare,
President Trump is focused on scoring points against his perceived
enemies.
Just yesterday, 200 or 300 members of the Texas National Guard joined
Federal law enforcement officers in Chicago, along with President
Trump's loyal FBI Director Kash Patel. The truth is that the arrival of
the Texas National Guard and the FBI Director will not make Chicago
safer; it will only escalate the unnecessary and dangerous situation
this President himself has created.
I still can't get the image out of my mind from 2 weeks ago, when the
ICE officials, in full combat gear, carrying long rifles, were marching
down Michigan Avenue. It was a hateful effort that was used to provoke
people into strong emotional feelings. This administration's unlawful
use of military resources to police American cities makes our country
less safe, and it is a mistake that will be remembered in the history
books.
I pray that the court system will respond accordingly as they did in
the case of Oregon and Illinois when the hearing tomorrow is brought
before the Federal judge. Deploying the Texas National Guard without
the consent of Illinois elected officials is, in my estimation,
unnecessary and unlawful.
The Posse Comitatus Act expressly forbids the use of our Nation's
military for civilian law enforcement unless expressly authorized by
statute or the Constitution.
National Guard personnel do not deserve to be used by the President's
political pawns. Let me say and make it clear: As much as I regret the
decision by the Texas Governor to send his National Guard troops into
Illinois and as much as I want them to leave immediately, I do not make
those statements at the expense of the individuals who are in the Guard
and volunteered to serve their State and Nation. The same thing is true
with the federalized Illinois National Guard. They are doing what they
were ordered to do according to the military standards.
But the bottom line is, we all know they are not fighting crime. If
the Trump administration truly wants to help Chicago--and I don't
believe they do--and Illinois, it won't defy our elected leaders; it
will work with us. It will restore millions of dollars the Trump
administration suspended in crime prevention and public safety grants.
Instead, this administration has chosen to use America's military to
create chaos and sow fear in our cities.
We all agree on the importance of reducing crime and making our
communities safer. The President claims his aggressive immigration
raids and threats to deploy troops are to help get violent criminals
off the streets.
I have come to the floor 2 straight days, and this is the third, to
condemn what happened last week in the city of Chicago on Tuesday. A
South Shore apartment building was raided in the middle of the night.
Doors were crashed down, families were rousted out of their bedrooms,
many of them brought out to the street and questioned as to whether
they were in America legally. Some were American citizens. We don't
know how many. We certainly don't know if there were any criminals
found as a result of that. No report.
But we do know this: What happened on that street on that night was
not the way America does business and shouldn't be. It was to terrorize
these families, with no warrant for their arrest and no suspicion that
they committed crimes, simply because they looked Hispanic and maybe
looked like foreigners--I am not sure. This action was taken against
them.
These attacks are part of Stephen Miller's personal agenda for mass
deportation at any cost. They pulled FBI, DEA, and ATF agents from
their assignments, important assignments, to stop narcotics and other
things to carry out the President's immigration agenda. They stopped
working on fighting crimes like terrorism, gun violence, human
trafficking, and drug smuggling to land a helicopter near a building in
Chicago and to bring 30 families out into the street in the middle of
the night.
I have fought for humane reforms to our immigration system and
evidence-based ways to reduce crimes in our cities. If the President is
serious about fixing our immigration system or lowering crime in our
communities, I will join in on that effort. But sending in militarized
Federal immigration agents and National Guard troops to our communities
is not the way to do it. These actions have accomplished what I believe
is the President's true intention: sowing fear in the hearts of our
communities, especially our immigrant communities, and consolidating
the President's power in Washington.
[[Page S7001]]
The actions taken by this administration undermine the very fabric of
America, a nation that was founded on the belief that all people should
be free from tyranny. I remember a time when every Member of Congress
would have risen in outrage if an administration attempted to use the
military unlawfully against cities and communities and States that they
represent. Unfortunately, this time has passed. There is nothing but
silence from the other side of the aisle. Congressional Republicans are
content to stand aside in abject servility to this President as he
tramples the Constitution.
But Americans should not stay silent. People across Illinois are
peacefully making their voices heard and letting this administration
know the attacks on our city will not go unchallenged.
As a Senator from Illinois, I will do everything in my power to hold
this administration accountable for their unlawful actions. They may
think this is a diversion of attention from the basic issue of
controlling healthcare costs and helping working American families
afford their health insurance. I think it is much more. It is a threat
to our Republic and our Constitution, and I hope that others will join
me in condemning this activity.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Sheehy). The Senator from Hawaii.
Mr. SCHATZ. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be
permitted to speak for 5 minutes, Senator Heinrich be permitted to
speak for up to 10 minutes, and Senator Daines be permitted to speak
for 5 minutes prior to the scheduled votes.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. SCHATZ. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be given
permission to use a prop.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Government Funding
Mr. SCHATZ. Mr. President, it is day 8 of the government shutdown,
but it is day 19 of the House being on vacation.
How is it possible that the party in charge of the government is
sitting at home while the government is shut down?
Well, let's take a look. This is the House schedule. These yellow
blocks are workdays. It is already a pretty nice schedule. Most people,
if they are fortunate, get either 7 days or 10 days of vacation. Some
people get less; some people get more. But nobody gets this amount of
time off. We call that a district work period or a home work period.
And that is true, we need to be home to interact with our constituents.
But that is what August is for.
Here is what happened. They left early on the 25th, specifically, to
avoid a vote on the Epstein files. Then they had this week off, this
week off, this week off, this week off, this day off; come back, one,
two, three, long weekend; one, two, three, four, long weekend; one,
two, three, four, long weekend; another break; another break; another
break. And now they are taking another break.
Get back to work.
Get back to work.
We are facing a healthcare crisis, and we didn't pull this out of
some Democratic strategist's lab. The Presiding Officer knows this in
his home State. Prices are about to spike disproportionately among
people who voted for Donald Trump, disproportionately in rural
communities, disproportionately among farmers. And they are not going
to spike a little. This is not like a normally 4-percent increase is
now 7 percent.
For 22 million Americans, the price of healthcare is about to go up
114 percent--114 percent. So you can find some people who are only
paying like a 40-percent or 50-percent increase. You still can't afford
that. Most people can't afford a 40-percent or 50-percent increase in
the cost of almost anything, but healthcare is a big chunk of the cost
of living.
So here we are as Democrats saying: Help us help you, Republicans.
You created this mess that is causing your signature legislative
achievement to be a drag on your electoral chances. And if we were a
little bit more cynical, we would just let you stew in it.
But we want those 22 million people to have relief. So we are simply
saying, we can open the government tomorrow morning if Donald John
Trump realizes he is hurting his own people.
Illinois
Mr. President, I want to follow up on what the Democrat whip was
talking about in the city of Chicago in the State of Illinois.
We all swore an oath to the Constitution. I am honestly scared. I
used to do this sort of schtick on Twitter. I would say the thing
Donald Trump said on Twitter is this, and then I would say he is trying
to take your healthcare away. My point was that is a distraction from
the main issue, which is that he was going to try to take your
healthcare away.
That is not true anymore. He is going through with these
authoritarian actions. The last time he posted that one of his
political enemies should be jailed, it was James Comey, and then James
Comey was indicted. This morning, he pled not guilty. His trial is in
January.
So, this morning, Donald John Trump, with the assistance of the Texas
Governor, who is endlessly servile to him, is mobilizing, over the
objection of the Illinois Governor, 200 or 300 troops to go into
Chicago to do nobody knows really what other than to terrorize people.
They are belaying off a helicopter into an apartment building in
urban Chicago?
Give me a break.
And lest you think this is theater, this morning, Donald Trump is in
one of his moods and he says: Governor Pritzker should go to jail. Are
we to assume he is kidding this time? Are you sure he is kidding this
time? ``Oh, he is just trolling.'' Last time, 3 weeks ago, he clearly
wasn't trolling. The Attorney General went through with what he asked.
So I am asking my Republican colleagues who swore an oath to the
Constitution and love this country just like I do to say publicly or
privately--I don't care--enough is enough.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico.
Resource Management
Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. President, there is a national monument in New
Mexico that is extremely important to me and our community. It is
called the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument. It has rocky
spires that jut into the sky and preside over bustling communities in
southern New Mexico.
It is also home to nearly 250 archaeological sites, including some of
the earliest Native American heritage sites in North America, and
places like Shelter Cave, Conkling Cavern, and Aden Lava Flow
Wilderness.
This January, the Bureau of Land Management issued its most recent
monument management plan for Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks. It sets out
in this plan how the land will be used over the coming decades, and it
came after years--years--of engagement with public land users. From
comment periods to public meetings to feedback sessions, input from
public land users is the heart of how we administer our public lands
across the country. In the end, land use plans like this one take time
and are the result of hundreds, even thousands, of people's work--work
that deserves respect.
And that is why I am here. Beginning this week, the Senate is voting
on three resolutions of disapproval on resource management plans
prepared by the Bureau of Land Management.
Now, resource management plans are a pretty simple idea. Every decade
or two, public land managers look at a region as a whole and figure out
how to balance all the competing different uses of public land across
that landscape. They figure out where recreation should be prioritized
and where prime game habitats should be protected. They figure out what
lands should be available for uses like grazing or oil and gas
production. They identify important cultural sites and historic
resources that deserve our protection. They also determine which land
use requirements can be eased for things like pipelines or transmission
lines. They do all of this with the input of local communities,
recreation businesses, public land users, Tribal governments, energy
developers, and more.
But I am here now because Republicans want to rescind these land use
plans through the Congressional Review Act. By doing that, they brush
away all of the local voices and community input that went into making
these plans.
[[Page S7002]]
Imagine telling Tribal communities that their opinion no longer
matters on their ancestral lands, telling hunters that their opinion no
longer matters on the lands they use to fill their families' freezers,
telling hikers that their opinion no longer matters on the routes that
they know like the back of their hand, telling local communities that
the way their land is used is no longer of importance--telling all of
us that our voices do not matter when it comes to the very lands that
are our American birthright.
And here is the thing: They are doing it across the board--on every
resource management plan since 1996--without even admitting it. So let
me walk you through what they are hoping that you won't notice.
First, it is important to understand that resource management plans
affect nearly every use on public land, from bird watching to coal
mining. These plans get a whole rewrite every few decades, but, in
between, smaller amendments are made to address specific places and
specific uses that need to be updated. These amendments have been the
normal way for new administrations to change plans that they have
disagreed with, until today.
Now, instead of using the usual amendment process, which involves all
of those same stakeholders, Congress is voting to outright overturn and
repeal these plans. Until today, Congress had never ever used a
congressional resolution of disapproval to change or overturn a land
use plan. That is because no administration has ever considered these
land use plans to be ``rules'' under Federal statute. Let me say that
again. No administration--none--since the Congressional Review Act was
passed in 1996 has ever treated land use plans as rules.
So here is what that means legally: No land use plan has been
submitted to Congress, a legal requirement for rules. It has never
happened. Because the Congressional Review Act prohibits rules from
going into effect until 60 days after they are submitted to Congress--
and no administration has ever submitted one--then every land use plan
after 1996 never legally went into effect. And if they never went into
effect, then all of the leases and permits and rights-of-way that flow
from those plans may not be legally valid. That means that every
grazing permit, every energy right-of-way, recreation permit, outfitter
guide permit, timber sale, and even oil and gas leases issued under a
plan finalized after 1996 could be litigated--every single one.
That is bad and not just because it is unprecedented but because the
actual impacts on real Americans could be devastating.
For the country, it means potential chaos and uncertainty about what
areas are protected on public lands. One of the resolutions under
consideration this week is for a land use plan in Alaska. A vote for
that resolution would mean that the Ambler industrial corridor will be
built. This is a 211-mile, private access road that would destroy some
of Alaska's wildest habitat and waterways to produce minerals--all for
a foreign company.
As someone from American Hunters and Anglers said, in using slightly
more colorful language that I will leave out, this move obliterates
``years of public input from hunters and anglers,'' and uses taxpayer
dollars to prop up--I will say it again--a foreign-owned mining
company.
The headline describing this road in ``Outdoor Life'' magazine reads:
The Ambler Road Project Would Jeopardize One of the Last
Great Wilderness Hunts in America.
Now, I have been fortunate enough to hunt caribou in Alaska, and I
have to say I doubt that my grandchildren will ever have that
opportunity.
What is even more concerning to me is the impact the Ambler
industrial corridor will have on subsistence hunting and fishing. This
private industrial mining corridor will carve its way, in addition,
through Gates of the Arctic National Park. You heard me right. We are
sacrificing one of our most spectacular national parks to enrich a
foreign mining company.
I have to think that Teddy Roosevelt is rolling over in his grave.
The damage will be irreparable to the landscape, to our American
birthright in these public lands, and to one of the largest caribou
herds in Alaska and the communities that depend on that herd.
Imagine sweeping away years and years of input and conversations not
just about the public lands on one landscape but about public lands
across this country, all because you--what?--found a quicker, easier
way, one where you didn't have to listen to anyone? one where some
Senators in Washington, DC, get to override and replace the opinions of
every single American who contributed to those plans? That is nuts.
Even if you don't care about how land is used by hunters or hikers or
Tribes or cattle growers or energy producers--if all you care about is
how our lands are used to produce fossil fuels--then look no further
than my State. Look at the Bureau of Land Management leases that have
been issued in the Permian Basin. Know that, when you vote for these
resolutions, when you turn these resource management plans into so-
called rules, you call into question those leases--all of them. Know
that what you are choosing may be easier, but it is wrong, and it is
destabilizing.
I would urge my colleagues to vote no on all of these resolutions of
disapproval.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The senior Senator from Montana.
Mr. DAINES. Mr. President, in the final days of President Biden's
administration, he quickly and quietly issued a rule that had massive
impacts on Montana's economy. This happened after the election. Biden's
BLM issued an amendment to the Miles City Resource Management Plan that
prohibited all new coal development in Eastern Montana. It shuts it
down. This means that the BLM prohibited all new coal leasing in the
Powder River Basin. By the way, that is the home of the largest coal
reserves in the United States.
They did this despite strong opposition from local counties in
Montana and local elected officials--in fact, the entire Montana
congressional delegation and the Governor of Montana himself, Greg
Gianforte. In fact, Governor Gianforte specifically requested that the
BLM Director withdraw that proposed amendment during the BLM's official
``Governor's consistency review,'' and Biden's BLM ignored him. When
the Governor submitted an official appeal to Biden's BLM Director, our
Governor was rebuffed.
This lack of respect for Montana's local and statewide elected
officials cannot be ignored and will not be ignored, and it is going to
get changed and reversed today with the passage of this CRA.
Let's be clear as to what this resource management plan amendment is
and what we are doing today with this Congressional Review Act.
The RMPA is an attack on Montana jobs. It is an attack on Montana
communities. It is an attack on Montana's energy production. It is an
attack on Montana's economy. What today's resolution does is it rolls
back officially Biden's war on Montana coal, and it does not affect the
underlying resource management plan.
What we are doing today is we are disapproving Biden's ill-conceived
amendment and nothing else. This CRA does not prohibit the BLM from
issuing a new amendment. This CRA simply prohibits a new administration
from issuing a substantially similar coal amendment. In this case, that
means they can't permanently prohibit any new coal development.
Today, you may hear from the other side of the aisle that the sky is
falling. That is absolutely not true. What we are doing today is
righting a wrong--something the Biden administration slipped in after
the election.
We are grateful that we were paying attention, and we are going to
right this wrong--a midnight Biden rule that was issued without the
support from the State of Montana. Talk about Federal bureaucratic
overreach.
Taking this action this day, today, will lead to more Montana jobs,
more Montana energy, and, by the way, more Montana tax revenue to
support K-through-12 education and stronger communities in eastern
Montana.
I urge my colleagues to, again, like we did last night with the
procedural vote, support, with this final vote, Montana jobs, Montana
communities, and to vote yes on its passage.
Vote on H.J. Res. 104
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the clerk will read
[[Page S7003]]
the title of the joint resolution for the third time.
The joint resolution was ordered to a third reading and was read the
third time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The joint resolution having been read the
third time, the question is, Shall the joint resolution pass?
Mr. DAINES. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. BARRASSO. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the
Senator from Texas (Mr. Cruz).
The result was announced--yeas 52, nays 47, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 549 Leg.]
YEAS--52
Banks
Barrasso
Blackburn
Boozman
Britt
Budd
Capito
Cassidy
Collins
Cornyn
Cotton
Cramer
Crapo
Curtis
Daines
Ernst
Fischer
Graham
Grassley
Hagerty
Hawley
Hoeven
Husted
Hyde-Smith
Johnson
Justice
Kennedy
Lankford
Lee
Lummis
Marshall
McConnell
McCormick
Moody
Moran
Moreno
Mullin
Murkowski
Paul
Ricketts
Risch
Rounds
Schmitt
Scott (FL)
Scott (SC)
Sheehy
Sullivan
Thune
Tillis
Tuberville
Wicker
Young
NAYS--47
Alsobrooks
Baldwin
Bennet
Blumenthal
Blunt Rochester
Booker
Cantwell
Coons
Cortez Masto
Duckworth
Durbin
Fetterman
Gallego
Gillibrand
Hassan
Heinrich
Hickenlooper
Hirono
Kaine
Kelly
Kim
King
Klobuchar
Lujan
Markey
Merkley
Murphy
Murray
Ossoff
Padilla
Peters
Reed
Rosen
Sanders
Schatz
Schiff
Schumer
Shaheen
Slotkin
Smith
Van Hollen
Warner
Warnock
Warren
Welch
Whitehouse
Wyden
NOT VOTING--1
Cruz
The joint resolution (H.J. Res. 104) was passed.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Ricketts). The Democratic leader.
____________________