[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 194 (Tuesday, November 18, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H4750-H4753]
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 ``COASTAL PLAIN OIL AND GAS
LEASING PROGRAM RECORD OF DECISION''
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 879, I call
up the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 131) 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 ``Coastal Plain
Oil and Gas Leasing Program Record of Decision'', 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 879, the joint
resolution is considered read.
The text of the joint resolution is as follows:
H.J. Res. 131
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 ``Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing
Program Record of Decision'' (issued December 9, 2024, as a
record of decision, and a letter of opinion from the
Government Accountability Office dated August 25, 2025,
printed in the Congressional Record on September 2, 2025, on
pages S5557-S5560, concluding that such record of decision 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
California (Mr. Huffman) will each control 30 minutes.
The Chair 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 to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous material on H.J. Res. 131.
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 today in support of H.J. Res. 131 which would
repeal a Biden administration-era Record of Decision, ROD, restricting
oil and gas production on 1.16 million acres within the 10-02 area of
the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, also known as ANWR.
The 10-02 area of ANWR was specifically set aside by Congress for its
oil and gas potential and is estimated to hold anywhere between 4.25
and 11.8 billion barrels of recoverable oil.
Prior to the passage of the Working Families Tax Cut law, which
requires four lease sales to be held over a 10-year period, Congress
had previously mandated energy leasing in the area, an action that has
the support of local North Slope communities and Native Villages.
Last Congress, we held a bipartisan legislative hearing on H.R. 6285,
``Alaska's Right to Produce Act,'' where we heard from Tribal
representatives, including Inupiat leadership from the Native Village
of Kaktovik, the only indigenous Tribal community within ANWR.
In that hearing, Doreen Leavitt, Director of Natural Resources for
the Inupiat community of the Arctic Slope said:
The North Slope Inupiat live in one of the most remote
areas of the country, with none of their communities
connected by a permanent road system to each other or to
municipalities in the State, making private and
[[Page H4751]]
public investment very costly. It is up to their people to
seek out opportunities and partners to strengthen their
regional economy.
Instead of working with Arctic Slope communities to create economic
opportunities, the Biden-era ROD further limited the economic prospects
available to those in the region, reducing investment and cutting off
essential new infrastructure that would support resource development.
During President Trump's first administration, consistent with
Federal law and local voices, the Department of the Interior finalized
plans to make all 1.56 million acres of the Coastal Plain available to
oil and gas leasing.
Lamentably, in 2024, the Biden administration disregarded local
Tribal voices and reversed course, implementing a new Record of
Decision that chose the most restrictive alternative, making available
the minimal amount of acreage for energy leasing.
The Biden administration also included energy-prohibitive
stipulations in the ROD designed to undermine energy lease sales in the
10-02 area. These provisions were horrifically successful, as the last
lease sale held received no bids.
The Biden administration's anti-energy decisions limit economic
opportunities for local Alaskans and Alaska Natives living within ANWR.
Congress must move to repeal the Biden administration-era ROD that
runs counter to congressional intent and unfairly reduces economic
opportunities in the region.
I thank Representative Begich for his work on H.J. Res. 131 so we can
restore common sense to the management of ANWR's vast resources and,
again, unleash American energy.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I strongly oppose H.J. Res. 131. The Congressional
Review Act resolution here would overturn BLM's Coastal Plain Oil and
Gas Leasing Program Record of Decision.
My Republican colleagues are, once again, pursuing policies that
expand our Nation's carbon pollution and expose our communities to
future disasters. Not only would this legislation grant access to one
of the most ecologically sensitive and, yes, incredibly difficult
regions to drill but it would reverse significant strides that
Democrats have made to protect lands that Tribal Nations have occupied
since time immemorial.
This misguided bill would lock in oil and gas development in the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, an area known to the Gwich'in people
as the sacred place where life begins. The Coastal Plain is the heart
of the Porcupine caribou's calving grounds. It hosts nearly 200
migratory bird species annually, connecting the rest of the United
States and also the world to this cradle of our natural heritage.
Equally vital, the 9,000-strong Gwich'in Nation, whose subsistence
and culture depend on the caribou herd, reside along the herd's
migratory route, making any disruption not only a threat to
biodiversity but also an assault on indigenous livelihoods and
traditions.
Let me read a quote from the Executive Director of the Gwich'in
Steering Committee, Kristen Moreland. She says: ``It is unthinkable
that our congressional decisionmakers continue to push to exploit the
Coastal Plain of the Arctic Refuge for oil and gas drilling.''
She continues: ``We rely on the caribou, not only spiritually and
culturally, but for our survival and subsistence. This action from D.C.
is an insult to the Gwich'in people and ignores those realities.''
Sovereign Inupiat for a Living Arctic also oppose this proposal. They
said:
Many Alaska Native communities are already facing negative
health impacts from oil and gas development on their lands
and are struggling to provide for their families due to
impacts on the local fish and wildlife populations.
Mr. Speaker, these words remind us that the climate crisis is here,
it is real, and it is exacerbated by this administration's relentless
push toward fossil fuels.
In the Arctic, temperatures are rising four times faster than the
global average.
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It is the indigenous communities in northern Alaska and in the refuge
that are disproportionately feeling the devastating impacts of the
climate crisis. Melting permafrost and changing species migration
patterns are threatening food security, cultural traditions, and their
ways of life.
Mr. Speaker, you will hear my Republican colleagues argue that
increased oil and gas development in the Arctic will be good for
America's bottom line, but that is patently false. Let me take you back
to 2017 when Republicans cut a backroom deal to help pay for Trump's
billionaire tax cuts the first time around by drilling in the Arctic
Refuge.
Two Arctic Refuge lease sales were included, in part, to offset the
cost of those tax giveaways for the wealthy. Republicans in Congress
and the Trump administration promised that these lease sales would
bring in $1.8 billion in revenue for the Federal Government and the
State of Alaska.
Well, when the first lease sale finally took place in 2021, guess
what happened, Mr. Speaker?
It generated less than $15 million, that is around 2 percent, of what
the CBO had estimated. In 2022, two of those lessees actually asked BLM
to cancel and refund their leases.
Separately, in 2021, two development companies actually paid $10
million to walk away from their legacy leases in the Arctic Refuge.
That is about the only revenue we have been able to generate in this
spectacularly difficult place to drill.
Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan group focused on deficit
reduction, recently said that drilling in the refuge has never be a
credible revenue offset, and it isn't now. They even found that new
leasing in the area would only raise, at most, $30 million. That is a
drop in the bucket, Mr. Speaker, when you consider my Republican
colleagues' big, ugly bill will cost American taxpayers $3.4 trillion.
This resolution is the latest attack from my Republican colleagues to
undercut our public lands, to prop up fossil fuel polluters, and the
expensive energy sources that they peddle and leave people out of the
decisionmaking process, all while driving up energy prices for the
American people.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in the longstanding,
bipartisan support for protecting the Arctic Refuge by opposing H.J.
Res. 131, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from
Alaska (Mr. Begich), who is the lead sponsor of this legislation.
Mr. BEGICH. Mr. Speaker, as the sole Representative of Alaska in the
United States House, I rise today in strong support of H.J. Res. 131, a
resolution to overturn the Biden administration's 2024 Record of
Decision, an action that severely restricted energy development on the
coastal plain of Alaska's North Slope.
For Alaskans, this issue is foundational--economically,
strategically, and culturally.
The 10-02 area of ANWR, the coastal plain, is the most studied piece
of land in Alaska and one of the most resource-rich energy basins in
North America. Congress set this area aside specifically because of its
oil and gas potential, and Congress has twice mandated that it be
leased for energy development.
Yet in December 2024, in the final days of the outgoing
administration, the Department of the Interior issued a new Record of
Decision that made only 400,000 acres available, a mere 25 percent of
the legally designated coastal plain, effectively shutting down 1.16
million acres that Congress expressly told the Department to lease.
That Record of Decision ignored Congress. It ignored the statutory
mandate in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and it ignored the voices of the
people who actually live on Alaska's North Slope.
Thanks to a request from Alaska's delegation, the Government
Accountability Office issued a legal opinion on August 25 confirming
that this 2024 Record of Decision is a rule under the Congressional
Review Act. That opinion, printed in the Congressional Record in
September, triggered the CRA window that allows Congress to act today.
Congress must act because Alaskans have spoken clearly, and they have
spoken loudly.
[[Page H4752]]
The North Slope Inupiat leadership, including the Arctic Slope
Regional Corporation, the North Slope Borough, and the Inupiat
Community of the Arctic Slope, have consistently supported responsible
development in the 10-02 area of our North Slope. For decades, they
have supported balanced development because they know how vital it is
to sustain their communities, maintain their way of life, and fund
essential public services.
Oil and gas development on the North Slope provides 95 percent of
local tax revenue, which pays for schools, clinics, utilities, public
safety, and infrastructure in some of the most remote and high-cost
communities in America. Without development, those services disappear.
Mr. Speaker, the law is clear. The science is clear, and the economic
reality is undeniable. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates the coastal
plain contains 10.4 billion barrels of recoverable oil, a resource that
can strengthen America's energy security at a time when geopolitical
instability is rising and global energy demand is surging.
President Trump recognized this on day one, issuing executive order
14153, Unleashing Alaska's Extraordinary Resource Potential, directing
the Secretary of the Interior to restore the lawful 2020 framework.
The Bureau of Land Management is already implementing that directive,
working to reinstate the 2020 Record of Decision and moving forward
with the four statutorily required lease sales mandated by the American
working families tax cut.
However, unless we disapprove of the 2024 ROD today, regulatory
whiplash will continue, investment will remain frozen, and local
communities will shoulder the burden of Federal indecision.
H.J. Res. 131 ends that uncertainty. It restores the legally
compliant 2020 Record of Decision. It restores the full acreage
Congress authorized for leasing, and it restores, importantly, the
voice of the North Slope residents in Alaska.
Mr. Speaker, Alaska has the energy the world needs. America has the
workforce to develop that energy responsibly, and Alaska's communities,
from Utqiagvik to Kaktovik, have been asking for consistency,
partnership, and respect from their Federal Government.
Today we can answer that call, and I urge my colleague to vote
``yes,'' and support Alaska, support American energy security.
Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from
Minnesota (Mr. Stauber).
Mr. STAUBER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the CRA
resolution introduced by my good friend and colleague Representative
Begich. This resolution overturns the Biden administration's actions to
prevent the great people of Alaska from accessing and responsibly
developing their abundant oil and gas resources on the North Slope.
Yet again, these actions were just another part of the Democrat and
President Biden's anywhere but America, any worker but American agenda.
This was put out by the Biden administration, Mr. Speaker, on
December 8, mere weeks before the transition to the Trump
administration.
Last Congress I was proud to introduce the Alaska's Right to Produce
Act which reversed many of these same anti-American energy policies of
the Biden administration and passed the House with bipartisan support.
Alaska is blessed with a tremendous wealth of natural resources. In
fact, when Alaska was admitted to the Union, there was a specific
condition laid out that the new State would develop these abundant
natural resources for the benefit of all Alaskans and all Americans.
The Biden administration took step after step to block the Alaskan
people from developing these resources. The Biden administration levied
more sanctions on the State of Alaska than they did on Iran. Congress
time and time again has passed laws to encourage and even require oil
and gas leasing and development in the 10-02 area of ANWR. The Biden
administration's Record of Decision runs completely counter to the laws
that Congress has enacted, and they played games to discourage
development like only offering unfavorable acreage in their lease sale.
These policies run counter to the wishes of the Alaska Natives across
the North Slope of Alaska. I had the honor of leading a bipartisan
delegation of my colleagues on the Natural Resources Committee to the
North Slope last year to visit with these Alaska Natives and see the
responsible oil and gas operations firsthand.
These individuals depend on revenues from oil and gas development for
their everyday lives. In fact, Alaska Natives who are enrolled
shareholders of the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation collect nearly
$30,000 a year thanks to responsible oil and gas development on the
North Slope.
{time} 1740
The Biden administration failed to properly consult with the people
of the North Slope when they decided to lock up ANWR and the NPR-A.
Former Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland refused request after
request to meet and hear from them. This was told to us in a meeting in
the Natural Resources Committee.
The CRA resolution will correct this by giving Alaska and the Alaska
Natives of the North Slope the opportunity to responsibly develop the
10-02 area of ANWR, which was set aside by Congress for this direct
purpose.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for introducing this important CRA
resolution on behalf of all Alaskans, and I urge my colleagues to join
me in voting for this resolution. I look forward to this passing this
House.
Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
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. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
In closing, I strongly oppose this resolution. It would open up
ecologically sensitive, culturally important, and incredibly remote
regions of the Arctic to oil and gas drilling.
Drilling proponents have grossly overstated how much oil industry
interest there is in drilling in the Coastal Plain of the Arctic
refuge. The Arctic is an extremely remote and harsh environment
requiring specialized equipment and infrastructure, making it one of
the costliest places to drill in the entire world.
There have been multiple lease sales held in the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge, which I want to emphasize is a wildlife refuge, and
still no legitimate oil and gas company currently holds a lease there.
Even during President Trump's first term, no oil and gas company kept
their leases. In fact, a recent report from Taxpayers for Common Sense
outlined the lack of economic viability for any oil and gas development
there, citing astronomically high costs in this remote region.
Let me be clear. House Republicans' actions today will do absolutely
nothing to lower your energy bills, but it will allow for the sell-off
of some of our most special and sacred public lands. That is why I
oppose H.J. Res. 131 and all the CRA resolutions on the floor today.
I urge my colleagues to join me in voting no, and I yield back the
balance of my time.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
I thank my colleagues for supporting this critical legislation and
engaging in this meaningful discussion.
Before I close, I want to highlight another statement from Director
Leavitt, which she offered during a Natural Resources Committee hearing
last Congress. Mr. Stauber, in his testimony, talked about how the
locals in the area just wished someone would listen to them. Director
Leavitt said this: ``Had the administration acted according to the
Indian Reorganization Act or its own orders, its leadership and staff
would have made allowance for the fact that the ICAS [the Inupiat
Community of the Arctic Slope], alongside many other North Slope Tribes
and entities like the Native Village of Kaktovik, Voice of the Arctic
Inupiat, Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, and more, have a long
history of supporting responsible resource development projects in
ANWR. The Voice of the Arctic Inupiat, of which ICAS is a member, has a
standing resolution supporting the responsible exploration and
[[Page H4753]]
development of the 10-02 area of ANWR.''
H.J. Res. 131 responds to the wishes of the local people who call
ANWR home and unleashes the region's bountiful natural resources for
the benefit of U.S. energy security and the economic well-being of
local communities.
I again urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield
back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate has expired.
Pursuant to House Resolution 879, 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 passage of the joint
resolution.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Mr. HUFFMAN. 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.
____________________