[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 207 (Tuesday, December 9, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8569-S8572]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
H.J. RES. 131 and S.J. RES. 91
Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, I rise today to urge my colleagues to
reject the Biden administration's unlawful attempt to stifle Alaska's
congressionally mandated oil and gas leasing program in the Coastal
Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, ANWR. I urge my
colleagues to support the Alaska congressional delegation's joint
resolution of disapproval, H.J. Res. 131 and S.J. Res. 91, to reject
unlawful regulatory overreach.
The implementation of the Biden administration's 2024 Coastal Plain
Oil and Gas Leasing Program Record of Decision, ROD, locked away nearly
75 percent of the Coastal Plain, also known as the 1002 Area, including
lands that are projected to have substantial resources beneath them,
from responsible oil and gas leasing--completely undermining the
explicit and express will of Congress and ignoring the needs and input
of local residents. Passing this joint resolution will disapprove this
Record of Decision and prevent this circumvention of Federal law from
happening again.
Alaska has a strong record of responsible resource development. The
footprint of drilling pads on the North Slope has declined by 80
percent since the 1970s, while new and safer technology has expanded
the reach of underground drilling by a significant margin. The result
is that less land is being used to develop resources than ever before,
as many modern sites cover just a few acres and are miles apart. These
technological advancements have played a significant role in reducing
impact to surrounding ecosystems. For example, the Central Arctic
Caribou herd, which ranges throughout Prudhoe Bay, has seen its
population grow for sustained periods alongside responsible development
on the North Slope.
The prospect of oil and gas development within ANWR has a long
history that dates back to before Alaska joined the Union as a State in
1959. In 1943, the Federal Government withdrew all the lands on the
North Slope by Public Land Order, PLO 82, to prevent certain types of
development. In 1960, the Department of the Interior, DOI, issued PLO
2214, setting aside 8.9 million acres to establish the Arctic National
Wildlife Range for the purpose of preserving unique wildlife,
wilderness, and recreation values, withdrawing the lands from ``all
forms of appropriation . . . including mining but not the mineral
leasing laws.'' PLO 2214 intentionally left open the possibility of the
development of certain resources, including oil and gas.
Under the landmark 1980 Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation
Act, ANILCA, the Range was expanded to its present size of 19.3 million
acres--an area nearly as large as South Carolina--and renamed the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Section 1002 of ANILCA directed the
Department of the Interior to study the oil and gas potential of the
1.57-million-acre Coastal Plain, a designated area of ANWR that held
great promise of oil and gas resources. However, section 1003
prohibited oil and gas production or leasing in ANWR unless authorized
by an Act of Congress.
Over the following years, DOI completed assessments of the area's oil
and gas potential and recommended that Congress lease the Coastal Plain
area. The Coastal Plain showed remarkable prospects for oil
development. The U.S. Geological Survey concluded in 1998 that the
Coastal Plain held at least 4.3 billion barrels of technically
recoverable oil, reporting: ``Technically recoverable oil within the
ANWR 1002 area (excluding State and Native areas) is estimated to be
between 4.3 and 11.8 billion barrels (95- and 5-percent probability
range), with a mean value of 7.7 billion barrels.'' In 2005, the U.S.
Geological Survey estimated that over 3 billion barrels were
technically and economically recoverable in the Coastal Plain. Based on
estimates such as these, DOI projected in 2024 that ANWR drilling would
generate around $29 billion in revenue for the Federal Government
through 2050.
Despite numerous efforts by Congress and the leadership of Alaska's
congressional delegation to realize this potential, it was not until
the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, TCJA, that the
groundwork for authorizing drilling in ANWR was laid. Within this
budget reconciliation bill, Congress directed the creation of the
Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program for the express purpose of
generating revenue and offsetting the tax cuts included in the Act.
That was why, when Congress passed the TCJA, it included very clear
and specific terms to make the lease sales successful and the
exploration and development program economically feasible. Section
20001 of the 2017 Tax Cut and Jobs Act, TCJA, expressly mandates that
the Department of the Interior, DOI, shall issue a competitive oil and
gas program for the leasing, development, production, and
transportation of oil and gas in and from the Coastal Plain. It amended
ANILCA to add this purpose for ANWR, set specific royalty rates for
leases, and directed that 50 percent of receipts for the oil and gas
program and operations on Federal land be deposited in the U.S.
Treasury with the State of Alaska receiving the remainder. The bill
further directed at least two Coastal Plain lease sales within 10 years
of enactment, the first by December 2021 and the second by December
2024, offering the areas with the highest hydrocarbon potential, with
lease offerings of not fewer than 400,000 acres.
Congress left little discretion to DOI. DOI's role was only to
establish and administer a competitive program and incorporate TCJA
requirements to instill success and economic feasibility, including
granting any easements or rights-of-way across the Coastal Plain for
exploration, development, production, and transportation in the Coastal
Plain that were necessary to carry out the terms of section 20001.
To implement Congress' directive, DOI conducted a National
Environmental Policy Act process and issued a Final Coastal Plain Oil
and Gas Leasing Program Environmental Impact Statement, Final EIS, in
September 2019 that closely followed congressional intent. In 2020, the
Bureau of Land Management, BLM, under the first Trump administration,
issued its ``Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program Record of
Decision,'' based on Alternative B from the 2019 Final EIS that made
all of the approximately 1.6 million acres of the program area
available for oil and gas leasing. In January of 2021, a competitive
lease sale was held and multiple bids were received by prospective
developers as intended under the TCJA, raising millions of dollars for
the United States. Congress had set out terms and conditions of the
program, to give it a sound opportunity to succeed, and DOI followed
its statutory directive.
[[Page S8570]]
However, following the election of President Biden, DOI reversed
direction in 2021. On June 1, 2021, DOI issued a Secretarial Order
temporarily halting all activities in the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas
Leasing Program. In August 2023, DOI issued a new Draft Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statement for the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas
Leasing Program and selected a much more restrictive plan for
development, Alternative D. The new alternative's restrictive terms
were contrary to the lease sale requirements set out in the TCJA and
Congress' intent that DOI establish a competitive program designed for
success and economic feasibility. In a Secretarial Order issued in
September 2023, DOI imposed a blanket moratorium on development and
canceled the lawfully purchased oil and gas leases in the Coastal
Plain, an action the Alaska District Court subsequently found to be
unlawful.
Then, in November 2024, BLM issued a Final Supplemental Environmental
Impact Statement, Final SEIS, that moved even further away from the
TCJA. DOI selected a new preferred Alternative D2, which was so
draconian that it was effectively a ``No Development'' plan and made
nearly 1.2 million acres unavailable for leasing or exploration. On
December 9, 2024, DOI issued its 2024 ROD selecting Alternative D2's
terms and conditions for the oil and gas program. The December 2024
ROD's terms were so limiting that they would make leasing, exploration,
and development on the Coastal Plain economically infeasible. Much of
the Alternative D2 highest hydrocarbon potential area would essentially
be off limits, as it would be subject to No Surface Occupancy or
Controlled Surface Use stipulations. DOI offered only 995 acres of
Surface Disturbance Area, less than half of the maximum 2,000 Surface
Acres of Federal Land for Production and Support Facilities that the
TCJA allowed. Alternative D2 contained so many limitations, restrictive
stipulations, and Required Operating Procedures that it made leasing
and development economically infeasible. As a result of this blatant
attempt to undermine and disregard Congress' direction for a
competitive oil and gas leasing program within the Coastal Plain, the
DOI received zero bids and never truly held a competitive oil and gas
lease sale. As I said at the time, January 20, 2025, and the
inauguration of President Trump could not come soon enough.
Permit terms can undermine the program's economic feasibility in
indirect ways, such as limiting the location of future drill pads and
other infrastructure. As an example, one stipulation prevented use of
areas near the shore, which would usually be used as a critical staging
area for loading and unloading barges. The stipulation preventing use
of that area requires staging to be pushed further inland, which in
turn requires construction of ice or gravel roads to reach the barges--
a higher economic, logistic, and environmental impact. Other
stipulations are redundant with existing State requirements. These are
just some of the many examples of 2024 ROD terms that make the program
economically infeasible. These terms and conditions in the 2024 ROD are
part of why the Senate should pass this joint resolution to prohibit
similar restrictions in the future.
The clear intent of Congress in the TCJA was that the Coastal Plain
would produce billions of barrels of oil and trillions of cubic feet of
natural gas which Alaska and the Nation need for energy security and
revenue. Not only is it impossible for a competitive oil and gas
leasing program to be administered through piecemeal offerings of land
tracts which exclude areas known to have proven potential for
significant hydrocarbon reserves, but in doing so, the 2024 ROD ignored
explicit instructions put forth by Congress in the TCJA. Congress
clearly stated the Secretary ``shall establish and administer a
competitive oil and gas program for the leasing, development,
production, and transportation of oil and gas in and from the Coastal
Plain,'' that the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Program ``shall'' be
supported by lease offerings of ``not fewer'' than 400,000 acres, and
the 400,000 acres ``shall'' consist of ``those areas that have the
highest potential for the discovery of hydrocarbons.'' The Biden DOI's
sabotage of the program went directly against the policy and purposes
of the TCJA.
When an agency fails to follow mandates from Congress, Congress has
the tool of the Congressional Review Act, CRA, to correct those
actions. DOI must follow the statutory mandates from Congress and allow
meaningful and reasonable economic development of the Coastal Plain. No
other law or detailed terms and conditions imposed by DOI can destroy
the clear statutory direction given by Congress in the 2017 Tax Cut and
Jobs Act. If the Biden administration's onerous terms and conditions
were allowed to stand, there would not be any ``program for the
leasing, development, production, and transportation of oil and gas''
from any of the most prospective leases in the Coastal Plain.
In its selection of Alternative D2, the Biden administration claimed
to be listening to the concerns of indigenous voices when this could
not be further from the truth. In practice, the Biden administration
deliberately ignored the only communities who live near and within the
boundaries of ANWR and was instead beholden to radical environmental
interests which, in contrast to local communities, supported a
moratorium on ANWR development and led to the creation of the 2024 ROD.
Fortunately, elections have consequences, and on January 20, his first
day in office of his second term, President Trump signed Executive
Order 14153, ``Unleashing Alaska's Extraordinary Resource Potential,''
which called for the rescission of Biden's illegal cancellation of the
ANWR leases and the 2024 SEIS, review of the 2024 ROD, and a
reinstatement of the 2020 Final EIS and 2020 ROD issued during the
first Trump administration.
This past summer, Secretary of the Interior and Chairman of the
National Energy Dominance Council Doug Burgum flew to Alaska and held a
townhall on the North Slope with regional leaders and listened to their
concerns, showing respect for the Alaska Native people who live there.
During the townhall, the Secretary heard the testimony of Charles
Lampe, a resident of Kaktovik--the only community located fully within
ANWR--and the President of Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation, KIC. KIC is a
village corporation established by the 1971 Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act. KIC owns approximately 92,000 acres of surface lands,
but is completely enveloped within ANWR and hampered from developing
these acres to their fullest potential. Mr. Lampe shared the continuous
efforts undertaken by KIC in order to open ANWR to oil and gas
operations. He highlighted the fact that pursuing oil and gas endeavors
in ANWR is essential to realizing self-determination within Kaktovik.
In testimony on Coastal Plain oil and gas development delivered to the
House Committee on Natural Resources in 2023, Mr. Lampe objected to
radical environmental interests that support turning the community and
its surrounding land into a giant national park, claiming such an
action ``literally guarantees us a fate with no economy, no jobs,
reduced subsistence, and no hope for the future of our people.'' In
front of those gathered, Secretary Burgum committed to rectifying this
injustice.
Because of the opportunities provided by oil and gas operations, this
industry has provided thousands of good-paying jobs to Alaskans, become
the primary driver of my State's economy, and transformed many of our
rural communities. Oil and gas revenues fund education, essential
infrastructure, and community services across the State, making
responsible resource development truly a matter of life or death for
Alaskans. In 1954, the Interior Department, with the help of the
University of Pittsburgh, conducted a study of the health of Alaska
Natives. Many of our communities in rural Alaska all had some of the
lowest levels of life expectancy in the entire world. Between 1980 and
2014, the average lifespan increased by 13 years across the region,
largely due to oil and gas revenue providing the opportunity to install
what we consider to be basic and essential community infrastructure. To
say these operations have had a positive impact on the local
communities is a gross understatement, an ideal that is reflected in
the testimony of Mr. Lampe.
This Congress has already taken decisive steps to reassert its
authority over the Coastal Plain. In the ``Working Families Tax Cut
Act,'' P.L. 119-21,
[[Page S8571]]
Congress mandated lease sales to be offered under the same terms and
conditions set forth in the August 2020 ROD for the FEIS of the
original Coastal Plain leasing program. In October, Secretary of the
Interior Doug Burgum made good on his commitments to the people of
Kaktovik and issued a new Coastal Plain Leasing Program based on the
2020 ROD. Passage of this joint resolution would durably protect
against another rogue administration promulgating a substantially
similar anti-development leasing program for the Coastal Plain as
contained in the 2024 ROD. It will prevent actions that aim to inhibit
the self-determination of the people of Kaktovik and other North Slope
communities by attempting to turn Alaska into one giant national park
while denying access to the abundance of readily available natural
resources needed to advance energy security, economic opportunity, and
community development.
Congress' direction that DOI establish and administer a competitive
lease program was nondiscretionary and much more limited than the
action DOI took in the 2024 ROD. To the extent DOI, or any other
Agency, imposes permit terms or operational requirements that impede
the economic feasibility of the program, they undermine the primary
purpose of the TCJA: to establish a competitive program that will
actually generate the billion dollars in revenue anticipated. The Act
specifically states that DOI must grant easements or rights-of-way
across the Coastal Plain that are necessary for exploration,
development, production, and transportation in the Coastal Plain to
carry out the terms of section 20001, and DOI's permit operating
procedure terms must be consistent with Congress' intent in the same
way to be consistent with law. Those permit and operational terms can
be identified, revised, and readopted to conform to the TCJA intent.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the
Congressional Record a Statement of Administration Policy from the
Office of Management and Budget, dated November 17, 2025; a letter of
support from Charles Lampe, President of the Kaktovik Inupiat
Corporation, dated December 3, 2025; and a briefing sheet from the
Bureau of Land Management on the explaining the differences between the
2024 Biden administration Record of Decision for the ANWR Coastal Plain
Oil and Gas Leasing Program and the 2020 ROD issued during the first
Trump administration and the implications of using the Congressional
Review Act.
I urge my colleagues to reject this blatant contravention of
congressional directives and unlawful regulatory overreach, reinforce
American energy dominance, and listen to Alaska Native voices by
supporting the Alaska congressional delegation and voting for this
joint resolution of disapproval and rescinding this Record of Decision.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Statement of Administration Policy
H.J. Res. 131--Joint Resolution 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''--(Rep.
Begich, R-Ak)
The Administration strongly supports passage of H.J. Res.
131, which would disapprove a Record of Decision issued by
the Bureau of Land Management during the previous
Administration. The 2024 Biden-era Coastal Plain Oil and Gas
Leasing Program Record of Decision imposed burdensome and
unnecessary restrictions on oil and gas leasing in the
Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, an area
set aside by Congress for potential oil and gas production,
by reducing the acreage available for responsible development
and imposing broad restrictions that undermine the Nation's
energy security and economic interests.
The Record of Decision, against the wishes of those who
actually live on the North Slope, effectively nullified
statutory directives from Congress to establish and
administer a competitive leasing program for the Coastal
Plain by placing more than 1 million acres off limits and
layering on operational constraints that make leasing
commercially impracticable. This disastrous Record of
Decision stifled the energy needs of our nation in
unnecessary red tape, destroyed confidence in Federal leasing
programs, and wreaked investment certainty across the energy
sector.
President Trump is committed to unleashing American energy
dominance and Alaska's extraordinary resource potential.
Unlike the short-sighted and completely failed America-Last
energy policies of the Biden Administration, President Trump
prioritizes energy independence, global energy dominance
against our adversaries, and high-paying job creation that
supports Alaska's communities. The Trump Administration is
committed to driving down energy costs, and putting
hardworking Americans and their paychecks first.
If H.J. Res. 131 were presented to the President in its
current form, his advisors would recommend that he sign it
into law.
____
Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation,
December 3, 2025.
Hon. Lisa Murkowski,
U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC.
Hon. Dan Sullivan,
U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC.
Hon. Nicholas Begich III,
House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senators Murkowski, Sullivan and Representative
Begich: On behalf of the Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation (KIC)
and our shareholders, I am writing to express our strong
support for S.J. Res. 91, the resolution disapproving the
Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) 2024 Coastal Plain Oil and
Gas Leasing Program Record of Decision under the
Congressional Review Act.
KIC is the village corporation for Kaktovik, established
under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA)
to manage surface estate, support economic self-
determination, and protect the long-term interests of our
Inupiat shareholders. Kaktovik is the only community located
within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), and KIC
holds significant ANCSA lands within the Coastal Plain lands
that Congress specifically conveyed to our people so that
local Inupiat, not distant federal agencies, would have a
central voice in decisions about our homeland.
For decades, KIC has participated constructively in every
federal process affecting the 1002 Area. We have consistently
supported responsible, science-based resource development
because we live here, we understand this place better than
anyone, and our community depends both on a healthy
environment and a stable local economy.
Support for S.J. Res. 91 and H.J. Res. 131
S.J. Res. 91, introduced by Senator Murkowski and co-
sponsored by Senator Sullivan, and its companion measure in
the House, H.J. Res. 131, introduced by Representative
Begich, are identical resolutions providing for congressional
disapproval of BLM's 2024 Coastal Plain ROD (hereinafter
referred to as the 2024 ROD) and subsequent Government
Accountability Office (GAO) conclusion that such record of
decision is a rule.
These resolutions are necessary because the Biden
administration's 2024 ROD undermines responsible resource
development required by law, disregards ANCSA, the Alaska
National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 (ANILCA),
and ignores the voices of the only people who live on the
Coastal Plain.
Background: The History of Federal Direction on the Coastal Plain
The Coastal Plain has long been recognized by Congress as
an area with substantial energy potential and is an area
where development was explicitly authorized for mineral
leasing under P.L. 115-97 (Tax Cuts and Jobs Act).
Why the 2024 ROD is Harmful to Kaktovik and ANCSA Rights
2024 ROD:
Ignores the statutory mandate for area-wide
leasing.
Disregards congressional limits on habitat
closures and surface disturbance.
Undermines ANCSA village lands specifically
conveyed to KIC for local benefit.
Removes opportunities that Congress intended to
support Inrupiat economic self-determination.
Threatens the revenue streams, jobs. and
infrastructure our community relies on.
Discounts Kaktovik's longstanding record of
supporting environmentally responsible development.
Kaktovik--the only community in the entire Refuge--bears
the full weight of the impacts. Yet our voice was minimized
while outside interests were elevated over the rights and
concerns of the people who live here and are the most
impacted by these decisions. The process in the development
of the 2024 ROD, disregarded our local indigenous knowledge,
our rights to consultation and the Secretary for the
Department of the Interior's own orders for meaningful
consultation.
The 2020 Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program (2020
program) included robust protections for wildlife and
sensitive habitats and was supported by the elected
leadership from the North Slope and Kaktovik. The development
of the 2020 program followed a transparent process that
incorporated meaningful consultation with our community,
recognizing the connection between economic self-
determination, our community and our culture.
Restoring the 2020 program ROD and overturning the 2024 ROD
as a rule is consistent with the FY 2025 reconciliation bill,
which requires four lease sales over the next decade.
Secretary Burgum has already reinstated the 2020 program ROD,
and both the Senate and House measures ensure future
administrations cannot disregard federal law or sideline our
people and communities.
[[Page S8572]]
Bottom Line: The 2024 ROD Must Be Nullified
The 2024 ROD's restrictive approach is unlawful,
unworkable, and deeply harmful to our people whose lands and
livelihoods are directly affected.
S.J. Res. 91 and H.J. Res 131:
Upholds federal law
Defends Congress's authority
Restores the 2020 program
Strengthens U.S. energy security
Respects Inupiat voices, including Kaktovik
Protects ANCSA rights and village corporation
lands
Ensures a fair and functional leasing program
going forward
KIC appreciates your leadership in standing with our
community and ensuring that the laws governing our homeland
are followed. We urge swift passage of S.J. Res. 91 and H.J.
Res 131.
Thank you for your continued support of Kaktovik and the
Inupiat people of the North Slope.
Sincerely,
Charles Lampe,
President, Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation.
____
Congressional Review Act: Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program
The 1,563,500-million-acre Coastal Plain of the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is a frontier basin that
holds strong potential for oil and gas development. The U.S.
Geological Survey estimates it may contain between 4.25 and
11.8 billion barrels of technically recoverable oil.
The hallmark legislation from President Trump's first term,
the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, directed the Secretary of the
Interior, through the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), to
establish and administer a competitive oil and gas program
for the Coastal Plain. On Jan. 6, 2021, the BLM conducted its
fIrst lease sale in the Coastal Plain of ANWR, pursuant to
the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program August 2020
Record of Decision (ROD). Then, in 2021, Biden's Department
of the Interior ignored congressional intent and suspended
all activities related to implementing the Coastal Plain Oil
and Gas Leasing Program pending completion of a comprehensive
analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act.
Then, on December 8, 2024, on Biden's way out of office
after losing the election, his administration issued a new
Record of Decision that made only 400,000 acres available for
a second lease sale, effectively closing off 74.4 percent of
the Coastal Plain to oil and gas development.
The BLM is currently implementing Executive Order 14153 and
Secretary's Order 3422 to unleash the resource potential of
the Coastal Plain by reinstating the 2020 ROD and resuming
and expanding leasing on the Coastal Plain, in accordance
with the law. The BLM is also implementing the One Big
Beautiful Bill Act which requires four lease sales in the
Coastal Plain over the next seven years.
The table below summarizes and compares key aspects of the
Biden 2024 ROD and the 2020 ROD for the Coastal Plain Oil and
Gas Leasing Program. The 2020 ROD would govern the program if
the Biden 2024 ROD is disapproved.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2024 Biden ROD: 2020 ROD: CRA Implications:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
400,000 acres open for oil and 1,563,500 acres Open 1,163,500
gas leasing. open for oil and additional acres
gas leasing. for oil and gas
leasing
231,700 acre as access to 358,100 acre as Open 126,400
directional drilling to access access to additional acres
oil and gas resources. directional to directional
drilling to drilling
access oil and
gas resources.
84,300 acres requiring No acres requiring Revert 84,300
controlled surface use. controlled acres to leasing
surface use. without
controlled
surface use
restrictions
1,532,400 riparian or wetland 1,508,800 riparian Reduce 23,600
acres. or wetland acres. acres identified
as riparian areas
and wetlands
------------------------------------------------------------------------
____________________