[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 99 (Thursday, June 11, 2026)]
[House]
[Page H4088]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE IS NOT FOR SALE

  (Mr. RUIZ asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. RUIZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with an important message for the 
Trump administration: The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is not for 
sale.
  For the third time, they have tried to sell off the Arctic National 
Wildlife Refuge to Big Oil, and for the third time, it has flopped.
  Last Friday's lease sale brought in less than 1 percent of projected 
revenue. Not one major oil company even showed up, and for good reason.
  Last summer, I traveled to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. I 
fished its rivers, walked its Coastal Plain, and watched musk ox roam 
one of the last truly wild places on Earth.
  Mr. Speaker, I can speak with firsthand experience when I say that 
this place is simply too special to drill, too important for the animal 
ecosystem and global bird migrations, and too critical for indigenous 
cultural preservation.
  Our public lands belong to the American people, not to the highest 
bidder. When the highest bidder doesn't even show up, maybe it is time 
this administration got the message.

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