[House Report 112-530]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


112th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     112-530

======================================================================



 
                PLANNING FOR AMERICAN ENERGY ACT OF 2012

                                _______
                                

 June 15, 2012.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Hastings of Washington, from the Committee on Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                             together with

                            DISSENTING VIEWS

                        [To accompany H.R. 4381]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 4381) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to 
establish goals for an all-of-the-above energy production plan 
strategy on a 4-year basis on all onshore Federal lands managed 
by the Department of the Interior and the Forest Service, 
having considered the same, report favorably thereon with an 
amendment and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.
    The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``Planning for American Energy Act of 
2012''.

SEC. 2. ONSHORE DOMESTIC ENERGY PRODUCTION STRATEGIC PLAN.

  (a) In General.--The Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) is 
amended by redesignating section 44 as section 45, and by inserting 
after section 43 the following:

``SEC. 44. QUADRENNIAL STRATEGIC FEDERAL ONSHORE ENERGY PRODUCTION 
                    STRATEGY.

  ``(a) In General.--
          ``(1) The Secretary of the Interior (hereafter in this 
        section referred to as `Secretary'), in consultation with the 
        Secretary of Agriculture with regard to lands administered by 
        the Forest Service, shall develop and publish every 4 years a 
        Quadrennial Federal Onshore Energy Production Strategy. This 
        Strategy shall direct Federal land energy development and 
        department resource allocation in order to promote the energy 
        security of the United States.
          ``(2) In developing this Strategy, the Secretary shall 
        consult with the Administrator of the Energy Information 
        Administration on the projected energy demands of the United 
        States for the next 30-year period, and how energy derived from 
        Federal onshore lands can put the United States on a trajectory 
        to meet that demand during the next 4-year period. The 
        Secretary shall consider how Federal lands will contribute to 
        ensuring national energy security, with a goal for increasing 
        energy independence and production, during the next 4-year 
        period.
          ``(3) The Secretary shall determine a domestic strategic 
        production objective for the development of energy resources 
        from Federal onshore lands. Such objective shall be--
                  ``(A) the best estimate, based upon commercial and 
                scientific data, of the expected increase in domestic 
                production of oil and natural gas from the Federal 
                onshore mineral estate, with a focus on lands held by 
                the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service;
                  ``(B) the best estimate, based upon commercial and 
                scientific data, of the expected increase in domestic 
                coal production from Federal lands;
                  ``(C) the best estimate, based upon commercial and 
                scientific data, of the expected increase in domestic 
                production of strategic and critical energy minerals 
                from the Federal onshore mineral estate;
                  ``(D) the best estimate, based upon commercial and 
                scientific data, of the expected increase in megawatts 
                for electricity production from each of the following 
                sources: wind, solar, biomass, hydropower, and 
                geothermal energy produced on Federal lands 
                administered by the Bureau of Land Management and the 
                Forest Service;
                  ``(E) the best estimate, based upon commercial and 
                scientific data, of the expected increase in 
                unconventional energy production, such as oil shale; 
                and
                  ``(F) the best estimate, based upon commercial and 
                scientific data, of the expected increase in domestic 
                production of oil, natural gas, coal, and other 
                renewable sources from tribal lands for any federally 
                recognized Indian tribe that elects to participate in 
                facilitating energy production on its lands.
          ``(4) The Secretary shall consult with the Administrator of 
        the Energy Information Administration regarding the methodology 
        used to arrive at its estimates for purposes of this section.
          ``(5) The Secretary has the authority to expand the energy 
        development plan to include other energy production technology 
        sources or advancements in energy on Federal lands.
  ``(b) Tribal Objectives.--It is the sense of Congress that federally 
recognized Indian tribes may elect to set their own production 
objectives as part of the Strategy under this section. The Secretary 
shall work in cooperation with any federally recognized Indian tribe 
that elects to participate in achieving its own strategic energy 
objectives designated under this subsection.
  ``(c) Execution of the Strategy.--The relevant Secretary shall have 
all necessary authority to make determinations regarding which 
additional lands will be made available in order to meet the production 
objectives established by strategies under this section. The Secretary 
shall also take all necessary actions to achieve these production 
objectives unless the President determines that it is not in the 
national security and economic interests of the United States to 
increase Federal domestic energy production and to further decrease 
dependence upon foreign sources of energy. In administering this 
section, the relevant Secretary shall only consider leasing Federal 
lands available for leasing at the time the lease sale occurs.
  ``(d) State, Federally Recognized Indian Tribes, Local Government, 
and Public Input.--In developing each strategy, the Secretary shall 
solicit the input of affected States, federally recognized Indian 
tribes, local governments, and the public.
  ``(e) Reporting.--The Secretary shall report annually to the 
Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate on the progress 
of meeting the production goals set forth in the strategy. The 
Secretary shall identify in the report projections for production and 
capacity installations and any problems with leasing, permitting, 
siting, or production that will prevent meeting the goal. In addition, 
the Secretary shall make suggestions to help meet any shortfalls in 
meeting the production goals.
  ``(f) Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement.--Not later than 12 
months after the date of enactment of this section, in accordance with 
section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 
U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)), the Secretary shall complete a programmatic 
environmental impact statement. This programmatic environmental impact 
statement will be deemed sufficient to comply with all requirements 
under that Act for all necessary resource management and land use plans 
associated with the implementation of the strategy.
  ``(g) Congressional Review.--At least 60 days prior to publishing a 
proposed strategy under this section, the Secretary shall submit it to 
the President and the Congress, together with any comments received 
from States, federally recognized Indian tribes, and local governments. 
Such submission shall indicate why any specific recommendation of a 
State, federally recognized Indian tribe, or local government was not 
accepted.''.
  (b) First Quadrennial Strategy.--Not later than 18 months after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall 
submit to Congress the first Quadrennial Federal Onshore Energy 
Production Strategy under the amendment made by subsection (a).

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

  For purposes of this Act, the term ``strategic and critical energy 
minerals'' means those that are necessary for the Nation's energy 
infrastructure including pipelines, refining capacity, electrical power 
generation and transmission, and renewable energy production and those 
that are necessary to support domestic manufacturing, including but not 
limited to, materials used in energy generation, production, and 
transportation.

                          Purpose of the Bill

    The purpose of H.R. 4381, as ordered reported, is to direct 
the Secretary of the Interior to establish goals for an all-of-
the-above energy production plan strategy on a 4-year basis on 
all onshore Federal lands managed by the Department of the 
Interior and the Forest Service.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    Under current law, every five years the Administration must 
write and submit to Congress a ``5-year plan'' that will be the 
basis for the federal offshore oil and gas leasing program over 
the next five years. It identifies the areas to be leased 
during that period and establishes the schedule for individual 
lease sales. While this has been effective in ensuring a 
continuous forward path for offshore energy development, plans 
for definitive onshore energy development have been largely 
ignored.
    Historically, there has been no clear path towards 
increasing energy production on public land or ensuring 
production advances to meet the energy needs of the United 
States. Despite having an abundance of natural resources, and 
with emerging technologies providing a variety of new sources 
of energy, the Department of the Interior has failed to harness 
these resources into a firm plan for securing America's energy 
needs and advancing the production of energy on public lands. 
Furthermore, irregular leasing programs, permitting backlogs, 
sky-rocketing costs and unreliable and inconsistent development 
policies have significantly stifled companies' ability to 
produce energy on federal land.
    The Obama Administration has made energy and mineral 
development on federal lands so burdensome and so undesirable 
that companies consistently seek out state and private lands 
for development or go overseas rather than deal with the 
lengthy and uncertain federal regulatory process--with some 
companies developing exclusively on private land. The 
Administration has consistently taken steps to delay and halt 
production on federal lands--such as delaying the issuing of a 
permit by months or even years, removing swaths of land from 
previously announced lease sales, restricting areas prospective 
for solar and wind energy development, and withdrawing areas 
prospective for economic mineral deposits from mineral entry. 
As a result, federal onshore production has been decreasing 
every year.
    The Department of the Interior is to promote a ``multiple 
use policy'' for federal lands. This policy allows federal 
lands to be enjoyed by all citizens and used for a variety of 
purposes--recreation, hunting, ranching, grazing, and energy 
development. These land uses have historically been compatible 
on public lands and this legislation does not impact the 
multiple land use policy under the Federal Land Management and 
Policy Act (FLPMA). It gives the Secretary of the Interior the 
flexibility under FLPMA to continue to manage federal lands in 
a way that accommodates all activities Americans have come to 
enjoy on these lands.

                      ONSHORE OIL AND NATURAL GAS

    Recent numbers show that the harmful effect of the 
Administration's energy policies as total fossil fuel 
production has dropped by 7 percent since President Obama took 
office and 13 percent since 2003. From 2010 to 2011, total 
federal onshore oil and natural gas production is down 13 
percent and 10 percent, respectively. While the Administration 
claims that production is increasing, this is attributed to 
increased production on state and private lands. Since 2000, 
oil production on private and state lands has risen by 11 
percent and natural gas production has risen by 40 percent.
    Each year, thousands of acres of federal land are nominated 
for energy development. It is the responsibility of the 
Administration to lease those lands consistent with the goal of 
expanding American energy production. The current 
Administration has consistently leased decreasing numbers of 
acres for development--in some states choosing to lease zero 
acres for new development.
    The Administration continues to take other steps to 
decrease energy development on public lands. It has proposed 
and implemented multiple sets of burdensome and duplicative 
regulations and withdrawn leases after they have been sold and 
paid for. Delays and backlogs continue to stifle development, 
sometimes by years.
    Additionally, with fluctuating gas prices that have nearly 
reached five dollars a gallon, the Administration has not 
announced a plan to increase American oil and natural gas 
production to decrease our dependence on foreign oil and ease 
gas prices for Americans.

                            RENEWABLE ENERGY

Solar

    The United States has some of the most promising areas for 
solar energy development in the world. More than 100,000 
Americans work in the solar energy industry, double the number 
in 2009. Currently, solar power in the U.S. exceeds 3,650 
megawatts, enough to power 730,000 American homes. Despite this 
growth, industrial scale solar projects are stifled by 
bureaucratic delays, conflicting agency decisions, and unclear 
regulations. Recently, in an attempt to ``clarify'' areas 
available for solar energy development, the Bureau of Land 
Management proposed seventeen solar energy zones in six western 
states where solar energy development would ideally be directed 
with minimal environmental impact. Many in the solar energy 
industry have expressed concerns regarding the limitations 
these zones place on solar energy development and the 
transmission that is required to support solar energy 
deployment.
    While opponents argue that the Obama Administration has 
opened wide swaths of land for renewable energy development, in 
reality, the exact opposite is true. The Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM) is responsible for 245 million acres of 
surface estate. However, the solar energy zones encompass .1 
percent of BLM land--or 285,000 acres. Although the BLM 
contends there is the potential for 20 million acres of solar 
energy development outside of the solar energy zones--a mere 8 
percent--significant questions remain regarding permitting 
times, transmission availability and obstacles in the 
development process outside BLM's proposed solar energy zones.

Wind

    The U.S. wind industry currently totals 48,611 MW of 
capacity through the end of the first quarter of 2012. In the 
past five years, the wind industry added over 35 percent of all 
new generating capacity in the United States, and U.S. wind 
power capacity represents more than 20 percent of the world's 
installed wind power.
    Unfortunately, due to unstable and unreliable policies, 
while the capacity of wind farms has almost doubled, since 2009 
the wind industry has lost 10,000 jobs according to a recent 
report by Reuters. Industrial wind farms have faced additional 
obstacles, from land-use laws to airspace regulations and 
competition with other uses for the land whose uses may be more 
highly valued than electricity generation. Regulatory 
uncertainty, unpredictability with the Endangered Species Act, 
and continuous lawsuits filed against projects highlight the 
impacts and unpredictability of development on public lands, 
which is discouraging developers from investing in such 
projects.

                            Committee Action

    H.R. 4381 was introduced on April 18, 2012, by Congressman 
Scott Tipton (R-CO). The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee 
on Energy and Mineral Resources. On April 26, 2012, the 
Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On May 16, 2012, the 
Full Natural Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The 
Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources was discharged by 
unanimous consent. Congressman Tipton offered amendment 
designated #1 to the bill; the amendment was adopted by voice 
vote. Congressman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) offered amendment 
designated .001 to the bill; the amendment was not adopted by a 
bipartisan roll call vote of 16 to 22, as follows:


    Congressman Rush Holt (D-NJ) offered amendment designated 
.002 to the bill; the amendment was not adopted by a bipartisan 
roll call vote of 14 to 24, as follows:


    Congressman Edward Markey (D-MA) offered amendment 
designated .003 to the bill; the amendment was not adopted by a 
bipartisan roll call vote of 14 to 24, as follows:


    The bill, as amended, was then adopted and ordered 
favorably reported to the House of Representatives by a 
bipartisan roll call vote of 24 to 14, as follows:


                      Section-by-Section Analysis


Section 1. Short title

    The title of the bill is the ``Planning for American Energy 
Act of 2012.''

Section 2. Onshore domestic energy production strategic plan

    Section 2 requires the Secretary of the Interior to develop 
and publish a comprehensive onshore energy production strategy 
every four years. The Secretary will consider energy demand, 
national security, and energy dependence in creating this 
strategy and provide estimates of expected increases in oil, 
natural gas, coal, mineral, and renewable energy production. 
The Secretary has the authority to expand the plan to include 
other emerging energy technologies and will ensure proper 
amounts of land will be available to ensure increasing energy 
production. The Secretary will report to Congress prior to 
publishing the strategy.

Section 3. Definitions

    Section 3 provides definitions for terms used in the bill.

            Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations

    Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.

                    Compliance With House Rule XIII

    1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and 
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be 
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(2)(B) 
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when 
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted 
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974. Under clause 3(c)(3) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 
403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has 
received the following cost estimate for this bill from the 
Director of the Congressional Budget Office:

H.R. 4381--Planning for American Energy Act of 2012

    H.R. 4381 would require the Secretary of the Interior to 
develop an onshore energy production strategy every four years. 
The bill also would require the Secretary to develop a national 
programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS) for all 
onshore minerals. Based on information provided by the Bureau 
of Land Management (BLM), CBO estimates that implementing the 
legislation would cost $15 million over the 2013-2017 period, 
assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts. Enacting the 
bill would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, 
pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
    H.R. 4381 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal 
governments.
    The bill would require the Secretary to develop and publish 
every four years a strategy for the development of onshore 
federal energy and mineral resources. The bill would direct the 
Secretary to establish production objectives for oil, natural 
gas, coal, oil shale, and certain other minerals, as well as 
energy from wind, solar, biomass, hydropower, and geothermal 
resources. Based on information provided by the Department of 
the Interior about the cost of similar reports, CBO estimates 
that developing the four-year strategy would cost $7 million 
over the 2014-2015 period, assuming appropriation of the 
necessary amounts.
    The bill also would direct the Secretary to complete a PEIS 
for any activities associated with energy production on federal 
lands. Based on information from the affected agencies, CB0 
expects that those agencies would continue to conduct site-
specific environmental impact statements (EIS); however, we 
expect that analyses completed as part of the PEIS could result 
in some small savings when agencies prepare future EIS reports. 
Based on information provided by BLM regarding the cost of 
similar analyses, CBO estimates that completing the PEIS would 
cost $8 million over the 2013-2014 period, assuming 
appropriation of the necessary amounts.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFave. The 
estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.
    2. Section 308(a) of Congressional Budget Act. As required 
by clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives and section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget 
Act of 1974, this bill does not contain any new budget 
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in 
revenues or tax expenditures. Based on information provided by 
the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), CBO estimates that 
implementing the legislation would cost $15 million over the 
2013-2017 period, assuming appropriation of the necessary 
amounts. Enacting the bill would not affect direct spending or 
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
    3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or 
objective of this bill, as ordered reported, is to direct the 
Secretary of the Interior to establish goals for an all-of-the-
above energy production plan strategy on a 4-year basis on all 
onshore Federal lands managed by the Department of the Interior 
and the Forest Service.

                           Earmark Statement

    This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined 
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives.

                    Compliance With Public Law 104-4

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

                Preemption of State, Local or Tribal Law

    This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or 
tribal law.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

MINERAL LEASING ACT

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *



SEC. 44. QUADRENNIAL STRATEGIC FEDERAL ONSHORE ENERGY PRODUCTION 
                    STRATEGY.

  (a) In General.--
          (1) The Secretary of the Interior (hereafter in this 
        section referred to as ``Secretary''), in consultation 
        with the Secretary of Agriculture with regard to lands 
        administered by the Forest Service, shall develop and 
        publish every 4 years a Quadrennial Federal Onshore 
        Energy Production Strategy. This Strategy shall direct 
        Federal land energy development and department resource 
        allocation in order to promote the energy security of 
        the United States.
          (2) In developing this Strategy, the Secretary shall 
        consult with the Administrator of the Energy 
        Information Administration on the projected energy 
        demands of the United States for the next 30-year 
        period, and how energy derived from Federal onshore 
        lands can put the United States on a trajectory to meet 
        that demand during the next 4-year period. The 
        Secretary shall consider how Federal lands will 
        contribute to ensuring national energy security, with a 
        goal for increasing energy independence and production, 
        during the next 4-year period.
          (3) The Secretary shall determine a domestic 
        strategic production objective for the development of 
        energy resources from Federal onshore lands. Such 
        objective shall be--
                  (A) the best estimate, based upon commercial 
                and scientific data, of the expected increase 
                in domestic production of oil and natural gas 
                from the Federal onshore mineral estate, with a 
                focus on lands held by the Bureau of Land 
                Management and the Forest Service;
                  (B) the best estimate, based upon commercial 
                and scientific data, of the expected increase 
                in domestic coal production from Federal lands;
                  (C) the best estimate, based upon commercial 
                and scientific data, of the expected increase 
                in domestic production of strategic and 
                critical energy minerals from the Federal 
                onshore mineral estate;
                  (D) the best estimate, based upon commercial 
                and scientific data, of the expected increase 
                in megawatts for electricity production from 
                each of the following sources: wind, solar, 
                biomass, hydropower, and geothermal energy 
                produced on Federal lands administered by the 
                Bureau of Land Management and the Forest 
                Service;
                  (E) the best estimate, based upon commercial 
                and scientific data, of the expected increase 
                in unconventional energy production, such as 
                oil shale; and
                  (F) the best estimate, based upon commercial 
                and scientific data, of the expected increase 
                in domestic production of oil, natural gas, 
                coal, and other renewable sources from tribal 
                lands for any federally recognized Indian tribe 
                that elects to participate in facilitating 
                energy production on its lands.
          (4) The Secretary shall consult with the 
        Administrator of the Energy Information Administration 
        regarding the methodology used to arrive at its 
        estimates for purposes of this section.
          (5) The Secretary has the authority to expand the 
        energy development plan to include other energy 
        production technology sources or advancements in energy 
        on Federal lands.
  (b) Tribal Objectives.--It is the sense of Congress that 
federally recognized Indian tribes may elect to set their own 
production objectives as part of the Strategy under this 
section. The Secretary shall work in cooperation with any 
federally recognized Indian tribe that elects to participate in 
achieving its own strategic energy objectives designated under 
this subsection.
  (c) Execution of the Strategy.--The relevant Secretary shall 
have all necessary authority to make determinations regarding 
which additional lands will be made available in order to meet 
the production objectives established by strategies under this 
section. The Secretary shall also take all necessary actions to 
achieve these production objectives unless the President 
determines that it is not in the national security and economic 
interests of the United States to increase Federal domestic 
energy production and to further decrease dependence upon 
foreign sources of energy. In administering this section, the 
relevant Secretary shall only consider leasing Federal lands 
available for leasing at the time the lease sale occurs.
  (d) State, Federally Recognized Indian Tribes, Local 
Government, and Public Input.--In developing each strategy, the 
Secretary shall solicit the input of affected States, federally 
recognized Indian tribes, local governments, and the public.
  (e) Reporting.--The Secretary shall report annually to the 
Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate 
on the progress of meeting the production goals set forth in 
the strategy. The Secretary shall identify in the report 
projections for production and capacity installations and any 
problems with leasing, permitting, siting, or production that 
will prevent meeting the goal. In addition, the Secretary shall 
make suggestions to help meet any shortfalls in meeting the 
production goals.
  (f) Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement.--Not later 
than 12 months after the date of enactment of this section, in 
accordance with section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)), the Secretary shall 
complete a programmatic environmental impact statement. This 
programmatic environmental impact statement will be deemed 
sufficient to comply with all requirements under that Act for 
all necessary resource management and land use plans associated 
with the implementation of the strategy.
  (g) Congressional Review.--At least 60 days prior to 
publishing a proposed strategy under this section, the 
Secretary shall submit it to the President and the Congress, 
together with any comments received from States, federally 
recognized Indian tribes, and local governments. Such 
submission shall indicate why any specific recommendation of a 
State, federally recognized Indian tribe, or local government 
was not accepted.

SEC. [44.] 45. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``Mineral Leasing Act''.

                            DISSENTING VIEWS

    We oppose H.R. 4381 because it would overturn the multiple-
use principle established in the Federal Land Policy and 
Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA). By elevating energy production 
above hunting, fishing, recreation, grazing, conservation and 
the many other ways that the American people enjoy our public 
lands, H.R. 4381 seeks to undermine the basic principal which 
has guided management of public lands for 35 years.
    In 2010, more than 58 million people visited BLM lands, 
generating $7.4 billion dollars to the economy. Nationwide it 
is estimated that 1.2 million jobs are provided annually by the 
outdoor industry, many hunting and fishing related. Yet, the 
plan that would be mandated by this bill would threaten that 
tremendous economic engine. The Interior Department submitted 
testimony stating that H.R. 4381 ``would override the BLM's 
statutory direction that the public lands be managed for 
multiple uses . . . H.R. 4381 would direct Federal land 
managers to manage lands for the primary purpose of energy 
development rather than make thoughtful decisions on multiple 
use management through a public process based on site specific 
analysis and consideration.''
    Moreover, it is not necessary to elevate energy production 
above these other uses of federal lands when the U.S. produced 
more oil from federal lands onshore last year than at any point 
going back to 2003. The Department of the Interior has approved 
more permits to drill, and industry has begun drilling more 
wells in the first three years of the Obama Administration than 
during the first three years of the Bush Administration. Yet 
oil and gas companies still hold more than 25 million acres of 
public land onshore--an area roughly the size of the state of 
Kentucky--on which they are not producing oil or gas. These 
companies are sitting on nearly 6,700 drilling permits that 
have been approved by the Interior Department that they are not 
using. It is not the Obama administration that is holding up 
production on these leases; it is oil and gas companies who are 
not using these thousands of approved drilling permits.
    The Majority rejected an amendment from Parks, Forests and 
Public Lands Subcommittee Ranking Member Grijalva (D-AZ) 
largely along party lines that would have ensured that nothing 
in the bill affects the multiple use requirements of FLPMA. The 
Majority also rejected an amendment from Energy and Mineral 
Resources Subcommittee Ranking Member Holt (D-NJ) that would 
have required the Secretary, as part of the plan established 
under the bill, to reduce the number of leases oil companies 
already have on public land on which they are not producing oil 
or gas. Finally, the Majority rejected an amendment from 
Ranking Member Markey (D-MA) that would have required the 
Secretary to take into account the impact that Wall Street 
speculation is having on oil markets in developing the plan 
required under the bill.
    The Interior Department's ``all-of-the-above'' energy 
strategy has helped us reduce our dependence on foreign oil 
from 57 percent at the end of the Bush Administration to 45 
percent last year. Oil production from federal lands onshore is 
higher than during the Bush Administration. Yet despite these 
facts, H.R. 4381 would threaten hunting, fishing, grazing and 
the many other uses of our public lands by elevating energy 
production above all other uses.

                                   Edward J. Markey.
                                   Rush D. Holt.
                                   Paul Tonko.
                                   Grace F. Napolitano.
                                   Madeleine Z. Bordallo.
                                   Raul M. Grijalva.
                                   Ben Ray Lujan.

                                  
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