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Witness urges committee to reverse three Biden-era resource management plans
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Summary
An unnamed witness told a congressional committee that three Congressional Review Act resolutions (H.J. Res. 104, 105 and 106) should be reported favorably to overturn Biden-era resource management plans that the witness said restrict coal, oil and gas development and block access to Alaskan projects.
An unidentified testifier told a congressional committee that three Congressional Review Act resolutions — H.J. Res. 104, H.J. Res. 105 and H.J. Res. 106 — should be reported favorably to overturn resource management plans the witness said were imposed by the Biden administration and restrict energy development across parts of Montana, North Dakota and Alaska.
The testifier said the three RMPs together “would lock up 29,000,000 acres of land and mineral estates in Montana, North Dakota, and Alaska,” and argued that the plans halted leasing, exploration and energy production, threatening “grid reliability for states across the country.”
The witness described the three resolutions individually: H.J. Res. 104 targets what the witness called the Biden administration’s “sweeping coal leasing ban” in Montana’s Powder River Basin, which the witness said contains nearly 30% of the nation’s recoverable coal reserves and produces enough coal “to power over 16,000,000 American homes.” H.J. Res. 105 was described as reversing a plan that the witness said blocked development on 99% of North Dakota coal and closed 44% of federally owned oil and gas acreage in the state. H.J. Res. 106, the testifier said, would lift restrictions on about 13,300,000 acres in Alaska, enabling the Ambler Access Project and the Alaska LNG pipeline.
“These RMPs halted leasing, exploration, and energy production,” the testifier said, adding that the Alaska LNG project “is expected to produce 3,500,000,000 cubic feet of natural gas per day,” and that the witness’s figures equate that output to supplying “over 10,000,000 homes and support at least 10,000 high paying jobs.” The testifier also said Ambler Road is “crucial for accessing critical mineral deposits necessary for domestic manufacturing, defense, and energy supply chains.”
The testifier framed the CRAs as restoring “balanced scientific management” to public lands and advancing administration priorities articulated by the speaker’s allies, thanking Representatives Downing, Fitterczyk and Begich for their roles in advancing the resolutions. The witness concluded by asking the committee to “report a favorable and appropriate rule so these resolutions can be considered in the House.”
The remarks in the transcript are testimony and a request to the committee; the transcript does not record any committee vote, formal referral, or staff direction in response during this exchange.
The speaker did not identify their organizational affiliation in the transcript. The statements and numeric estimates reported here are those given by the witness in testimony; the transcript does not show independent committee verification of the acreage, production or job figures cited.
