Alaska's Right to Produce Act of 2023

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. STAUBER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6285, Alaska's Right to Produce Act.

From Minnesota to Alaska, President Biden has repeatedly prevented the responsible production of America's abundant natural resources.

In Minnesota's Eighth District, which I am proud to represent, the Biden administration banned mining, locking up the world's largest untapped copper-nickel mine in the world.

Now he has turned his focus to the great State of Alaska, where he has made multiple moves to block energy development on Alaska's North Slope.

Last fall, the Biden administration first announced their plans to cancel the remaining oil and gas lease sales in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and limit energy development within the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. I will repeat that, National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. And within the last 2 weeks, the Biden administration finalized this devastating blow to the Alaska communities.

To quote from the testimony of Charles Lampe, the president of Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation in response to these actions, ``We are a small community that suffers as the Federal winds blow and feel the Biden administration is working to effectively erase us from the land that we have inhabited for hundreds of years.''

These actions have only further reinforced my view that Biden's energy and mining policy can be summed up as ``anywhere but America, any worker but American.''

In fact, Mr. Speaker, the Biden administration has levied more sanctions against the great State of Alaska than they have Iran. The Biden administration has put 63 sanctions against energy production in Alaska, more than Iran. In fact, they are taking off sanctions from Iran. This administration has taken off sanctions from Iran.

They are punishing the great State of Alaska. It is uncalled for. Not only does this decision run counter to the wishes of Alaska's Tribes and other hardworking Alaskans who stood to benefit from the jobs, opportunities, and revenue that the responsible production of these resources would create, but it will further cement our reliance on Iran, Russia, China, and Venezuela for the energy and natural resources on which we all rely.

Mr. Speaker, how does that make any sense?

As our adversaries become more and more hostile, shouldn't the President be doing everything in his power to make American energy independent once again?

Energy security is national security.

At a time when American families are struggling under the weight of record-high inflation and energy prices due to Biden policies, shouldn't the President be doing everything he can to support domestic energy projects that will create jobs and lower costs?

As the chairman of the Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee, I am proud to introduce the Alaska's Right to Produce Act to allow Alaskans to develop their God-given natural resources. I introduced this commonsense legislation with Alaska's Representative Mary Peltola, a Democrat, and Alaska's two Senators, and I thank them for their leadership on this critical issue.

The Alaskans on the North Slope support this legislation, Mr. Speaker. They support it because the oil and gas revenues allow them to build schools and hospitals, pay for their police, pay for their fire service, have libraries, have the fundamental parts of our communities that we all have and all deserve.

The only way they can sustain that, Mr. Speaker, is allowing things like this to go forward. Alaskans should be proud to ethically and responsibly resource this. Again, there were 63 sanctions against the great State. You have got to be kidding me. As my co-chair of the Tennis Caucus would agree, John McEnroe, ``You have got to be kidding me.'' It is unbelievable. The great people of Alaska deserve better than what this administration is forcing upon them.

I rise to offer my amendment that strengthens the underlying legislation to prevent the Biden administration from taking further steps to block oil and gas production in the great State of Alaska.

In the Bureau of Land Management's press release announcing the final NPR-A rule, they teased future action by the administration to create new special areas or expand/adjust existing special areas within the boundaries of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. These special areas are a means to lock up acreage from oil and gas production. There is no disputing that.

My amendment prohibits the Department of the Interior from creating or expanding special areas without congressional authorization.

When the administration announced its moratorium and canceled leases in ANWR and withdrew millions of acreage from development within the NPR-A, the local Alaska Native communities on the North Slope weren't given a proper heads-up, just like members of the Navajo Nation heard about the Chaco Canyon withdrawal. Alaska Native community leaders learned of these policy changes in the media.

This administration did not even properly consult with the very communities this oil and gas development would benefit, and it is clear why, because they weren't in lockstep with the administration's policies.

Mr. Speaker, just this morning we had a hearing. I asked the Secretary of the Interior five times if she consulted with the North Slope Native American communities, and she would not answer.

I finally had to go get some emails where they requested a meeting with her, and she denied meeting with them.

Let's make it very clear. The Alaskans on the North Slope requested a meeting with the Secretary of the Interior prior to this rule, and she blew them off. She didn't have the courtesy to meet with them after she was up there in Alaska already.

The administration also held an incredibly short public comment period on these actions. When the Bureau of Land Management was pressed on this timeline, which was right in the middle of whaling season for the sustenance fishing communities that support oil and gas development, a BLM official responded that the administration wanted a short comment period to rush a rule through in order to prevent it from falling into the Congressional Review Act window.

Mr. Speaker, not only did this administration fail to properly consult with local Native Alaskan communities on the North Slope, but they have taken explicit steps to subvert Congress' constitutional responsibility to serve as a check on the executive branch.

This administration cannot be trusted to do right by the American people. Policies coming out of this administration, especially energy and natural resources policies, undermine the American people and the hardworking men and women who stand ready to responsibly develop our vast natural resources.

That is why Congress must take every step to prevent the administration from pushing forward these policies. We must close every loophole that might be out there to shut down domestic energy production.

This includes preventing the administration from creating new or expanding existing special areas within the NPR-A.

They can't be trusted to do the right thing by the American people and the Alaska Native communities on the North Slope.

Congress must step in. I urge my colleagues to join me in voting for this amendment, as well as joining me in voting for the underlying legislation.

The Alaskan communities deserve this. They have been producing energy under their feet in their natural resource space for years.

The energy production--we want to be energy independent, and again, the oil and gas royalties will help the North Slope communities, Mr. Speaker.

I said 10 minutes ago they had come to an EMR hearing stating that these royalties help us live, help us buy our food, help us build our infrastructure. Without those revenues, they can't do it. They simply can't do it. In fact, at the EMR hearing, there was a resident that actually was in tears, Mr. Speaker, because of this rule. It is going to be devastating for her and her family to not be able to live on the North Slope comfortably.

Actually, Mr. Speaker, my good friend from Louisiana, I actually liked his expression, and I think my colleague on the other side of the aisle may be offended by this, but you know, my good friend from Louisiana actually said--

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source