Providing for Congressional Disapproval of the Rule Submitted By the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Relating to ``Protection of Marine Archaeological Resources''

Floor Speech

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Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 177, I call up the joint resolution (S.J. Res. 11) providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management relating to ``Protection of Marine Archaeological Resources'', and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

The Clerk read the title of the joint resolution.

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Mr. WESTERMAN. Res. 11.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S.J. Res. 11, a resolution to express disapproval of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's misguided protection of the ``Protection of Marine Archaeological Resources'' rule.

First, I thank my colleagues, Senator Kennedy and Representative Ezell, for championing this effort and collaborating with my team to bring this resolution to the floor today. Additionally, I acknowledge Democratic Senators Hickenlooper, Cortez Masto, and Rosen for supporting this resolution in the Senate.

Mr. Speaker, S.J. Res. 11 is a commonsense measure that would repeal a burdensome and unnecessary Biden administration rule that forces offshore energy operators to conduct costly archeological surveys and submit reports for every exploration and development plan on the Outer Continental Shelf.

Under the rule in question, operators must comply with this blanket mandate, even in areas with no known archeological risks, adding millions in unnecessary costs and delays despite existing State and Federal protections under the National Historic Preservation Act.

Eliminating this one-size-fits-all rulemaking will ensure that energy production isn't bogged down by duplicative red tape. S.J. Res. 11 uses the Congressional Review Act to nullify a rule which BOEM acknowledges places ``100 percent of the increased Gulf of Mexico compliance cost for survey[s]'' on operators that are small entities.

This resolution would end the Biden administration's needless overreach and return the regulatory regime to a targeted, evidence- based approach.

Notably, this repeal preserves America's ability to tap its offshore resources efficiently. It will not weaken genuine historic preservation but will stop a pointless cash grab that inflates administrative burdens. In fact, this resolution could boost Federal revenues by speeding up leasing and production timelines that are critical to U.S. energy security.

Offshore oil and gas from the Outer Continental Shelf accounts for 15 percent of U.S. production, supporting jobs, powering homes, fueling transportation, paying for conservation, and lowering costs for goods we all need. Yet, this rule, part of a broader pattern of Biden-era restrictions, threatens that stability with added costs of more than 500 additional labor hours per year across operators.

Federal regulators shouldn't stifle energy development. This resolution offers a rational fix by eliminating a rule which was intended to add burdens to a vital industry. S.J. Res. 11 will protect American energy security and keep energy costs down for families as part of an all-of-the-above energy strategy.

Mr. Speaker, this bill is not about repealing anything that is going to add any protections or viability to anything that is happening on offshore exploration. The rule was not even about wearing a suspender with a belt.

This rule was put in place to hamper offshore energy production. Under section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, protections already exist for offshore operators, and it requires them to identify and avoid marine archeological sites, making this rule totally redundant.

Mr. Speaker, the purpose of the Biden-era rule wasn't just for redundancy. It was to put shackles on offshore energy production and to put higher costs on American consumers, who are already struggling with inflation that has resulted from the policies of the previous administration.

Good governance doesn't have redundancy and duplicative rules in place that hamper Americans from building and producing.

What we are doing is releasing the shackles off of energy production so that we can provide the things that our country and our economy need.

That is why I really appreciate the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Ezell) for bringing this bill forward.

Mr. Speaker, our country is at a point where we need more energy and every form of energy when we look at the demands for data processing, when we look at transportation demands, when we look at demands for energy to grow our economy and to produce more things here. I don't think anybody on either side of the aisle would question the fact that we need more energy and our energy consumption is on an exponential increase.

This rule that the Biden administration made is not about an all-of- the-above energy approach. It is not about producing more energy, more clean reliable energy that comes from America. It is about attacking an industry.

If you don't believe that, just look at the rule itself. We produce more than one kind of energy offshore. We produce oil and gas. We also produce wind, but magically wind farms don't trigger an archeological review, I guess, because they are not included in this analysis, this redundant process that the Biden administration put in place.

The reason they are not is the same reason that oil and gas should not be included; because there is already a process to do the National Historical Preservation Act section 106 requirements when you are getting a permit.

This rule was added by the Biden administration just to create another level of bureaucracy, another level of regulatory hurdles to stop offshore oil and gas exploration and production. That is the only purpose they could have put this rule in place for. Otherwise, they would have said, if they really cared about archeological features and artifacts in the Gulf and offshore, they would have included the wind farms in this, but it is only targeted at oil and gas.

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Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time. I am prepared to close, and I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of S.J. Res. 11. I thank my colleagues across the aisle for actually making our point on why this regulation that was put in place by the Biden administration is totally unnecessary.

We made the point that it is targeted specifically for oil and gas and that wind is exempted. They tried to say that wind is exempted because they are already doing the analysis under the National Historic Preservation Act, section 106.

Guess what? Oil and gas is doing the same thing. They are already making these archaeological assessments under existing rules.

This is redundant, but it is not just redundant. It is punitive. It was a rule put in place to attack what our colleagues like to refer to as the Big Oil bogeyman. Apparently, because they have been successful and they can actually turn a profit because there is a demand for their product, they should be attacked by the Federal Government; they should have more regulations put on them. We should do anything we can to stop producing more energy offshore if you are in the mindset of the previous administration.

That is not helping America. That is not helping the American consumers. That is not helping the American economy, and it is certainly not helping America on the world stage. It is ridiculous that we are having to come here and do Congressional Review Acts on horrible policies that were put in place by the previous administration, but thank goodness we have the tool to do that. Thank goodness the Senate has already done it, and we have bipartisan support in the Senate to do the CRA on this rule.

State and Federal laws, as has already been mentioned, provide robust oversight for marine historic resources, again making this added layer of Federal bureaucracy pointless and wasteful. The repeal will lower energy costs for American families, strengthen U.S. energy independence, and support an industry critical to our economy and our security, all while maintaining responsible stewardship of historic resources.

One thing that BOEM failed to analyze that often gets overlooked, it is not just Big Oil in the Outer Continental Shelf, it is also small producers, family-owned businesses, and thousands and thousands of people who make a living working in the Outer Continental Shelf.

This burdensome regulation will be detrimental to those small businesses. I urge my colleagues to support the resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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