Providing for Congressional Disapproval of the Rule Submitted By the Bureau of Land Management Relating to ``North Dakota Field Office Record of Decision and Approved Resource Management Plan''

Floor Speech

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Mrs. FEDORCHAK. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Westerman, the chairman, for his leadership on this issue and all energy-related issues. He is providing a great service to our Conference and to the country.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of my resolution to repeal the Biden administration's Bureau of Land Management Resource Management Plan for North Dakota.

First, let me respond briefly to my colleague from Colorado's comments about energy costs. His constituents, the dear people of Colorado, and many other constituents in blue States, like New York and California, probably are paying record prices for electricity and other energy products. That is because of their very own States' unrealistic and radical energy policies.

I promise, in North Dakota, citizens are not paying record prices. In fact, they are paying the lowest prices of any other State for electricity. I know this because, for the last 12 years, I helped set those policies. Changing these policies so that the rest of America could also pay lower energy prices was one of the driving forces of my running for this office.

In my State, energy production isn't a political debate. It is our way of life. It provides paychecks that feed our families, revenue that funds our schools, and power that keeps America moving forward.

Unfortunately, President Biden, in his very last week of office, chose to put special interests above all of that.

Mr. Speaker, North Dakotans saw the Biden administration's plan for exactly what it was. It was a backdoor attempt to shut down fossil fuels in our State. That is why our State immediately filed a lawsuit against the previous administration.

As our filing made clear: ``The amended RMP is not only unlawful and unwise but it is also emblematic of everything that was wrong with the prior administration's approach to cooperative federalism.''

Amen. That is exactly why we are here.

The truth is because of the checkerboard nature of Federal land and minerals across our State, this plan would close vast amounts of North Dakota to oil, gas, and coal leases for future development.

In fact, it would lock up nearly 99 percent of North Dakota's Federal coal acreage. That is more than 4 million acres. It would also block nearly half of our federally owned oil and gas acreage. That is nearly 213,000 acres.

This is absolutely the wrong direction. As demand for energy reaches record highs and Americans want to pay less for everything, we should unleash American energy, not shut it down.

North Dakota does have a very clear vision for energy development. We have proven that responsible energy development and environmental stewardship actually go hand in hand. We have invested billions in clean and emissions-controlled technology. We have reclaimed our lands and maintained some of the strongest air quality records in the Nation.

We can grow the economy, power the country, and steward the environment all at once. That is the American Way, and that is certainly the North Dakota way.

The Biden administration failed to recognize that and completely ignored all of my State's concerns with the plan. If we want to talk about intellectual dishonesty, that is the definition of it. So is so much of the Democrat's energy policy that ignores current technical realities at the peril of our American citizens.

Mr. Speaker, that is why my resolution is so important. It reverses the Biden administration's plan that ignored my State's serious concerns, restores true cooperation between the State and Federal Government, and gets North Dakota energy back on track.

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Mrs. FEDORCHAK. At its core, this is about more than North Dakota. If Washington can override State expertise here, it sets a dangerous precedent for every energy-producing State in the U.S. Congress must reassert its role to prevent unelected bureaucrats from locking up resources, raising costs, and undermining our energy security.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution. Stand with innovation. Stand with American workers. Stand with the families who power this Nation. This resolution puts States like North Dakota back in the driver's seat where they belong.

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