Providing for Congressional Disapproval of the Rule Submitted By the Bureau of Land Management Relating to ``Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program Record of Decision''

Floor Speech

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Mr. BEGICH. Mr. Speaker, as the sole Representative of Alaska in the United States House, I rise today in strong support of H.J. Res. 131, a resolution to overturn the Biden administration's 2024 Record of Decision, an action that severely restricted energy development on the coastal plain of Alaska's North Slope.

For Alaskans, this issue is foundational--economically, strategically, and culturally.

The 10-02 area of ANWR, the coastal plain, is the most studied piece of land in Alaska and one of the most resource-rich energy basins in North America. Congress set this area aside specifically because of its oil and gas potential, and Congress has twice mandated that it be leased for energy development.

Yet in December 2024, in the final days of the outgoing administration, the Department of the Interior issued a new Record of Decision that made only 400,000 acres available, a mere 25 percent of the legally designated coastal plain, effectively shutting down 1.16 million acres that Congress expressly told the Department to lease.

That Record of Decision ignored Congress. It ignored the statutory mandate in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and it ignored the voices of the people who actually live on Alaska's North Slope.

Thanks to a request from Alaska's delegation, the Government Accountability Office issued a legal opinion on August 25 confirming that this 2024 Record of Decision is a rule under the Congressional Review Act. That opinion, printed in the Congressional Record in September, triggered the CRA window that allows Congress to act today.

Congress must act because Alaskans have spoken clearly, and they have spoken loudly.

The North Slope Inupiat leadership, including the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, the North Slope Borough, and the Inupiat Community of the Arctic Slope, have consistently supported responsible development in the 10-02 area of our North Slope. For decades, they have supported balanced development because they know how vital it is to sustain their communities, maintain their way of life, and fund essential public services.

Oil and gas development on the North Slope provides 95 percent of local tax revenue, which pays for schools, clinics, utilities, public safety, and infrastructure in some of the most remote and high-cost communities in America. Without development, those services disappear.

Mr. Speaker, the law is clear. The science is clear, and the economic reality is undeniable. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates the coastal plain contains 10.4 billion barrels of recoverable oil, a resource that can strengthen America's energy security at a time when geopolitical instability is rising and global energy demand is surging.

President Trump recognized this on day one, issuing executive order 14153, Unleashing Alaska's Extraordinary Resource Potential, directing the Secretary of the Interior to restore the lawful 2020 framework.

The Bureau of Land Management is already implementing that directive, working to reinstate the 2020 Record of Decision and moving forward with the four statutorily required lease sales mandated by the American working families tax cut.

However, unless we disapprove of the 2024 ROD today, regulatory whiplash will continue, investment will remain frozen, and local communities will shoulder the burden of Federal indecision.

H.J. Res. 131 ends that uncertainty. It restores the legally compliant 2020 Record of Decision. It restores the full acreage Congress authorized for leasing, and it restores, importantly, the voice of the North Slope residents in Alaska.

Mr. Speaker, Alaska has the energy the world needs. America has the workforce to develop that energy responsibly, and Alaska's communities, from Utqiagvik to Kaktovik, have been asking for consistency, partnership, and respect from their Federal Government.

Today we can answer that call, and I urge my colleague to vote ``yes,'' and support Alaska, support American energy security.

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