Public Lands Military Readiness Act of 2025

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5131, legislation introduced by my colleague from Alaska (Mr. Begich). This important bill will extend the public land withdrawals for several military installations that operate on public lands in Alaska, California, and New Mexico.

Our public lands do a lot. As we have already discussed on the floor of the House today, they mean a lot to the American people.

One critical function that many Americans may not know about is their role in supporting military training, readiness, and other strategic missions throughout the country.

The use of these lands, as made possible by the extensions provided by this bill, is incredibly important to the U.S. Army and the Department of Defense. I thank the majority for working with us in a bipartisan manner to ensure swift consideration of these provisions.

A version of this language is expected to be included in this year's final version of the National Defense Authorization Act, which is expected to get a floor vote very soon. This will ensure that the critical operations at each of these installations proceed without interruption.

Lastly, Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Begich for his work on this bill.

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Ms. RANDALL. Mr. Speaker, I urge support of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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