Providing for Congressional Disapproval of the Rule Submitted By the Bureau of Land Management Relating to Public Land Order No. 7917 for Withdrawal of Federal Lands; Cook, Lake, and Saint Louis Counties, Mn

Floor Speech

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Mr. STAUBER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.J. Res. 140, to reverse Public Land Order 7917, which enacted the Biden administration's dangerous mining ban in northern Minnesota.

The district I am proud to represent, Minnesota's Eighth Congressional District, is blessed with an abundance of mineral wealth. On the Iron Range in northern Minnesota, we have been responsibly mining for 145 years. We mined the iron ore that won us two world wars and currently mine the taconite that is used to make 80 percent of this country's domestically produced steel.

Before Biden's mining ban, we had the opportunity to mine the copper, nickel, cobalt, and other critical minerals that are necessary for this country to compete and win in the 21st century. That is because northern Minnesota is home to the Duluth Complex, the largest untapped copper-nickel deposit in the entire world. It is home to one-third of our country's copper reserves, 95 percent of our nickel reserves, 88 percent of our cobalt reserves, and 75 percent of our other platinum group metals.

Public Land Order 7917 locked up the Duluth Complex and ended this opportunity that we had. This PLO withdrew 225,504 acres--that is nearly a quarter of a million acres--in the Superior National Forest, which is a working industrial forest where timber harvesting and mining are desired activities. This ban was a 20-year ban, where, I will note, again, the Forest Service plan states mining and timber harvesting are desired activities.

This PLO sacrificed thousands of good-paying union jobs that would support families for generations, along with billions of dollars of revenue for our schools, State and Federal governments, and, most importantly, our Nation's mineral security.

It didn't only block our access to precious critical minerals, Mr. Speaker, it also cut us off from one of the largest and most concentrated deposits of helium, a gas that is necessary in everything from medical and manufacturing equipment to state-of-the-art defense systems. Just like our critical minerals, we are blocked from responsibly accessing the helium, making the United States more dependent on foreign imports and increasing Russia's share of global helium markets.

When issuing this ban, the Biden administration even went so far as to state that its purpose was to prevent mineral and geothermal exploration and development. When former Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland testified before the Committee on Appropriations following the withdrawal, she stated: I didn't think there were any critical minerals there.

The Secretary of the Interior had no idea that the biggest copper- nickel find in the world was in northeastern Minnesota, where she banned mining. It was a dangerous, purely political decision that disregarded the science and the facts.

Under the Federal Lands Policy and Management Act, or FLPMA, the Department of the Interior is required to notify Congress of public land orders impacting in excess of 5,000 acres. The Biden administration failed to properly transmit Public Land Order 7917 to Congress when it was finalized in January 2023.

Public Land Order 7917 implemented a broad policy that hinders access to American resources and is wholly detrimental to our Nation's national and mineral security. It is exactly the kind of action Congress intended to review under the Congressional Review Act.

H.J. Res. 140 would overturn this mining ban under the CRA and allow important proposed mining and helium development projects to continue through the regulatory and permitting process, which they will have to complete at both the State and Federal levels before moving forward.

Mr. Speaker, this CRA will not green-light any proposed project. All it does is remove the dangerous, misguided ban that stops us from considering any project. This ban disregarded the science. It disregarded the facts. Lifting this ban will simply allow the science and the facts to prevail.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.J. Res. 140, and I include in the Record a copy of Public Land Order No. 7917. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Land Management [LLES960000.L14400000.ET0000.234; MNES-059784] Public Land Order No.7917 for Withdrawal of Federal Lands; Cook, Lake, and Saint Louis Counties, MN

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management.

ACTION: Public Land Order.

SUMMARY: This Order withdraws approximately 225,504 acres of National Forest System lands in Cook, Lake, and Saint Louis counties, Minnesota, from disposition under the United States mineral and geothermal leasing laws, for a period of 20 years, subject to valid existing rights, to protect and preserve the fragile and vital social and natural resources, ecological integrity, and wilderness values in the Rainy River Watershed, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW), the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Mining Protection Area (MPA), and the 1854 Ceded Territory of the Lake Superior Chippewa in northeastern Minnesota from the potential adverse effects of mineral and geothermal exploration and development.

DATES: This Order takes effect on [Insert Date of Publication in the Federal Register]

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: F. David Radford, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Eastern States Office, during regular business hours, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. Individuals in the United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services. Individuals outside the United States should use the relay services offered within their country to make international calls to the point of contact in the United States.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Forest System Lands described in this Order are within Lake, Cook, and Saint Louis counties, Minnesota. This Order does not apply to non- Federal interests within the boundaries of the area described herein. If the non-Federal interests within the boundaries of the area described in this Order are subsequently acquired by the United States, the non-Federal interests will become subject to this withdrawal. ORDER

By virtue of the authority vested in the Secretary of the Interior by Section 204(c) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, 43 U.S.C. 1714(c), it is ordered as follows:

1. Subject to valid existing rights, the National Forest System lands, and all non-Federal lands that are subsequently acquired by the Federal government, within the Townships identified below, as depicted in the attached map, are hereby withdrawn from disposition under the United States mineral and geothermal leasing laws, including the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 (30 U.S.C. 18 et seq., as amended), the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.), the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands of 1947 (30 U.S.C. 351 et seq., as amended), Section 402 of the President's Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1946, 16 U.S.C. 520, and 16 U.S.C. 508b, in order to protect and preserve the fragile and vital social and natural resources, ecological integrity, and wilderness values in the Rainy River Watershed, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, the Mining Protection Area, and the 1854 Ceded Territory of the Chippewa Bands in northeastern Minnesota from adverse effects of mineral and geothermal exploration and development. The purpose of the withdrawal is also to protect the health, traditional cultural values, and subsistence-based lifestyle of the Tribes that rely on resources in the region, such as wild rice, which are particularly susceptible to adverse impacts associated with mineral exploration and development. The Federal lands would remain subject to laws authorizing the disposal of mineral materials, as defined by 36 CFR 228, subpart C. National Forest System Lands--Superior National Forest

Fourth Principal Meridian, Minnesota; Tps. 61 and 62 N., R. 5 W.; Tps. 60 to 62 N., R. 6 W.; Tps. 59 to 61 N., R. 7 W.; Tps. 59 to 61 N., R. 8 W.; Tps. 58 to 61 N., R. 9 W.; Tps. 57 to 62 N., R. 10 W.; Tps. 57 to 63 N., R. 11 W. Tp. 59 N., R. 12 W.; Tps. 61 to 63 N., R. 12 W.; Tps. 61 to 63 N., R. 13 W.

Further information on the project is available at BLM's ePlanning site at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/ project/2022642/510 or at the USFS Superior National Forest, Duluth, Minnesota.

2. The withdrawal made by this Order does not alter the applicability of laws governing the use of National Forest System lands other than the geothermal and mineral leasing laws.

3. This withdrawal will expire 20 years from the effective date of this order unless, as a result of a review conducted before the expiration date pursuant to Section 204(f) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, 43 U.S.C. 1714(f), the Secretary determines that the withdrawal shall be extended.

(Authority: 43 CFR 2310) Deb Haaland Secretary of the Interior.

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Mr. STAUBER. Mr. Speaker, it won't surprise you that the Representative from that area supports this resolution. My colleagues and friends across the aisle, even from my great State of Minnesota, mention mining in the Boundary Waters.

Mr. Speaker, for the umpteenth time: There will be no mining in the Boundary Waters. There will be no mining in the buffer zones around the Boundary Waters.

Mr. Speaker, that was settled in 1978. Then-Democratic Congressman Jim Oberstar said: Okay, if you are going to make the wilderness area, do not take our livelihoods away, which was timber harvesting and mining.

These are good mining job. Mr. Speaker, according to 2023 statistics, the average miner in the State of Minnesota makes $115,000, and the seasonal tourist employee makes $35,000.

Unions, LIUNA, NABtu, operating engineers, the Iron Range, and building and construction trades all support this project. These are good union jobs. By the way, there is a project labor agreement. Three million work hours, Mr. Speaker, are going to go into any proposed mine. This is all union work for all my constituents in northeastern Minnesota so we can keep our schools open, so we can keep our economy going.

By the way, every school district benefits from mining in the State of Minnesota. These acquired Federal lands, through the life of any proposed mine, will bring $1.8 billion, Mr. Speaker, $1.8 billion in Federal royalties. Over the life of the mine, that is about $800 million in Federal taxes.

When my colleagues across the aisle say that it is not going to do anything, I just named a great portion and a benefit.

By the way, I go up to the Boundary Waters. I canoe there, I fish there, and I recreate there. We are not mining in the Boundary Waters. That is a falsity. That is not true. That has been misrepresented for a lot of years. Mr. Speaker, in the State of Minnesota, we have a saying: It is better in our backyard. It is better in our backyard.

We are not going to use child slave labor like over in Congo. One- third of the world's cobalt comes from child slave labor, forced slave labor. We have 88 percent of the reserves right in that complex.

By the way, Mr. Speaker, this Congressional Review Act doesn't approve or disapprove any mining. It reverses the mining ban, the dangerous mining ban, that the Biden administration put forward under Secretary Haaland. By the way, Mr. Zinke said she couldn't name one critical mineral in the mine, yet it is the biggest untapped copper- nickel find in the world.

We will not rely on China or other adversarial nations. We can do it. This can be a win-win-win. If anybody knows how to mine, it is the Minnesota miner. It is better in our backyard than China, Russia, or other adversarial nations.

Minnesota has been mining for 145 years. We know how to do it. Mr. Speaker, it is better in our backyard where our environmental and our labor standards are met or exceeded and our State permitting is met or exceeded.

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Mr. STAUBER. Mr. Speaker, I said it: Would it surprise you that the Representative from the district supports the resolution?

I talked about jobs and the economy. I am going to reiterate: NABTU, the Operating Engineers, Teamsters, and the Iron Range Building and Construction Trades have 3 million work hours, with an average mine salary of $115,000. This is good for my constituents.

As we go forward, I want to reiterate to my colleagues: This CRA does not approve any mine. The CRA simply removes the withdrawal. It reverses the dangerous withdrawal that the Biden administration put forth for purely political reasons. They stated in their reasoning that it was to prevent mining. The Secretary, again, when asked said: I didn't think there were critical minerals there.

In the biggest copper-nickel find in the world, she signs the PLO that removes mining in the Superior National Forest, where timber harvesting and mining are desired activities.

Democratic Congressman Jim Oberstar was so far ahead of his time. When the wilderness was enacted, he said: Okay, if you are going to enact the wilderness, don't take our livelihoods away. He was so far ahead of his time.

Today, we are fighting that fight. I am fighting for my constituents. I am fighting for our economy. I am fighting for our community, our technology, and our national security. It is worth it. It is deeply worth it.

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