Senate Votes to Overturn Biden Central Yukon Plan, Restore Balanced Management

Senate Votes to Overturn Biden Central Yukon Plan, Restore Balanced Management

Washington, DC- The U.S. Senate, by a vote of 50 to 46, last night passed Senators Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski's (both R-Alaska) joint resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to overturn the Biden administration's Central Yukon Resource Management Plan (CYRMP) Record of Decision (ROD), issued in November of 2024. The Biden-era CYRMP ignored the need for balanced management, purposely restricting access to resource development and economic opportunities in the region. It also blatantly contradicted multiple federal laws, including the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA), the Alaska Statehood Act, and the Alaska Land Transfer Acceleration Act, while abdicating the principles of multiple-use management required by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA). On September 3, the House passed Congressman Nick Begich's (R-Alaska) companion CRA resolution. The legislation now goes to the President's desk for approval.

Watch Senator Murkowski's full remarks here.

"Senator Sullivan and I advanced this disapproval resolution for the Central Yukon RMP because the 1,800-page plan finalized last year - over our objections - unnecessarily restricted access to millions of acres of Alaska and kept obsolete Public Land Orders in place," Sen. Murkowski said. "Re-opening the Central Yukon RMP will allow BLM to develop a more balanced plan that complies with numerous federal laws - including ANCSA, ANILCA, and ALTAA - as well as the fundamental principle of multiple use on public land. I expect a new final plan to address long-standing access issues, provide greater opportunity for economic development, including key energy and mineral resources, and ensure Alaska Native landowners in the region can maximize the use of their own lands while still protecting subsistence and conserving where truly necessary."

"The Biden administration's Central Yukon Resource Management Plan was an egregious case of federal overreach and just one of the administration's 70 executive orders and actions singularly focused on harming Alaska, our economy, and our working families," said Sen. Sullivan. "This particular scheme effectively locked up millions of acres of Alaska's land, ignored Alaska Native voices, undermined long-standing federal law, and blocked access to critical mineral, energy, gravel, and material resources that our local communities, state and nation need. As I said in my remarks on the floor today, these issues of access to lands and responsible resource development are not just theoretical. Over time, they actually impact the very health and livelihoods of my constituents. I wish more of my Senate Democratic colleagues would've respected this fact, shown some courage, crossed the far-left Lower 48 eco-colonialist groups endlessly trying to lock up our state, and stood with Alaskans. I do want to thank a majority of our colleagues in the Senate-and of our House colleagues in early September-for standing with me, Senator Murkowski and Congressman Begich, and helping to ensure Alaska's resources are managed responsibly for the benefit of our people, economy, and national security."

"The Biden-era Central Yukon plan locked up millions of acres of land and cut off access to resources critical to our national and economic security in Alaska. With Senate passage of this resolution, we are re-opening opportunity in one of Alaska's most impoverished regions," said Congressman Begich. "By continuing to restore Alaska's ability to responsibly develop its own resources, we strengthen America's national security and lower costs for working families across our state. I am proud to see this legislation head to the President's desk and grateful for the work of Senator Murkowski and Senator Sullivan to get this across the finish line as we continue to unlock Alaska's resource potential."

The CRA provides Congress an expedited mechanism to overturn certain federal agency regulations and actions through a joint resolution of disapproval. A joint resolution of disapproval under the CRA is afforded special procedures, bypassing normal Senate rules and allowing for a vote on the Senate floor. If a CRA joint resolution of disapproval is approved by a simple majority in both houses of Congress and signed by the President-or if Congress successfully overrides a presidential veto-the rule is invalidated.

On February 28, 2025, Alaska's congressional delegation submitted a request to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to determine whether the Biden-era CYRMP ROD constituted a "rule" under the CRA. GAO issued its legal opinion on June 25, 2025, concluding that the CYRMP is subject to CRA disapproval. The opinion was entered into the Congressional Record on June 26, 2025, triggering the CRA timeline.

The delegation's legislation fulfills the objectives of President Trump's Day One executive order, "Unleashing Alaska's Extraordinary Resource Potential," which directs the Secretary of the Interior to rescind the Biden-era CYRMP and reinstate a prior draft plan, recognizing that the 2024 ROD imposes unjustified barriers to development, access, and land use in violation of longstanding federal policy toward Alaska.

The legislation does not remove conservation designations for areas established by ANILCA or other legislation, provide automatic approval for the Ambler Access Project or other potential resource development projects, facilitate public land sales, or exclude this area from federal laws pertaining to land management or permitting.

The Alaska delegation's CRA resolution is supported by Doyon, Limited, an Alaska Native Corporation and major landowner in the region; the Alaska North Slope Regional Trilateral-the Iñupiat Community of the Arctic Slope, the North Slope Borough, and Arctic Slope Regional Corporation; the Alaska Miners Association; the Resource Development Council of Alaska; Americans for Prosperity; American Energy Alliance; the National Federation of Independent Business; the American Exploration and Mining Association; Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions; and the Trump administration.

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