Fedorchak legislation to repeal BLM’s harmful land use plan for North Dakota passes the House

Washington, D.C. - Congresswoman Julie Fedorchak (R-ND) released the following statement after the House passed H.J. Res. 105, her joint resolution to overturn the Biden administration's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Resource Management Plan (RMP) for North Dakota.

"Today's vote reaffirms a simple fact: the Biden administration's Resource Management Plan for North Dakota was deeply misguided," Fedorchak said. "At a time when energy demand is reaching record highs and Americans want to pay less for everything, locking up responsible energy development is the exact opposite of what we need. I'm grateful to my House Republican colleagues for their support that unleashes North Dakota's energy resources for the betterment of America. I urge the Senate to act swiftly to reverse this harmful policy."

In July, the North Dakota delegation introducedlegislation to overturn the Biden administration's RMP that significantly restricts the state's ability to access and develop its federally managed mineral resources by closing leasing on more than four million acres (nearly 99 percent) of federal coal acreage and 213,000 acres (44 percent) of federally owned fluid mineral acreage.

"The House passage of our CRA is a significant step in canceling the Biden administration's plan to restrict North Dakota's energy development," said Senator Cramer. "This resolution reaffirms the multiple use doctrine by ensuring North Dakota gets the best long-term plan possible to responsibly utilize our natural resources. I applaud Congresswoman Fedorchak's leadership in the House. Now it's time for the Senate to work with the Trump administration and get rid of this disastrous rule."

"House passage of our CRA resolution is an important step toward blocking this onerous Biden-era policy and ensuring our state can continue to utilize all of its abundant energy resources," said Senator Hoeven. "Considering the vast areas of federally-controlled surface acreage and subsurface minerals in our state, policies like the one we are overturning are particularly harmful to North Dakota, as duplicative and burdensome federal permitting can often prevent the development of private and state-held energy resources. We appreciate Representative Fedorchak for working to secure our resolution's passage in the House and look forward to advancing the legislation through the Senate."

Ron Ness, President of the North Dakota Petroleum Council said, "We urge Congress to pass this Congressional Review Act and reject federal overreach that would devastate North Dakota's energy industry. The BLM's Resource Management Plan ignores modern drilling technologies and imposes blanket closures that are inconsistent with federal law and harmful to our state's economy. We thank Congresswoman Fedorchak for her leadership on this critical issue and call on both chambers to swiftly pass this legislation to protect North Dakota workers and America's energy independence."

"The BLM's plan would shut down nearly all coal development on federal lands in North Dakota, ignoring decades of responsible energy production," said Jonathan Fortner, Executive Director of the Lignite Energy Council. "We thank our delegation for fighting back. This resolution is a critical step toward restoring regulatory balance and protecting the affordable, reliable power our industry provides."

North Dakota Governor Kelly Armstrong, Americans for Prosperity, Minnkota Power Cooperative, the National Federation of Independent Businesses, and Western Energy Alliance are in support of the delegation's CRA.

H.J. Res. 105 is Fedorchak's second piece of legislation to pass the House in the 119^th Congress. In June, legislationshe led with Senator John Curtis (R-UT) to repeal the Biden administration's "Once-in-Always-in" rule was signed into lawby President Trump. The resolution rewards innovation, encourages continued investment in emissions reduction, and strengthens our economy by giving energy producers and manufacturers the certainty they need.

CLICK HEREto read her statement in response to the Biden administration's finalization of the RMP.

CLICK HEREto read her statement following introduction of the CRA.

CLICK HEREto read the CRA.