Resolution Now Advances to President Trump For Signature

***Click here for media resources***

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Senate voted today to pass a Congressional Review Act (CRA) Joint Resolution of Disapproval to overturn the Biden-era Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Resource Management Plan (RMP) for North Dakota.

Under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, the BLM must adopt RMPs to govern how the agency will manage its acreage. In North Dakota, the BLM is the landlord of 58,500 surface acres and 4.1 million acres of mineral estate. BLM lands are supposed to be managed under a "multiple use" framework, meaning oil, gas, coal, grazers, and recreationists alike can use the land in a sustainable manner.

The Biden administration released its final RMP for North Dakota in August 2024, and adopted it in January without incorporating changes the State of North Dakota and its Congressional delegation requested. Instead, the RMP prohibits coal leasing on over four million acres, or nearly 99 percent of federal coal acreage. It also blocks 213,000 acres, or 44 percent, of federally owned fluid mineral acreage, reducing state revenues and weakening American energy dominance. Economic data provided by the state of North Dakota estimates the state would be deprived of $34 million annually in oil and gas royalties and tax revenue alone if the Biden RMP is implemented.

Following the BLM's refusal to listen to North Dakotans' concerns regarding the RMP, U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) led the delegation in requesting the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to determine if the RMP qualified for repeal under the CRA. Once the GAO determined the RMP qualified for repeal, Cramer and U.S. Senator John Hoeven (R-ND) introduced a Joint Resolution of Disapproval in the Senate and Congresswoman Julie Fedorchak introduced its companion in the U.S. House of Representatives. The CRA passed the House in September and the resolution will now advance to President Donald Trump's desk for his signature.

The North Dakota Congressional Delegation released the following statements after the bill passed the Senate.

***Click here for audio. Click here for video***

"The thing that frustrates me the most is that the Bureau of Land Management, like so much of the federal bureaucracy, simply ignores the law because they don't agree with it," said Cramer. "They don't have that option. Their resource plan requires the mandate to implement multiple use. Multiple use includes energy development. It includes grazing. It includes agriculture. It includes recreation. It includes development of resources. It's multiple use. And that's what frustrates us and that's why we had to pass this, this resolution of disapproval to roll that thing out of there, make sure it never happens again. And then, of course, we need a new Resource Management Plan that recognizes the modern technologies and recognizes that America's dominance and energy dominance is a national security issue. North Dakota is a main contributor to that goal."

"Our energy producers operate under the highest environmental standards in the world. But the Biden administration's North Dakota RMP ignores that record of responsible energy development, locking away taxpayer-owned energy reserves and jeopardizing our nation's energy security," said Hoeven."As manufacturing is brought back home, and new industries are coming online, our need for affordable, reliable energy is only growing. It makes no sense for the federal government to restrict access to the very resources needed to power this economic opportunity. Passing today's resolution is part of our efforts with President Trump and Interior Secretary Burgum to take the handcuffs off and unleash North Dakota's full energy potential."

"North Dakotans saw the Biden administration's plan for exactly what it was: a backdoor attempt to shut down fossil fuels in our state. It would have been devastating to our state's energy industry, the men and women who power it, and millions who rely on its affordable, dependable power," said Fedorchak."Today's Senate passage of our CRA is a major victory for North Dakota and for American energy dominance. I appreciate the partnership with Senators Cramer and Hoeven and look forward to President Trump signing this legislation into law."

Cramer and Hoeven delivered remarks on the Senate floor prior to passage of the resolution, highlighting the disastrous RMP and the need to repeal it.

"Despite vocal objection from the state - the people who actually use the land - the final plan prohibits coal leasing on over four million acres by inexcusably prohibiting all future development outside of a 4-mile radius from current development," said Cramer on the Senate floor. "Whether it's coal, oil, or gas, federally-owned subsurface minerals are intermingled with state and private mineral owners. In plain speak, the Biden Resource Management Plan is a de facto taking from the state and private mineral owners. Throughout the rulemaking process this point was made very clear, but BLM ignored them…By passing this resolution, we reassert Congressional intent and remind the bureaucracy our boundaries are not optional."

"This flawed plan, finalized during the closing days of the Biden administration, undermines BLM's multiple-use mandate and restricts access to vast, taxpayer-owned energy reserves in North Dakota. It is yet another example of the Biden administration's overreaching Green New Deal agenda intended to block access to domestic energy production," said Hoeven on the Senate floor. "I am pleased to join Senator Cramer and Congresswoman Fedorchak in introducing this CRA resolution, and I urge my colleagues to support it and help overturn this overreaching and restrictive plan."

"We urge Congress to pass this Congressional Review Act and reject federal overreach that would devastate North Dakota's energy industry," said Ron Ness, President of the North Dakota Petroleum Council. "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 Senator Cramer for his 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 Western Dakota Energy Association thanks our Congressional Delegation for their tireless work to pass the Congressional Review Act resolution to overturn the anti-energy Resource Management Plan," said Alison Ritter, Executive Director of the Western Dakota Energy Association. "This action is a major victory for common sense and our rural communities. Keeping North Dakota's towns and schools thriving starts with allowing for the smart, responsible development of our oil and gas resources - the backbone of good-paying jobs, strong local economies, and reliable energy for our nation."

"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."

"Energy development on federal lands is critical to strengthening America's energy security, powering our economy, and supporting state and local conservation efforts," said Holly Hopkins, Vice President of Upstream for the American Petroleum Institute. "Congressional action to rescind this midnight rule by the previous administration to restrict access to North Dakota's abundant oil and natural gas resources is key to strengthening American energy dominance, and we thank Sen. Kevin Cramer for his leadership."

"In recent years, BLM finalized multiple RMPs that imposed unnecessary restrictions on federal lands, creating significant barriers to achieving American energy dominance," said Parker D. Kasmer, Vice President of Government Affairs, American Exploration & Production Council."Onshore production from these lands generates substantial economic value at the state and local levels - creating jobs, funding public programs, and supporting communities. AXPC commends Senator Cramer for his leadership on this critical issue and urges swift passage of S.J. Res. 62."

"This RMP, crafted and finalized under the Biden Administration, created de facto moratorium on new energy development by locking up more than four million acres of land in North Dakota," said Rich Nolan, President & CEO of the National Mining Association in a letter of support. "At a time when energy demand is soaring, the Biden RMPs for North Dakota ignored the Federal Land Policy and Management Act's (FLPMA) multiple-use mandate, which charges the federal government with managing public lands according to the principles of multiple use and sustained yield… I urge swift passage of this important resolution to protect access to our public lands and ensure that the long-recognized requirement that multiple-use public lands are available to meet U.S. energy needs."

"The Biden Administration instituted several RMPs across the West that closed off millions of acres of public lands from multiple uses," said Melissa Simpson, President, Western Energy Alliance. "For example, the North Dakota plan closed over 200,000 acres, or nearly 45%, of available land from oil and natural gas leasing. The Senate resolution is a welcome step that will bring more certainty to energy development and other multiple uses on public lands managed by BLM."

"S.J. Res. 62 represents an important step toward restoring regulatory balance and is a key bellwether for multiple use on public lands," said Dan Naatz, Executive Vice President & COO of the Independent Petroleum Association of America. "The Biden Administration's finalized RMP risks sidelining energy production and several other multiple uses in favor of overly restrictive conservation plans and is inconsistent with the Federal Lands Policy and Management Act (FLPMA). IPAA supports the effort by Senator Cramer to ensure federal land management includes a wide variety of activities including responsible oil and natural gas development on America's public lands."