This week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed two Republican natural resources bills. House Committee on Natural Resources Ranking Member Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) issued the following statement in response:

"Legislation like Congresswoman Herrera Beutler's land transfer might not seem like a big deal in D.C., but I know from personal experience that it can make a world of difference to folks in our communities. These are the kinds of commonsense proposals we're here in Congress to support, things that make our constituents' lives easier and benefit their livelihoods. We also passed Senator Hagerty's permit streamlining legislation, but I hope this is only the first of many steps in cutting bureaucratic red tape so we can ramp up our domestic supply chain and strengthen our national security. We shouldn't just be competing with China; we should be dominating our adversaries. Accessing our mineral resources is a critical part of that process, so I hope to see more of our Republican solutions advance to the floor soon."

Background

The House passed the following bills under suspension of the rules:

• H.R. 5093, the Wind River Administrative Site Conveyance Act, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.), which directs the U.S. Forest Service to convey to Skamania County in Washington, upon request of the county, all right, title, and interest of the United States in approximately 23.4 acres of National Forest System land, related infrastructure, and all improvements on the map titled Wind River Administrative Site Conveyance Proposal and dated July 7, 2020.
• S. 3451, sponsored by U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), which expands the expedited environmental review and permitting process under Title 41 of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, commonly known as FAST-41, to include certain computer-related infrastructure projects.