Today, the House Committee on Natural Resources convened a markup on five Resolutions of Inquiry (ROIs) submitted by Republican members earlier this year. These ROIs were in direct response to the dozens of unanswered oversight requests made by Republican members throughout this Congress that remain unanswered by the Biden administration.

"I challenge any of my Democrat colleagues to read these ROIs and find fault in the documents and facts requested," Ranking Member Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) said during the markup. "We as legislators and we as Americans have a right and a responsibility to oversee these fundamental pillars of government. Each of these issues has come up repeatedly throughout this Congress, both here in our committee hearings and in the conversations I’ve had with Americans across the country. Our members have asked the administration to provide information to justify their actions and they have failed to do so. These ROIs are not to be taken lightly; they are a response to an administration that has failed to be transparent."

Background

ROIs are House resolutions that seek factual information from the executive branch and have privileged status under House rules. After an ROI is introduced, the committee of jurisdiction has 14 legislative days to consider the ROI or the resolution may be discharged and receive privileged consideration on the House floor.

The five Republican-authored ROIs highlight areas Democrats ignored this Congress, and address Republican requests for information the Biden administration has left unanswered.

1. H.Res. 1247, introduced by U.S. Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.), would direct the Secretary of the Interior to transmit certain documents to the House of Representatives relating to the 2023-2028 five-year program for offshore oil and gas leasing. 
2. H.Res. 1248, introduced by U.S. Rep. Yvette Herrell (R-N.M.), would direct the Secretary of the Interior to transmit certain documents to the House of Representatives relating to the compliance with the obligations of the Mineral Leasing Act relating to onshore oil and gas leasing.
3. H.Res. 1251, introduced by U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber (R-Minn.), would direct the Secretary of Agriculture to transmit certain documents to the House of Representatives relating to the mineral withdrawal within the Superior National Forest. 
4. H.Res. 1252, introduced by U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber (R-Minn.), would direct the Secretary of the Interior to transmit certain documents to the House of Representatives relating to the mineral withdrawal within the Superior National Forest. 
5. H.Res. 1253, introduced by U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.), would direct the Secretary of the Interior to transmit certain documents to the House of Representatives relating to the actions of the Department of the Interior's Departmental Ethics Office. 

Due to the voting schedule change in the House of Representatives, full committee votes on all ROIs were postponed until next week.