This week, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) released the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s (ANWR) second lease sale. 

"Time and time again we have seen the Biden-Harris administration ignore Alaska Native voices and enact disastrous land and energy policy across the state. This whole process has been a political sham and is a slap in the face to Alaskan communities and tribes just one day after the American people voiced their clear opposition to polices like this. I'm sure this decision will be short-lived, and I look forward to working with the Trump administration to find commonsense solutions that respect and support the voices of Alaska Natives that have been ignored for the last four years and support Alaska’s right to produce." – House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.)

“Over the past four years, the Biden-Harris administration has implemented sanction after sanction on the Alaskan people and the development of their abundant natural resources. This week’s announcement from the BLM and the USFS is just another example of the Biden-Harris administration’s anti-American energy, anti-Alaska agenda. On Tuesday, Alaskans sent a resounding message objecting to these failed policies. I look forward to working with the incoming administration to reverse these actions and instead enact policies that respect the will of Alaskan Natives, including their desire to responsibly develop their God-given natural resources.” – House Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources Chairman Pete Stauber (R-Minn.)

Background

The announcement of the ANWR Leasing Program Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement is the latest in a long list of actions taken by the Biden-Harris administration that ignore Alaska Native voices and fail to provide real solutions to addressing our country’s energy needs. In his first days in office, President Biden put a moratorium on activity in ANWR and improperly cancelled the existing Environmental Impact Statement. The onslaught continued last September, when the Biden-Harris administration unlawfully cancelled leases from the first ANWR lease sale and issued a misguided proposed rule for management of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.

In the 118^th Congress, the House Committee on Natural Resources has advanced legislation, like the bipartisan Alaska Right to Produce Act, that empowers Native Alaskan voices and fights back against the Biden-Harris administration's disastrous policy in the state. 

Members of the committee recently traveled to the North Slope of Alaska and met with local leaders and stakeholders to hear their concerns and bring their voices back to Washington. The committee will continue to work with the people of Alaska to ensure their voices are heard in Congress and champion real energy solutions.