This week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed seven House Committee on Natural Resources bills with significant bipartisan support. House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) issued the following statement in response:

"The bills we passed this week show real bipartisan solutions are possible in Washington. They amplify the voices of tribes and Alaska Natives, support innovative wildfire fighting technology, find ways to support our veterans, honor 9/11 victims and more. As we continue to work tirelessly for the American people, I thank my colleagues for their thoughtful work on these bipartisan bills and look forward to working with them to usher the legislation through the legislative process."

Background

H.R. 42, the Alaska Native Settlement Trust Eligibility Act, introduced by U.S. Rep. Nick Begich (R-Alaska), would exclude benefits from Alaska Native corporation settlement trusts provided to aged, blind or disabled Alaska Natives when determining eligibility for means-tested federal benefits. 

H.R. 43, the Alaska Native Village Municipal Lands Restoration Act of 2025, introduced by U.S. Rep. Nick Begich (R-Alaska), returns lands currently held in trust by the state of Alaska back to Alaska Native village corporations.

H.R. 226, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Historic Lands Reacquisition Act of 2025, introduced by U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.), places approximately 96 acres of Tennessee Valley Authority land and permanent easements into trust along the shores of the Little Tennessee River and Tellico Reservoir in Monroe County, Tenn., for the benefit of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. 

H.R. 835, the 9/11 Memorial and Museum Act, introduced by U.S. Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.), provides a one-time grant from the Department of Homeland Security to the 9/11 Memorial & Museum to defray its significant security costs.

H.R. 836, the Emergency Wildfire Fighting Technology Act of 2025, introduced by U.S. Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.), requires the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to conduct an evaluation with respect to the use of the container aerial firefighting system to mitigate and suppress wildfires.

H.R. 837, introduced by U.S. Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.), would require the Secretary of Agriculture to convey the Pleasant Valley Ranger District Administrative Site to Gila County, Ariz., to develop a retreat center for veterans.

H.R. 776, the Nutria Eradication and Control Reauthorization Act, introduced by U.S. Rep. Josh Harder (D-Calif.), reauthorizes a program to eradicate nutria, an invasive rodent species, in the Chesapeake Bay, Louisiana, California and other places where nutria have inflicted significant damages to ecosystems.