Washington, DC – On Tuesday, Congresswoman Julia Brownley (CA-26) and House Natural Resources Committee Democrats rejected House Republicans’ plan to sell off our lands, waters, and wildlife to fund tax cuts for billionaires in the Committee’s portion of the Republican reconciliation package. Democrats were united in the bipartisan opposition to a Republican amendment offered in the dead of night to sell off thousands of acres of public lands. While House Republicans remained silent, Democrats presented a unified front to protect communities, the American taxpayers, and our most cherished places.
“Republicans have launched one of the most egregious attacks on our public lands, our waters, and our health that we have ever witnessed. It hands over our national parks, forests, and precious natural resources to oil and gas corporations, putting their profits over the safety and well-being of the American people,” said Congresswoman Brownley. “In exchange for giveaways to the wealthiest polluters, American families will face higher energy costs, dirtier air and water, and more frequent environmental disasters. This is the same ‘polluters over people’ agenda that has defined the Trump Administration, where corporate greed comes first and the American people pay the price. This Republican proposal will add billions to the deficit while selling off our environment, our economy, and our future to the highest bidder. This bill is shameful, and the American people deserve better.”
“Republicans just rammed the most extreme, anti-environment legislation in American history through the Natural Resources Committee. It’s a billionaires-first, Americans-last giveaway to benefit Big Oil and polluters,” said Ranking Member Jared Huffman (CA-02). “It guts clean air and water protections, slashes funding for our national parks, and sells off, auctions off, and even allows for giving away our public lands to special interests. For the first time, Americans who simply want their voices heard on Big Oil projects on federal land will be slapped with fees for daring to protest. House Republicans not only voted in lock-step for this cartoonishly extreme bill, they refused to participate in any public debate or discussion about it. I’m sure they had plenty of discussion with their corporate polluter puppet masters, but in the only public hearing before this bill goes to the House Floor they refused to even discuss it. The American people deserve better policy and process than what they’re getting from this GOP Congress. I’m proud that Democrats showed up and fully engaged in debating and challenging this terrible bill. We fought back. And we’ll keep fighting for Americans’ basic freedoms, which include clean air, safe water, healthy communities, and a livable planet for future generations.”
“The only thing these budget gimmicks will do is drive up Big Oil profits, CEO pay, and shareholder dividends at the expense of our public lands and the American taxpayer,” said Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03). “We should be caring about the everyday Americans who are going to be suffering from the consequences of these decisions for years. Our constituents, who are already facing a climate crisis with heat wave after heat wave, who are getting sick from the pollution released by coal fired power plants and petrochemical facilities next door, all compounded by threats of serious cuts to Medicaid healthcare coverage.”
“House Republicans are once again putting polluters over people. But as a mother, I refuse to let my children’s future be auctioned off to Big Oil. I offered common-sense amendments that range from blocking funds to agencies that refuse to comply with the courts to stopping oil and gas drilling near schools and hospitals,” said Congresswoman Maxine Dexter (OR-03). “This bill is a giveaway to Big Oil and billionaires. My amendments demand House Republicans choose: people or polluters?”
“Instead of advancing a budget that helps address the challenges Americans are confronting, House Republicans are combining the most extreme attack on our nation’s natural resources with enormous cuts to Medicaid, Social Security, and other critical programs working families depend on every single day,” said Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-06). “We should be focusing on expanding public access to federal lands, not auctioning them off. And we should be investing in our National Parks System and National Wildlife Refuges, not making it harder for Americans to visit these special places. This bill doesn’t put Americans first—it gives massive handouts to pad polluters’ pockets with no regard for the environment.”
“This is a fire sale on our federal land and waters,” said Congresswoman Sarah Elfreth (MD-03). “This bill reduces corporate fees and eliminates environmental and judicial safeguards that our constituents deserve. And, all for what? There is no guarantee that any of those resources will benefit Americans or lower the cost of energy for our taxpayers. We’ll still be exporting this oil just like before. We’ll still be importing oil to our refineries. We’re putting at real risk the natural resources and national security assets that I’ll address with my amendments. Taxpayers will once again be footing the bill for large corporations from all over the world who score a lease to pillage our land with no recourse. I believe that our taxpayers simply deserve better.”
“This bill is a giveaway to big oil and gas companies at the expense of our environment, workers, and communities,” said Congresswoman Val Hoyle (OR-04). “Instead of investing in bipartisan priorities like wildfire prevention or strengthening our coastal communities, it prioritizes polluters and weakens the very protections Americans rely on. I stand firmly against this reckless and misguided approach.”
“This bill is nothing more than a billion-dollar giveaway to corporations,” said Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernández (NM-03). “House Republicans are selling off our lands, slashing corporate royalty rates, and raising fees on clean energy—all to pay for tax breaks for billionaires. They’re making our families pay the price in higher energy bills, polluted water, and more extreme climate disasters. I offered amendments to protect Tribal sovereignty, keep revenues in oil and gas producing states like New Mexico, and block foreign adversaries from exploiting our resources. These are common sense protections—but Republicans chose to protect polluters over working families.”
“The devastating effects of climate change will cost us trillions of dollars and lead to catastrophic threats to our civilization,” said Congressman Dave Min (CA-47). “We have both a moral and economic imperative to fight back and give our children the opportunity to grow up in a world where they can breathe clean air, drink clean water, and have the freedom to chase the American dream. That’s why I led four amendments to stand up for our environment and fight back against the Trump administration.”
“The GOP is trying to pass a massive tax break to billionaires, and it will cost the American people $7 trillion on the backs of the American people and the expense of the environment,” said Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury (NM-01). “I was truly shocked when I read this reconciliation package before the Natural Resources Committee. It has mandatory oil and gas leasing, mining, and logging requirements. It gives away public lands and resources, not to the highest bidder, but to the lowest bidder. And, it takes away the rights of the American people to participate in planning, permitting, and holding bad actors accountable. That means impacts on public lands and waters without accountability. Furthermore, it is based on a completely false premise that will undermine the protection of our economy, our communities, and the environment. That’s why I am prepared to sit here as long as it takes to fight this bill.”
Background
House Republicans are squandering Americans’ money, health, and safety to pad polluters’ pockets. The House Natural Resources Committee’s portion of the Republican reconciliation package, which was pushed through without support from Committee Democrats, does the following:
- Instantly boosts big oil and gas company profits by letting them drill and frack at bargain-basement prices while robbing taxpayers blind.
- Puts polluters before people by letting the wealthy companies pay for legal immunity for inadequate environmental reviews and slapping Americans with exorbitant fees to protest oil and gas pollution.
- Slashes funding for critical and popular public services like NOAA’s coastal restoration and resilience efforts and the National Parks workforce, making it harder for Americans to protect their communities from natural hazards and visit our nation’s most scenic and inspiring places.
- Locks up 4 million acres for unprofitable coal mining – more land than the entire state of Connecticut – taking our energy policy back to the 19th century.
- Mandates dirty mining and drilling deals that will create toxic disasters in our nation’s most pristine lands and waters, permanently polluting places like the Boundary Waters and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
- Crushes clean energy development by jacking up fees for wind and solar while slashing fees for oil and coal.
- Wipes out protections for endangered species, including dooming the planet’s most endangered whale to extinction by waiving all sensible safeguards for offshore oil and gas operations.
- Sells off public lands to pay for handouts to big oil and tax cuts for billionaires – a surprise, late-night amendment paves the way for a fire sale of public lands.
Republicans had the opportunity to support common-sense safeguards and improve the bill. However, they rejected numerous Democratic amendments, including those to do the following:
Bolster essential and lifesaving public services:
- Congresswoman Brownley’s amendment (#65) redirecting funding to NOAA climate monitoring, weather forecasts, and disaster preparedness.
- Congressman Magaziner’s amendment (#213) striking recissions of IRA funds for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration investments in coastal communities and climate resilience and facilities.
- Congresswoman Leger Fernandez (#69) and Representative Hoyle’s (#70) amendments to fund wildland firefighting and fuels reduction.
- Congresswoman Randall’s amendment (#18) to fund the Bureau of Indian Education, and Congresswoman Ledger Fernandez’s amendment (#38) to fund the Indian Health Service.
Hold oil, gas, and mining companies accountable and ensure a fair return for taxpayers:
- Congresswoman Brownley’s amendment (#61) to require DOI to assess a fee on oil and gas operators to pay for the decommissioning of offshore pipelines in the event of bankruptcy.
- Congressman Min’s amendment (#44) to require DOI to increase financial assurances from oil and gas companies before reduced royalties can take effect.
- Congresswoman Ansari’s amendment to (#19) to deny new leases for oil and gas companies if they have been found liable for collusion.
- Congresswoman Stansbury’s amendment (#9) to prevent bad actor mining companies from operating on federal land if they are owned by foreign adversaries, have a history of using slave labor, or otherwise break the law.
Prevent dangerous pollution:
- Congresswoman Elfreth’s amendment (#129) to prohibit offshore drilling where the Defense Department has determined it is incompatible with military readiness, including off the coast of Virginia, other Atlantic Coast states, and the Eastern Gulf.
- Ranking Member Huffman’s amendments (#20 and #35) to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the Boundary Waters.
- Congresswoman Rivas’s amendment (#210) striking the rescission of funding for the Council on Environmental Quality’s environmental justice screening tool.
Stop corruption and illegal actions:
- Congresswoman Rivas’s amendment (#183) prohibiting funding for new contracts with Elon Musk’s companies until Inspectors General determine there are no conflicts of interest.
- Congresswoman Ansari’s amendment (#301) striking the text of the bill and inserting the STOCK Act 2.0, to prevent government officials from being able to trade individual stocks.
- Congresswoman Stansbury’s amendment (#150) directing funds to applicable Inspectors General to report to Congress on the impacts of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) actions on staffing, program services, funding, and data security.
Ensure healthy and accessible public lands and waters:
- Congressman Neguse’s amendment (#139) striking the language that rescinds funding National Park Service staffing.
- Congressman Soto’s amendment (#13) to redirect funding to coral reef conservation.
- Congresswoman Randall’s amendment (#144) restoring funding for the Fish and Wildlife Service fish passage restoration program.
- Congresswoman Dingell’s amendment (#82) to prohibit any recissions of funds for Great Lakes fisheries, harmful algal blooms, and resilience.
Protect Americans’ rights to provide public input:
- Congresswoman Dexter’s amendment (#15) striking protest filing fees.
- Ranking Member Huffman’s amendment (#247) striking the section creating a “pay-to-play” process for NEPA.
Advance clean and affordable energy:
- Resident Commissioner Hernández’s amendment (#201) to ensure utility-scale solar financing is implemented on schedule.
- Congressman Min’s amendment (#45) preventing lease sales until the Trump Administration’s national energy policy includes wind and solar energy.
- Congresswoman Hoyle’s amendment (#186) to ensure the recent firings at the Power Marketing Administrations will not result in a loss of power for ratepayers.
A full list of amendments offered by Committee Democrats and blocked by Republicans can be found here.
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Issues: 119th Congress, Climate Crisis, Disaster Relief, Energy and Environment