June, Alaska — Congress passed a measure to rescind a plan enacted during the Biden administration that delayed oil and gas leasing limits on nearly half of Alaska’s massive oil reserve. Critics see the vote as political interference that creates confusion about the future administration of the country National Petroleum Reserve – Alaska.
The House vote on Tuesday came after the Senate passed during the government shutdown a resolution rejecting the reserve management plan that was finalized in 2022 under then-President Joe Biden. The offices of members of Alaska’s Republican congressional delegation said the resolution “achieves the goals” of the draft resolution Alaska Executive Order President Donald Trump signed it earlier this year. The executive order called for the restoration of a plan dating back to the first Trump administration that sought to make about 80% of the reserve available for leasing.
The measure then goes to Trump for consideration.
He was there Great interest In Alaska since Trump returned to office, with Moves to expand The development of oil, gas and other resources was welcomed by state political leaders who viewed the Biden administration as overly restrictive in its approach.
The sounds are Among the latest They were taken under the Congressional Review Act aimed at rescinding land management plans approved under Biden. A statement from the congressional delegation last month said the review act provides a quick way to repeal certain federal rules and prevents any agency from issuing another substantially similar rule unless authorized by law.
But Alex Cohen, director of government affairs for the Alaska Wilderness League, called the use of the law a “super blunt tool.” Regulatory policy instead requires “very careful stakeholder engagement and scientific analysis,” he said.
Congress’s approach also raises questions about what constitutes a broadly similar rule, Cohen said, adding that there is a lack of clarity about what happens when a plan is rescinded.
A bill passed earlier this year calls for the sale of oil and gas leases in the oil reserve, the last sale of which took place in 2019, and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Major companies have not committed to the first two lease sales for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; the first It was at the end of Trump’s first term and the second Towards the end of the Biden era.