WEEKLY UPDATE ON WESTERN CAUCUS MEMBERS TAKING ACTION FOR RURAL AMERICA
CONGRESSIONAL WESTERN CAUCUS IN MONTANA FOR PUBLIC LANDS FIELD TOUR
Congressional Western Caucus Vice Chair Ryan Zinke (MT-01) hosted Chairman Dan Newhouse (WA-04) and seven other Congressmen in the great state of Montana to gain insight into access to public lands, wildfire mitigation, and challenges faced due to the abuse of the Endangered Species Act.
“I would like to thank Vice Chair Zinke for hosting Members of the Western Caucus for a field tour so we could learn about how the multipleuse mandate for public lands creates prosperity in northwest Montana through its abundant recreational opportunities. Visits like this better inform our work on behalf of rural America in Washington, D.C.,” says Chairman Newhouse.
Other attending members include Vice Chairs Garret Graves (LA-06) and Bruce Westerman (AR-04), and members Jodey Arrington (TX-19), Cliff Bentz (OR-02), Larry Bucshon (IN-08), John Duarte (CA-13), and Darrell Issa (CA-48).
INTERIOR APPROPRIATIONS BILL
Congressional Western Caucus Caucus Chairman Dan Newhouse (WA-04) and Interior Appropriations Chair Mike Simpson (ID-02) celebrate the bipartisan passage of H.R. 8998, the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for FY 2025.
Chairman Newhouse states: “This important legislation unlocks America’s energy and mineral resources to restore our energy independence, curbs administrative overreach and abuse of the Endangered Species Act, and helps reduce the burden on taxpayers. I applaud Chairman Simpson for his work with Western Caucus Members to include their priorities in the legislation.”
Chair Simspon adds, “The FY 2025 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill will help reduce energy costs, protect American jobs, and ensure that we can continue to access our public lands to recreate, hunt, and develop our natural resources…”
This is truly a great win for western and rural America. H.R. 8998’s provisions will enhance the lives of those who live, work, recreate, and depend on western and rural land.
Here the provisions, quoted from the Congressional Western Caucus’ press release:
- Increasing funding for Wildland Fire Management programs at Department of the Interior and U.S. Forest Service.
- Permanently addressing wildland firefighter pay while increasing funding.
- Preventing the Bureau of Land Management’s Conservation and Landscape Health rule.
- Limits the weaponization of the Endangered Species Act against private landowners.
- Prohibiting funds to cancel oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.
- Requires oil and gas lease sales in the Central and Western Gulf of Mexico Planning Areas and in the Alaska region.
- Requires the Secretary of the Interior to conduct quarterly onshore oil and gas lease sales.
- Blocking EPA’s car regulations on light, medium, and heavy-duty vehicles.
- Expands access to critical minerals, reducing our domestic reliance on the Chinese supply chain.
- Prohibits funds to enforce certain Bureau of Land Management withdrawals in Minnesota and reinstates mineral leases in the Superior National Forest.
- Fully funding the Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program.
WESTERN CAUCUS UPDATES
Senate Western Caucus Chair Senator Cynthia Lummis (WY) and Senators Ted Cruz (TX), John Cornyn (TX), and Mike Lee (UT) introduced a bill to oppose the use of the Endangered Species Act against oil and gas producers. The rule seeks to overturn a rule by the USFWS listing the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard as endangered.
“Our ability to achieve energy independence is paramount to our national security, and I will not stand idly by as this administration continues its chronic misuse of the ESA.” – Senator Lummis