CONTACT: Lee Lonsberry; Austin Hacker (202) 225-2761
According to Committee Republicans, H.R.2181, Chaco Cultural Heritage Area Protection Act of 2019, would permanently ban federal oil and natural gas leasing on roughly 316,000 acres of land in New Mexico. This would have a deeply negativelong-term economic impacts on the Stateof New Mexico, eliminate key
revenue sources for future public investments, and undermine a range of economicactivitiesassociated
with responsible energy development. This bill would have the following impacts:
· In fiscal year 2013 the combined revenues fromoiland gas for the four counties that arenear the proposed moratorium area was$198.2 million.
· This permanent ban would also jeopardize the financial future of thousands of Indian allottees by making it virtuallyimpossible for them to develop the energyresources they own.
o The bill claims not toaffectallottee mineral rights, but the realityis that manyallottee lands are
surrounded by federal lands that would be withdrawn by this legislation.
! This will create significant access and extraction complications for the Indianallottees along with any companies they partner with and will lead toa de facto extraction ban on
their lands.
· During markup of H.R. 2181, several amendments offered by Republicans seeking toaddress flaws in the
bill were rejected on largely party line votes.
o Among these was an amendment offered by Congressman Paul Gosar that would have delayed
implementation of this legislation until the Department of the Interior is able to properly confirm that this withdrawal will not adversely affect mineral rights held by Native Americans in the area.
o Also offeredat the markup wasan amendment fromCongresswoman Liz Cheney that would have simply providedrecognitionfor the Navajo allottee opposition to the bill byadding one line to the bill's findings section.
! These amendments were rejected by Committee Democrats, and the legislation advanced without a single Republican vote.
H.R. 1373, the Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act:
According to Committee Republicans, H.R. 1373, theGrand CanyonCentennial Protection Act, would permanently lock up approximately 1 million acres ofpublic lands in Northern Arizona. This mistitled and
misguided land grab solely impacts lands far outside the Grand Canyon and concerns the largest tract of uranium deposits in the country. The uranium thatis contained in thearea is high gradeand necessary to help expand the domestic supply of uranium. In 2017, 93 percent of U.S. demand for uranium was met by foreignimports, despite a large domestic supply. Making this land permanently out of bounds for mineral development is a clear threat toAmerican energy security. Furthermore, this bill would have the following impacts:
· This bill would have significant economic implicationsfor the people inNorthern Arizona. Thereis enormous potential for good-paying mining jobs that would be made possible by responsible uranium development in this area.
· Arizona produces $6.6 billion in nonfuel minerals, which makes it the second largest State in the production of minerals for theUnited States. Restricting access to parts of a mineral-rich Statewill not
only hamper the economicprogress of the State, but the national security
of theUnited States.
· Furthermore, removing the potentialfor mining in thisarea would include restrictions on mining on tens of thousands of State Trust lands which help fund schools and hospitals in Arizona.
· During markup of H.R. 3195, several amendments offered by Republicans seeking toaddress flaws in the bill were rejected on largely party line votes.
o Among these was an amendment to ensure national security concerns were considered,an amendment to exempt lands in Congressman Gosar'sdistrict fromthe bill, and a delayuntil the U.S. begins obtaining 30% of its uranium fromnonhostile sources.
o An additional amendment would have required assurance that this legislation would not
adversely affectjobs available toNative Americans, other minorities, and women.
! All of these amendments were rejected byCommitteeDemocrats, and the legislation advanced without a single Republican vote.
H.R. 823, the Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy Act:
According to Committee Republicans, H.R. 823, the Colorado Outdoor Recreation and EconomyAct, creates land restrictions for approximately400,000 acres of land in Coloradoin the form of new wilderness, recreationand conservation areas. This bill would have the following impacts:
· Among the primarycriticisms of this legislationis the drastic reduction of areas open for motorized recreation use.
o The bill offers only 28,000 acresfor motorizedaccess versus the roughly 400,000 acresof new wilderness and closures.
· Rural county commissioners haveraised economicconcerns about the areas this bill will removefrom
multiple-use designation.
o Instead of a legislative mineral lease exchange, which is supported by the impacted county and would enable energy companies to develop federal minerals in other areas, this bill offersa blanket mineral withdrawal in the Thompson Dividearea with zero compromise.
· Finally, in a State with significant wildfire risk, this bill would further reduce acres that havebeen
identifiedas suitable for forest management byapproximately 8,000 acres.
· During the markup of H.R. 823, severalamendments offered byRepublicans seeking toaddress major
flaws in the bill wererejected on largely party line votes.
o Among these was an amendment offered by Congressman Doug Lamborn that would have
ensured that the important military readiness training conducted at the High Altitude Aviation Training Site
in Coloradowould not be adversely impacted by this legislation.
As anyone can see,House Democrats have chosen topush partisan federal land legislation rather than work with the Committee Republicans to craft bipartisan legislation. These three bills will hurt the local economies,
weaken our national security, andadversely affect American jobs.
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