{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://boebert.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-boebert-blasts-biden-blm-rule", "Rep. Boebert Blasts Biden BLM Rule", "2024-04-20", "2024", "2024-04", "Republican", "House", "CO", "Lauren Boebert", "B000825", "boebert.house.gov", "boebert", "https://boebert.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Congresswoman Lauren Boebert and several of her colleagues blasted the Biden Administration\u2019s so-called Conservation and Landscape Health final rule enacted by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). This new regulation is a direct threat to rural America and violates the Federal Land Policy and Management Act's multiple-use mandate.\n\nCongresswoman Lauren Boebert stated, \u201cBiden\u2019s bureaucrats\u2019 so-called BLM Conservation Rule is just another misguided land grab meant to prevent oil and gas production at a time when sky-high gas prices and inflation are looting the pocketbooks of the American people. This new regulation is also an attack on our ranchers and farmers that will end grazing on federal lands and will also prevent Coloradans from accessing their public lands. I\u2019ll be working closely with my colleagues on the Natural Resources Committee as well as the Western Caucus and Freedom Caucus to overturn this overreaching rule.\u201d\n\n\"This devastating decision threatens the western way of life and is a slap in the face for local communities who have diligently stewarded America's resources for generations. Access and the multiple uses of BLM land are an integral part of life in western states and is the backbone of rural economies across the country,\u201d saidHouse Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman (AR-04). \u201cWhen this rule was proposed, several western governors, members of Congress, and thousands of Americans used BLM\u2019s comment period to publicly share their opposition, yet their concerns have gone unheard. Today is another example of the Biden administration leaving local communities out of the conversation and blatantly disregarding input from the American families that are impacted the most. This rule fundamentally threatens the land we use to feed and fuel our country and is at best vaguely defined, unnecessary and burdensome. Fortunately, the House Committee on Natural Resources has been advancing a solution. Congressman Curtis's WEST Act amplifies the concerns of stakeholders across western states and will require the BLM director to withdraw this severely misguided rule and manage lands in accordance with the agency\u2019s statutory multiple use mandate. I look forward to doing everything in my power to help get the WEST Act through the House and I\u2019d like to thank Congressman Curtis for his leadership on this important issue.\"\n\n\u201cBLM\u2019s new rule effectively cedes control of federal lands from those who have been managing the land for generations through ranching and grazing,\u201d said Rep. Doug LaMalfa (CA-01). \u201cAccess to BLM land is a fundamental part of life in western states and essential for many rural economies, it\u2019s not a privilege for wealthy enviro groups to buy up and lock up in the name of \u2018conservation\u2019.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis rule is an example of everything that\u2019s wrong with the administrative state,\u201d said Rep. Celeste Maloy (UT-02). \u201cCongress\u2019 directive to the BLM is to manage land for multiple uses and sustained yield. This rule eliminates multiple use. Therefore, this rule is in contradiction to the agency\u2019s authority. It has to be stopped before it is implemented.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs energy prices continue to rise across the country, this Administration has created yet another nonsensical rule that will effectively lock up more land and raise energy costs,\u201d said Rep. Jay Obernolte (CA-23). \u201cBy restricting land from being utilized under the false guise of conservation, this rule will only make it more expensive for American companies to extract resources and generate energy. Those increased costs will be passed along to consumers, further fueling inflation and making it even harder for Californian families to make ends meet.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis final rule is a step backwards for responsible stewardship of our lands,\u201d said Rep. Adrian Smith (NE-03). \u201cIt\u2019s clear from federal land grabs like this and President Biden\u2019s broader 30x30 agenda, the administration has no interest in recognizing congressional intent and feedback from stakeholders. Communities across the west are highly dependent on access to multiple-use public lands for their health, recreation, and livelihoods, and BLM should immediately reverse course.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Bureau of Land Management's Conservation and Landscape Health rule will lock away more federal land \u2013 limiting the American people\u2019s ability to responsibly use our lands for activities, such as recreation, timber harvesting, livestock grazing, and energy development,\u201d said Rep. Tom Tiffany (WI-07). \u201cIt is another example of the Biden administration catering to extremist environmental groups that do not want Americans accessing our public lands.\u201d\n\n\u201cOnce again, the Biden Administration is ignoring the multiple use mandate on BLM lands in favor of radical environmentalists funding their political operation and controlling western lands,\u201d said Rep. Ryan Zinke (MT-01). \u201cConservation has always been an end goal of the BLM\u2019s mandate and is already a focus for all those who utilize our public lands. The enactment of \u2018conservation leases\u2019 is about control and is a direct threat to communities that create jobs, fund their schools, and build their livelihoods on grazing, mining, energy production and outdoor recreation. I will be submitting a rider on the FY25 Interior appropriations bill blocking this rule until a new administration is in control.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis rule from the Biden administration would jeopardize several years of successful management and collaboration between stakeholders who live, work, and recreate on public lands,\u201d said Rep. Mike Simpson (ID-02). \u201cAs Chairman of the House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee\u2014which has jurisdiction over the BLM\u2014I will continue to push back against this misguided decision.\u201d\n\n\"It is critical that Utah's land remains under the stewardship of those who have tended it for generations. This rule from the Biden Administration undermines the very people who rely on our federal lands for ranching, grazing, recreation, and beyond,\u201d said Rep. John Curtis (UT-03). \u201cUtahns know the true value of these lands, and this rule unjustly restricts access that should remain open to everyone. Instead, it favors wealthy individuals and environmental groups, allowing them to lock up land that belongs to all Utahns. I will work tirelessly to repeal this disastrous effort.\"\n\n\"Idahoans have enjoyed the vast natural resources the state has to offer for decades, and this rule change will have drastic impacts on the future of recreation, grazing, and natural resource production,\" said Rep. Russ Fulcher (ID-01). \"I am deeply disappointed that BLM announced the final ruling and extensive changes to the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA). BLM manages twelve million acres of Idaho federal land. Idahoans have the congressional right to utilize the resources in their backyard for multiple uses, and I indeed to fight to ensure that stays in place.\"\n\n\u201cOnce again this Administration is using federal agencies to circumvent Congress and create rules that destroy our Western way of life,\u201d said Rep. Harriet Hageman (WY-AL). \u201cThe finalization of this disastrous rule, which was created without the input of the families, farmers, ranchers, tribes, and others that best know and care for our public lands, will negatively impact Wyoming and all Western states. It impowers radical environmentalist groups to restrict public access to public lands. I was proud to cosponsor legislation to withdraw this rule and will continue to fight against this Biden land grab.\u201d\n\nBackground:\n\nBiden\u2019s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) enacted a new regulatory mandate titled, \u201cConservation and Landscape Health.\u201d This flawed rule contradicts the Congressional intent behind the Federal Land Management and Policy Act (FLPMA) by classifying conservation as a use for the purpose of fulfilling the congressional mandate that public lands have multiple uses including mineral exploration and production, livestock grazing, rights-of-way, fish and wildlife development, recreation, and timber. The FLPMA never mentions \u201cconservation\u201d as an active multiple use on federal land and Congress never passed a new law to authorize this rule. The Biden administration also made up a definition of \u201cecological resilience\u201d for this regulation, a term that is never mentioned in FLPMA.\n\nThe Biden administration is attempting to unilaterally rewrite the law through regulation and using this definition change to covertly implement its radical 30x30 initiative that aims to lock up 30% of all land and water in the United States by 2030. Congresswoman Boebert is a strong champion of multiple use on public lands, and she introduced the 30x30 Termination Act to prohibit the Biden administration from enacting policies that prevent Americans from utilizing their public lands. Thousands of rural communities depend on access to BLM lands for recreation, grazing, timber production, and energy production. BLM estimated in fiscal year 2021, that BLM programs support more than $200 billion in economic output and approximately 783,000 jobs.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T20:47:55Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://boebert.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-boebert-blasts-biden-blm-rule"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9283972904086113, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}