{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://pearce.house.gov/press-release/pearce-amendment-passes-natural-resources-committee", "PEARCE AMENDMENT PASSES NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE", "2017-11-08", "2017", "2017-11", "Republican", "House", "NM", "Steve Pearce", "P000588", "pearce.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. (November 8, 2017) The House Committee on Natural Resources passed H.R. 4239, the Strengthening the Economy with Critical Untapped Resources to Expand American Energy Act (SECURE American Energy Act), with an amendment sponsored by Congressman Steve Pearce. This provision would codify Bureau of Land Management (BLM) policy and ensure that guidelines from the Mineral Leasing Act are followed.\n\u201cEarlier this year, the BLM withheld New Mexico\u2019s fair share of revenue from an oil and gas lease sale in southeastern New Mexico. Due to a protest by extreme environmental groups, nearly $70 million dollars was stalled from getting to the State for roughly 8 months. For state\u2019s like New Mexico that face tough financial times, this made it extremely hard to balance our budget, which is required each year under New Mexico\u2019s Constitution. The protest period must have a deadline so that this situation doesn\u2019t happen again, which is exactly what my amendment will do,\u201d stated Rep. Pearce.\nBackground  \n\tThe Mineral Leasing Act mandates that leases paid for during oil and gas sales be issued 60 days after the sale. BLM policy states any protest should be completed before the lease is issued. In 2010, a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report stated 91% of protested leases were not issued within the 60-day window.\nIn April 2017, the Rep. Pearce sent a letter to BLM\u2019s New Mexico State Director requesting BLM complete the leasing process to ensure payment of $69.9 million is provided to the state of New Mexico.\nWatch Rep. Pearce speak on his amendment in the House Natural Resources Committee hearing here.\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "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://pearce.house.gov/press-release/pearce-amendment-passes-natural-resources-committee"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.425714861601591, "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"}