Natural Resources
As an attorney, I fought to return control of natural resources to local entities, not far-away federal bureaucrats. I am honored to serve on the Natural Resources committee to continue this work from the halls of Congress. I also have the privilege of chairing the Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs, working with tribal and territorial leaders on issues important to their communities.
More on Natural Resources
Today, the Natural Resources Committee's Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee held an oversight hearing on the Bureau of Land Management, an agency that controls millions of acres of land across Wyoming.
Economic diversity is key to the flourishing of any community, but the unique challenges tribal communities face can cause a hinderance to greater autonomy and diversification. Through the testimony of tribal leaders today, my subcommittee is pursuing ways to eliminate these barriers and ensure that America's tribes can harness the full potential of their land and resources, invest in their communities, and provide strong, stable economies that will provide lasting benefits to their members.
It is admirable and important that we make every effort to protect endangered and threatened species across our nation. Yet we also must acknowledge that situations, environments, and specific needs differ, and flexibility is needed to implement the right approaches in the right places, for the right times.
In 2018, the Department of the Interior estimated that Indian Country's 243,000 land owners held 2.5 million interests in just 100,000 parcels. This high fractionation of tribal lands makes investment and development highly complex, costly, and even impossible.
Who thinks it would be a good idea to give China, Russia or Iran the authority to block energy, food and mineral production on United States land? No one in their right mind, that’s for sure, but naturally the Biden administration tried. Fortunately, they failed, but this is a cautionary tale of why we must constantly remain vigilant and make sure the Biden administration isn’t abusing its authority in their war on domestic energy production.