A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Bureau of Land Management relating to "National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska Integrated Activity Plan Record of Decision".
Introduced September 18, 2025 · Last action December 5, 2025
Plain English Summary
This joint resolution cancels a 2022 Bureau of Land Management decision that set rules for oil and gas development in Alaska's National Petroleum Reserve. The rule is struck down entirely and has no legal effect going forward. This allows oil and gas leasing and development to proceed in the Reserve according to whatever rules existed before the 2022 decision, or potentially opens the way for new development plans.
Who benefits
Oil and gas companies seeking to drill and develop resources in Alaska's National Petroleum Reserve (including major producers and lease holders in the region); Alaska state government (receives lease bonus bids and ongoing royalties from oil and gas development); contractors and workers in Alaska's oil and gas industry.
Who pays / loses
Environmental and conservation groups whose legal challenge or regulatory advocacy led to the 2022 plan; investors and companies betting on renewable energy or climate-conscious development in the region; Alaska Native communities whose lands, waters, and subsistence hunting and fishing could be affected by expanded oil development; consumers and taxpayers if oil development proceeds with less environmental oversight than the 2022 rule required.
Funding & Lobbying Interests
Oil and gas industry groups, major Alaska producers, and companies holding leases in the National Petroleum Reserve have direct financial interest in this resolution passing. The Alaska state government has a fiscal interest in maintaining oil and gas royalty revenue. These industries and the state are typical funders of legislation removing environmental regulations on extractive development.
Political Impact
Affected Groups
Oil and gas producers and leaseholders in Alaska's National Petroleum Reserve; Alaska state government; Alaska Native communities (Iñupiat and other groups) whose subsistence rights and traditional lands may be affected by increased drilling; workers in Alaska's oil and gas sector; environmental and conservation organizations.
Political Subtext
Proponents argue the 2022 BLM rule was overly restrictive and blocked economic development and energy production on federal land; they view this resolution as restoring access to develop America's domestic energy resources and supporting Alaska's economy. Critics argue the 2022 rule reflected environmental analysis and legal requirements, and revoking it allows oil development to proceed with reduced environmental safeguards, threatens Arctic ecosystems and Alaska Native subsistence practices, and contradicts climate and conservation commitments. Non-partisan evidence: The 2022 rule was issued under the Biden administration following environmental review; the Congressional Review Act allows Congress to disapprove agency rules, but disapproval does not automatically authorize new development—it simply removes the existing regulatory framework. Prior similar CRA disapprovals of environmental rules have typically opened opportunities for extractive development with reduced oversight.
Real-World Stakes
Passage eliminates the 2022 integrated activity plan that governed oil and gas leasing and development in the Reserve. This reverts authority to the status quo ante or opens the door for the Trump administration or future administrations to issue new, less restrictive leasing and development rules. The 2022 plan was the result of environmental review and incorporated protections for wildlife and Alaska Native subsistence; its removal means those protections no longer apply unless a new plan replaces them. Analogous precedent: The 2017 repeal of the BLM's 2015 methane emissions rule (via CRA) resulted in methane from federal oil and gas operations facing no federal capture requirements for several years, increasing emissions and federal resource losses. Removal of the 2022 plan could lead to accelerated leasing and drilling in the Reserve, altering Arctic habitat and potentially affecting Iñupiat subsistence hunting of caribou and marine mammals that migrate through the region.
Sponsor
Sponsor information not available.
Vote Record
No recorded votes.
Campaign Finance — Primary Sponsor
No campaign finance data available yet.
501(c)(4) disclosure: Contributions from 501(c)(4) "dark money" organizations are not required to be publicly disclosed and are not reflected in the figures above. Data sourced from FEC public disclosure filings.
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