Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024

Floor Speech

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Mr. ROSENDALE. Mr. Chair, I thank Representative Norman, my good friend from South Carolina, for introducing this amendment and for yielding me time.

Mr. Chair, I submitted an identical amendment to this one, and I am glad to see it is being considered today.

This amendment would hold the BLM director, Tracy Stone-Manning, accountable for her disastrous policies and rightfully reduce her salary to $1. Ms. Manning has been using the Bureau to push her own radical environmentalist agenda at the expense of Montanans and all Americans.

Director Manning has repeatedly and intentionally violated Federal statute by issuing rules that are completely at odds with the Taylor Grazing Act.

The Taylor Grazing Act lays out best range management practices and clearly states that the purpose of the law is to: ``provide for the orderly use'' of public land in order to ``stabilize the livestock industry.''

Earlier this year, the BLM issued a Conservation and Landscape Health Rule that clearly violates the letter and the spirit of the law by designating multiple use public land under conservation leases for bison. Allowing bison to graze on allotments that should be leased for cattle grazing has been a severe blow to Montana's ranching industry.

Director Manning has also continuously ignored the concerns of local landowners and those most affected by her harmful policies by failing to hold public hearings outside of the large cities.

Director Manning flagrantly dismissed Montana agriculture groups' concerns in the decision-making process for American Prairie Reserve's bison grazing proposal and granted special provisions for one lessee that no one else in the country has experienced. Her Bureau also refused to collaborate with the relevant State agencies and declined to hold sufficient opportunities for local engagement.

This is a process we have seen far too often with the Bureau of Land Management under her leadership, creating harmful rules and refusing to take input or provide engagement opportunities for those who are most impacted by those rules.

Director Manning has also refused to follow the congressionally mandated quarterly requirements for Federal land leases. Under this administration, we have seen the fewest acres leased for oil and gas since World War II, with only one of those lease sales taking place in Montana. This directly contradicts Congress' directive and a Louisiana district court's reversal of the administration's leasing moratorium.

At the same time, Americans continue to face rising energy costs and persistent inflation. Intentionally stalling onshore and gas production is a dereliction of duty and a slap in the face to hardworking Americans, especially those who rely on these public lands to keep their economy afloat.

This climate of zealotry and blatant disregard for the rule of law has been evident with Director Stone-Manning for a long time. She collaborated with tree-spiking ecoterrorists at the start of her career, and there is no reason to believe that her views have substantially changed.

Mr. Chair, for all of these reasons and many more, Director Stone- Manning needs to be held accountable. Congress cannot stand by idly while these climate extremists use our Federal agencies to destroy local economies and the livelihood of everyday Americans.

This amendment will put all of Biden's disastrous energy heads on notice and force them to finally follow the rule of law that Congress passed nearly 90 years ago.

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Mr. ROSENDALE. Mr. Chair, possibly we will shed some light on some allegations and problems that would raise to the level that the gentleman would support for removing the salary from Ms. Haaland.

Prior to joining the current administration, Secretary Haaland had close ties with the Pueblo Action Alliance, a New Mexico-based organization known for its involvement in environmental and social justice extremism.

The Pueblo Action Alliance argues that America's economic and political systems must be dismantled and believes that America is irredeemable because there is no opportunity to reform a system that isn't founded on good morals or values. That is who she associated with.

However, we are not done yet. Secretary Haaland's daughter is now employed with Pueblo Action Alliance, participating in lobbying trips to Washington, D.C., and protests, calling for the stop of all oil and gas development. This relationship raises questions about the influence this organization may have on the Secretary's decisionmaking within her role.

In January, the Department received a FOIA request for all communications between Secretary Haaland's daughter and the Department of the Interior officials describing her lobbying efforts. The Department has still not produced the requested information, failing to meet their statutory obligations.

Secretary Haaland's husband has also consulted for and previously been employed by an organization that receives a significant portion of its funding from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The Bureau of Indian Affairs falls under Secretary Haaland's purview as Secretary of the Interior, presenting another clear conflict of interest. Extremely convenient.

In light of these alarming factors, it is my firm belief that Secretary Haaland is ill-suited for the position of Secretary of the Interior, and I hope that this amendment will be adopted.

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Mr. ROSENDALE. Mr. Chair, just to shed a little bit more information on the subject that I was speaking of, it is very difficult to prove wrongdoing when the person who has committed the wrongdoing will not provide the documentation for which the oversight can be conducted.

You can't see the documents, so you cannot see exactly what arrangements have been made between her daughter, the lobbying efforts that took place. We certainly can track, though, that her husband is working for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, being compensated by them. If we don't do anything except create the perception around this place of integrity, we have to do a better job, and that has not even been created.

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