New Reconciliation Bill is a Billionaire Land Grab That Sacrifices Alaska and Silences the Public 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
Date: 05/02/2025 
Contact: Anja Semanco | 724-967-2777 | anja@alaskawild.org 

Washington, D.C. – The release of House Natural Resource’s budget reconciliation bill text late last night reveals provisions that would dramatically expand oil and gas development in Alaska’s Arctic regions while limiting environmental review and restricting judicial oversight.

“Alaska’s public lands and waters are directly in the crosshairs of a desperate attempt by Congress to pay for Trump’s billionaire tax cuts,” said Kristen Miller, Executive Director of Alaska Wilderness League. “This dangerous legislation would greenlight drilling in the heart of the Arctic Refuge, silence the voices of Indigenous communities and the American public, and slam the courthouse doors shut for anyone who dares to speak out. This isn’t responsible energy policy—it’s an unchecked handout to corporations at the expense of one of our nation’s last truly wild places. We will fight back.”

The House Natural Resources Committee (HNR) is scheduled to mark up the bill next week. The bill was drafted by the Committee’s Republican majority, led by Chair Bruce Westerman (R-AK), in response to instructions from House leadership to contribute $1 billion toward the budget reconciliation process, though committee Republicans estimate that the bill could generate up to $15 billion in deficit reduction. The proposal is part of a broader energy-focused policy agenda that includes selling federal lands to allow for expanded management and industrial use by private and corporate entities.

Alaska Wilderness League is urging lawmakers to reject these provisions and uphold the public’s right to participate in decisions about lands that belong to all Americans.

What the bill includes:

• Arctic Refuge Oil and Gas Mandates: The bill mandates the reinstatement of the Trump-era leasing program in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, including the 2020 Record of Decision and the 2019 environmental review, which was found deficient by the courts. It requires that leases from the January 2021 lease sale—many of which had been paused or relinquished—be reissued within 60 days. Additionally, the bill mandates four new lease sales over the next decade, continuing the false promise of revenue when history has shown these lease sales raise no money. The proposed language also fast-tracks the approval process for seismic exploration.
  
• Western Arctic Protection Erosion: In the National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska (NPRA), the bill rewrites the purpose of the Reserve to prioritize oil and gas development, removes existing protective regulations for designated Special Areas, and mandates lease sales of no less than four million acres every two years. It also applies similar restrictions on judicial review, significantly limiting the ability of individuals, organizations, and communities to challenge oil and gas-related decisions in court.
  
• Revenue Smoke Screens: Under the bill, up to 90 percent of federal revenues from these leasing programs would be directed to the State of Alaska after 2035, thus producing even less revenue for the federal government. After two failed lease sales in the Arctic Refuge brought in less than 1% of expected revenue, this language makes Arctic drilling even less lucrative to the federal government. At the same time, the bill weakens long-standing public land and environmental protections for America’s Arctic, as provided by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Endangered Species Act (ESA), and Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA).
  
• Unprecedented Alaska Offshore Requirements: The bill would require at least six offshore oil and gas lease sales over the next 10 years in the waters of Cook Inlet, with a minimum sale size of 1 million acres. Language related to OCS drilling also cuts corners on environmental review and access to Courts.
  
• Road to Destruction: South of Alaska’s Brooks Range, the bill amends ANILCA – Alaska’s bedrock conservation and subsistence law – expediting and mandating the approval of the 211-mile Ambler Road transportation corridor. This includes impacts to National Park and BLM lands, regardless of impacts to waters, lands, and communities along the route. Similar to Arctic Refuge and Western Arctic provisions, the proposal would disallow judicial review by the American public, while allowing a project applicant to challenge government decisions in court.
  
• Opening for Old Growth Logging: Language that affects National Parks, National Forests, BLM Lands, and Fish and Wildlife Refuges nationwide will also impact Alaska’s lands, waters, and people, though analysis on full impacts is ongoing. Examples include language attempting to increase timber harvest by 25 percent which could impact old growth forests of the Tongass in Southeast Alaska, and recission of funding for a variety of federal government land management activities.
  
• Dismantling of Legal Rights and Standards: The proposed budget bill includes provisions that would roll back longstanding environmental and public land safeguards by streamlining or bypassing key legal standards such as the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA). These changes would reduce public input, limit environmental review processes, and weaken protections that currently guide responsible land and resource management. Such measures prioritize expedited development over transparent, science-based decision-making, potentially setting precedents that erode foundational legal rights governing the use of America’s public lands.