Natural Resources

Serving as the only licensed forester in Congress provides many unique opportunities to work on legislation that brings a commonsense and conservative approach to forest management across the nation. Additionally, it is a great privilege to serve as the Chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources. In this committee, the stewardship of our public lands remains a top priority for all its members, and this week, great steps were made to push our committee’s Fix Our Forests Act (FOFA) closer to the finish line and the President’s desk to be signed into law.

The rising demand for greater energy production spans all industries and reaches every corner of our nation. With each technological developments, most notably AI, we see a disproportionate increase in the need for more energy. As we celebrate National Clean Energy Week, we highlight the importance of an all-of-the-above energy approach as we work toward this goal. 

Under the new Administration, illegal border crossings have never been lower. However, the aftermath of incredibly loose border security policies has created a mess that now needs to be cleaned up. Under numerous Executive Orders, our border security measures have been tightened, securing communities near the border and across the United States. In step with these measures, the House Committee on Natural Resources is producing legislation that will protect our lands and expand Border Patrol’s access in wilderness areas.

For the sake of both the environment and the economy, Congress must advance common sense Endangered Species Act (ESA) reforms that return power to private landowners while simultaneously protecting endangered species in a responsible way. Weaponization of the ESA and its morass of red tape are impeding our ability to move forward on vital land management practices and even building important and necessary infrastructure, all in the name of environmental activism that’s actually doing more environmental harm than good.

The devastating wildfires in California serve as a reminder that we must change course and implement sound forest management practices to help prevent future catastrophic wildfires. This week, I was proud of the strong bipartisan support for the Fix Our Forests Act, a bill I introduced that passed the House by a vote of 279-141. 

After four years of countless blows to American energy production, the Biden administration has once again proven that they have no interest in putting our country and our national security first. A midnight ruling proved that this administration has no desire to work toward American energy dominance as a ban on oil and gas production in more than 600 million acres of federal waters was announced earlier this week.