Congress passes measure to reverse Biden-era Alaskan petroleum reserve plan
Permafrost forms a grid-like pattern in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, managed by the Bureau of Land Management on Alaska’s North Slope. AP
Congress has approved a measure aimed at reversing a Biden-era plan that restricted oil and gas leasing across nearly half of Alaska’s vast National Petroleum Reserve. Critics warn the move introduces uncertainty over the reserve’s future management and appears politically motivated.
The House vote on Tuesday follows a Senate approval of the resolution during the recent government shutdown. The measure disapproves of a 2022 management plan finalized under President Biden.
Alaska’s Republican congressional offices said the resolution aligns with an Alaska-focused executive order signed earlier this year by President Trump, which sought to restore a previous plan from his first administration. That plan would make roughly 80% of the reserve available for leasing. The measure now heads to the president for consideration.
Alaska has seen heightened federal attention since Trump’s return to office, with moves to expand oil, gas, and other resource development welcomed by state leaders who viewed the Biden administration’s approach as overly restrictive.
The votes are part of a broader push under the Congressional Review Act to nullify land management policies established during the Biden administration. According to a statement from Alaska’s congressional delegation, the act offers a fast-track method to overturn federal rules and prevents agencies from issuing a similar rule unless authorized by law.
However, Alex Cohen, director of government affairs for the Alaska Wilderness League, called the act a “super, super blunt instrument.” He emphasized that sound regulatory policy requires “careful, considered stakeholder engagement [and] scientific analysis.” Cohen also noted uncertainty about what qualifies as a “substantially similar” rule and how overturned plans are handled.
Earlier this year, Congress passed a bill authorizing new oil and gas lease sales in the National Petroleum Reserve, where the last sale occurred in 2019, as well as in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Major energy companies did not participate in the first two lease sales for the refuge—one at the end of Trump’s first term and the other near the end of Biden’s.
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