This week, Congressional Western Caucus Chairman Doug LaMalfa (CA-01) hosted Western Caucus Members for a special order to highlight issues important to rural America and the West.
“I wanted to take the time to highlight some of the work that we're doing in the Western Caucus,” said Chairman LaMalfa. “As a group of over 90 members, we have the opportunity to bring up a lot of key issues on the floor and try to illustrate to the people how important the issues we are taking up are. We call ourselves the Western Caucus but the issues are a little beyond the Western states- indeed, they're rural issues. They're issues that affect all of our states- unleashing American energy and our mineral resources, strengthening agriculture and tackling the real challenges facing our country. We'll push back against the policies that are failing and harming rural America. I look forward to hearing from my colleagues about what they're working on as part of our Western Caucus partnership.”
Chairman LaMalfa also spoke about the need to delist the gray wolf. Watch those remarks here.
Executive Vice Chair Celeste Maloy (UT-02) joined to speak about three pieces of legislation to unlock America’s resource rich public lands: the Ending Presidential Overreach on Public Lands Act, the Full Responsibility and Expedited Enforcement (FREE) Act, and the Geothermal Energy Opportunity (GEO) Act. Watch her remarks here.
“I'm grateful for the opportunity to be here today and I commend my colleagues in the Western Caucus for their unwavering dedication to preserving the values and livelihoods of rural America, the Western states, and our Western values,” said Executive Vice Chair Maloy. “I want to highlight three pieces of legislation because they're about safeguarding public lands, fostering economic growth and empowering our communities. They're about letting ranchers, families, small businesses, and entrepreneurs benefit from thoughtful and responsive government as opposed to government that drowns out their voices and ignores theirs needs. I urge my colleagues to support these measures which offer pragmatic solutions to real challenges in Utah, throughout the west and throughout the whole country.”
Representative Nick Begich (AK-AL) spoke about the importance of Alaska’s resources in unleashing American energy dominance. Watch his remarks here.
“Alaska is nearly 20% of the United States land mass,” said Representative Begich. “We have more than half of the United States' coastline. And it is estimated that we have more undiscovered estimated natural gas and oil resources than any other state in the country. We have nearly every critical mineral on the critical minerals list in Alaska. We have base metals. We have precious metals. We have rare Earths in abundance. We have incredible timber resources and produce about 60% of America's seafood. Alaska is a crucial state and I'm proud to be a member of our House's Western Caucus. I'm thrilled to be a part of this body that's focused on making sure that Alaska's energy resource potential is fully unlocked, that our mineral potential is fully unlocked, and that we restore domestic supply chains again.”
Representative Troy Downing (MT-02) highlighted how Montana’s resources and his legislation to unlock the Big Sky state’s potential can help the United States end reliance on foreign sources and secure domestic mineral supply chains. Watch his remarks here.
“Montana has many mottos, official and unofficial—the 'Last Best Place,' 'Big Sky Country,' the 'Treasure State.' This last one recognizes the rich natural resources we have in the great state of Montana right underneath our feet,” said Representative Downing. “Up until recently, the Biden Administration’s anti-American policies have allowed foreign actors to dominate mineral markets. This has stifled domestic energy production to the detriment of western states like Montana. I can't wait to see what this next four years brings for my state and others like it. Let us not squander this opportunity and work together to make American mining great again.”
Representative Julie Fedorchak (ND-AL) amplified efforts to overturn onerous Biden Administration attacks on rural America. Watch her remarks here.
“As a fourth generation North Dakotan, I have seen how the hard work of our energy and agriculture producers fuels our economy, strengthens our communities and secures our very way of life,” said Rep. Fedorchak. “That's why on Monday I introduced a resolution to overturn the Biden administration's reinstatement of the once-in, always-in rule. This is a shortsighted, bureaucratic mandate that punishes energy producers, manufacturers, and small businesses for investing in emissions reductions. This is about more than just one burdensome regulation. It's about standing up for the industries that power our economy and rejecting Washington's one size fits all approach.”
