H.J.Res.140 — Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Bureau of Land Management relating to Public Land Order No. 7917 for Withdrawal of Federal Lands; Cook, Lake, and Saint Louis Counties, MN
House Roll Call
H.J.Res.140
| Bill | H.J.Res.140 — Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Bureau of Land Management relating to Public Land Order No. 7917 for Withdrawal of Federal Lands; Cook, Lake, and Saint Louis Counties, MN |
|---|---|
| Vote question | On Passage |
| Vote type | Yea-and-Nay |
| Result | Passed |
| Totals | Yea 214 / Nay 208 / Present 0 / Not Voting 9 |
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 213 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| D | 1 | 207 | 0 | 5 |
| I | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Research Brief
On Passage
Bill Analysis
HJ.Res. 140 is a joint resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) targeting a specific Bureau of Land Management (BLM) action: Public Land Order (PLO) No. 7917, titled “Withdrawal of Federal Lands; Cook, Lake, and Saint Louis Counties, MN.”
PLO 7917, issued under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act and related authorities, withdrew certain federal lands in northeastern Minnesota (including areas in the Rainy River watershed near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness) from disposition under the mineral and geothermal leasing laws for a set period, in order to protect environmental and recreational values. The withdrawal restricts new mineral and geothermal leasing and related activities on those lands.
Under chapter 8 of title 5, U.S. Code (the CRA), HJ.Res. 140 provides that Congress disapproves the BLM rule (i.e., PLO 7917) and that the rule shall have no force or effect if the resolution is enacted. In addition, CRA disapproval bars the agency from issuing a new rule that is “substantially the same” as the disapproved rule unless specifically authorized by a subsequent act of Congress. Thus, the resolution would both nullify the existing withdrawal and constrain BLM’s ability to reimpose a similar withdrawal administratively.
Agencies affected: primarily the Department of the Interior’s BLM, and indirectly the U.S. Forest Service (because the lands are within or adjacent to national forest areas) and other Interior bureaus involved in mineral leasing.
Beneficiaries and regulated parties:
- Mining and mineral development interests would benefit from removal of the withdrawal, regaining access to federal mineral leasing opportunities in the covered Minnesota lands.
- Environmental, tribal, recreation, and tourism stakeholders that supported the withdrawal would lose the added protection from new mineral and geothermal leasing.
Timelines: CRA resolutions operate within defined review periods tied to the date the rule was submitted to Congress; if enacted, the disapproval is effective retroactively to the rule’s effective date. As of the latest action, H. Res. 1009 sets House floor procedures for considering HJ.Res. 140 under a closed rule, with one hour of debate and one motion to recommit.
Yea (214)
K
Ken Calvert
S
Scott Franklin
L
Lisa McClain
J
John Rutherford
D
David Schweikert
P
Pete Sessions
Nay (208)
J
Jason Crow
L
Lloyd Doggett
J
John Garamendi
J
John Mannion
L
Lucy McBath
R
Rashida Tlaib
N
Nydia Velázquez
D
Debbie Wasserman Schultz
