▶ 0:19:19Chair Lee: The committee will come to order. I want to sign posts where we are going today. We have members who signaled to us they have some calendaring commitments they are trying to work around the development and maintenance of a quorum before some of our members may have to leave.
▶ 0:19:43Chair Lee: What I would like to do is bring about votes on the nominations and legislation we will be handling then as far as possible and with the consent of the committee membership will try to hold off on speeches or remarks until afterwards. We do not do it this way as a default matter but sometimes when there are special calendar concerns we try to address.
▶ 0:20:13Chair Lee: The nominees that will be considered today are for positions in each of the three major agencies under this committee's jurisdiction in each have some timely answers to senators questions on february 25 hearing last week. They include the honorable stevan pearce to be the director of the bureau of land management.
▶ 0:20:38Chair Lee: The honorable david lacerte and kyle huastveit for undersecretary of energy. It we and clue bills that are priorities for members on both sides of the aisle.
▶ 0:21:10Chair Lee: What we will do, we will turn to some voice votes where we have a quorum sufficient to do the voice vote material as soon as one more senator of either party arrives and we are expecting a couple of them shortly.
▶ 0:21:54Chair Lee: I've been advised we have enough present to start with the non-technical amendments for several of the bills. I ask unanimous consent we proceed to a voice vote on the nine amendments and that we do those in a block.
▶ 0:22:14Chair Lee: Those are amendments number two to agenda item four, amendment three to agenda item six, amendment four to agenda item six, amendment nine to agenda item seven, amendment seven to agenda item 11, amendment one to agenda item 12, amendment five to agenda item nine, amendment six to agenda item 10, and amendment eight to agenda item 15.
▶ 0:22:45Chair Lee: If there are no objections the committee will vote by voice on the amendments I have just indicated. All of those in favor of these amendments please signify by saying aye. Those opposed say nay. The ayes do have it. The amendments are agreed to.
▶ 0:23:07Chair Lee: We will now proceed with the confirmation votes and begin with agenda item one, the nomination of congressman stevan pearce to be the director of the bureau of land management at the department of the interior. The clerk will call the roll. Hang on. I jumped the gun on that. The clerk will not call the roll just yet.
▶ 0:24:07Chair Lee: I am advised we have one member seconds away in the elevator right now.
▶ 0:25:01Chair Lee: We will begin with agenda item number one, the nomination of congressman steve appears to be the director of the bureau of land management at the department of the interior. The clerk will call the roll. >> [roll call]
▶ 0:25:55Chair Lee: On this vote the yays are 11 and the nose are 9. >> can I enter a statement for the record on my opposition?
▶ 0:26:05Chair Lee: Yes. The nomination will be reported favorably on the senate floor and the nomination is agreed to. We turn to the nomination of commissioner david lacerte for another term on the energy commission. The clerk will call the roll.
▶ 0:26:29Chair Lee: >> [roll call] on
▶ 0:27:08Chair Lee: This vote the yay's are 12 and the no's are 8.
▶ 0:27:19Chair Lee: Next we turn to the nomination of assistant secretary kyle huastveit to be undersecretary of energy. >> [roll call]
▶ 0:28:04Chair Lee: On this vote the yay's are 11 and the no's are 9.
▶ 0:28:06Chair Lee: The nomination is agreed to in order to be favorably reported to the senate. Congratulations to each of the nominees. I will now move to the remaining agenda item that requires a roll al acall vote and we will vote on agenda item 12, the montana sportsmen conservation act. >> can I say a few words before the roll call vote?
▶ 0:28:35Chair Lee: With your indulgence we have a member that has a sensitive time commitment but I would get back to you. >> [roll call]
▶ 0:29:20Chair Lee: On this vote the yay's are 12 and the no's are 8.
▶ 0:29:24Chair Lee: The bill is ordered reported. We will now turn to the remaining items and agree to them by voice vote before we turn to senator daines and others wishing to speak. They are items four through 11 and 14 through 15.
▶ 0:29:57Chair Lee: If there are no objections the committee will voice vote and block on the agenda items I've just listed. >> did you include 2102?
▶ 0:30:05Chair Lee: Yes. S. 2102 is on the list. If there were no objections the committee will voice vote in block. Reporting favorably the agenda items I've listed as amended. All those in favor signify by saying aye. Opposed nay. The ayes have it and the bills are ordered reported.
▶ 0:30:32Chair Lee: >> on agenda item number nine senator wyden and senator cantwell and myself would like to be recorded as a no.
▶ 0:30:39Chair Lee: Without objection. At this point we will turn to senator daines to speak on his legislation.
▶ 0:30:49Sen. Daines: Thank you and thank you for including my montana sportsmen conservation act in today's markup. I want to remind my colleagues that last congress this bill passed this committee by a voice vote. I want to thank senator cortez masto for her ate masto for her atye vote on this. This was a voice vote last time and maintain strong local support and addresses a decades-old problem in montana.
▶ 0:31:20Sen. Daines: The study area was determined to be not suitable for wilderness allowing a six-year public engagement progress that concluded in 2021. In 2019 the forest service reported to the montana legislature a recommendation for nearly one million feet of harvest per year for management and to help maintain early habitat for elk.
▶ 0:31:48Sen. Daines: Three active cattle grazing allotments also cover the majority of the wsa and would continue if released to general management. Fuel management would help protect the forest and the watershed and wildlife as well as people and structures. Two other wsa's included are the mountain and the whales creek wsa determent in 2020 that they should be managed as backcountry conservation areas.
▶ 0:32:16Sen. Daines: If released there would be flexibility to address the mountain pine flu outbreak and mitigate wildfire rescue and enhance backcountry recreation opportunities. Senate bill 3257 enjoys the full support of the county commission as well as the montana sports and fish and wildlife service, the montana farm bureau, the great falls bicycle club, the montana locking association, the stock growers, the brew live -- the brew ribbon coalition -- the
▶ 0:32:49Sen. Daines: Blue-ribbon coalition and citizens for balanced use. It is time to get this bill to the president's desk. Last congress this bill passed on the same margin as a blackfoot clearwater stewardship act. I have and will continue to work in good faith with that partnership to draft a bill that maintains strong local and county commission support. Unfortunately it does not have the full support of the full county commission but we are making some progress.
▶ 0:33:17Sen. Daines: I hope the committee can again move this sportsmen conservation act with a voice vote. It turned out to be a roll call vote. A disappointment but we got it through today. Thank you.
▶ 0:33:29Chair Lee: Thanks to senator daines. We will now proceed with what would've been our respective opening statements from the chair and the ranking member before I recognize anyone else you may want to speak. Today at this proceeding we are considering three of president trump's nominees to positions at the bureau of land management, department of energy from an federal energy regulatory commission.
▶ 0:33:55Chair Lee: At last week's hearing each of the nominees demonstrated they were committed to ensuring the united states can meet rising electricity demand. We are prepared to advance energy by backing domestic production, ready to exercise judgment and natural gas infrastructure and prepared to work with local communities administered our public lands under multiple use and sustained yield mandate congress enacted
▶ 0:34:27Chair Lee: In 1976. These nominees are qualified and capable and ready to serve. I support each of them and look forward to there being considered on the senate floor now that we have advanced them out of committee. We have also considered several bills from members on both sides of the aisle. Among those is a bill of mine s .3304 the upper price river watershed act.
▶ 0:34:56Chair Lee: Nearly 80% of utah it remains in drought. Communities face shortages that threaten farms and families. The city of price utah has to level it -- has developed the upper price river project and spent years expanding the price river reservoir, a facility that will expand water storage and improve water delivery systems and better utilize existing water resources.
▶ 0:35:26Chair Lee: To complete that project the city requires 124 acres of bureau of land management land for the reservoir site and for rerouting the existing consumer wrote. The bill authorizes the transfer for public purposes and allows the project to move forward. I am pleased we are able to advance that out of the committee today.
▶ 0:35:51Chair Lee: Before I turn over to ranking member heinrich it will take a moment to highlight an important aspect of how the committee has been operating, including today's and the last three markup. We consider 19 democratic bills in 20 republican bills. That number would've been equal at the request of a member of our committee senator king the committee did not consider one of his bills that was included on a previous agenda.
▶ 0:36:23Chair Lee: In short I prepare these business meetings to have an equal number of republican and democrat bills. For context, during 118th and 117th congress under my bed assessor as chairman -- under my predecessor as chairman, chairman joe manchin, there is not a single markup with an even split of republican and democrat bills. We have had three of those with an equal split.
▶ 0:36:54Chair Lee: During the last two congresses every markup had more democrat bills than republican bills while democrats were the majority and often significantly more democratic bills than republican bills. What we're doing reflects a deliberate effort to go above and beyond what the rules require, above and beyond what has traditionally been expected of this committee. We have made a point of accommodating democratic members of the committee and ensuring legislation for members on both sides of the aisle.
▶ 0:37:26Chair Lee: Has meaningful equivalent opportunity to advance. I am proud of the bipartisan way we will operate and I continue to encourage every member of this committee to work with my staff and me to pass those bills that we can agree on and we can move to the floor of the senate. With that the chair recognizes ranking member senator heinrich.
▶ 0:37:50Sen. Heinrich: I've known congressman pearce for a long time and while I very much appreciate his testimony before the energy and natural resources committee last week I cannot in good faith go to advance his nomination to serve as our bureau of land management director.
▶ 0:38:10Sen. Heinrich: When congressman pearce testified he promised he would not recommend rolling back national monument designations, something that is extremely important to me and he acknowledged the blm cannot conduct large-scale selloffs of public lands under existing law. I intend to hold him to these statements I also know commitments to follow the law by previous trump administration nominees have proven unreliable.
▶ 0:38:36Sen. Heinrich: While congressman pearce has said his past actions of opposing monument designations and calling for public land selloffs are in his rearview mirror they are very much in the memory of every new mexico and who faced his opposition to protecting the lands they terrace. I cannot ignore his record and for this reason -- the lands they cherish. I cannot ignore his record and for this reason I will be voting up. I'll be also voting no on Mr.
▶ 0:39:06Sen. Heinrich: Howe's fight to be under secretary of energy. I voted for his nomination last year -- Mr. house fight -- Mr. house fight --
▶ 0:39:25House Fight Mr. Haustveit: -- Mr. haustveit's -- which is created to promote innovative energy technologies for the 21st-century, not to subsidize the technologies of the 19th and 20th centuries. Finally I will vote no on Mr. lacerte's nomination for a full term to the energy regulatory commission.
▶ 0:39:53House Fight Mr. Haustveit: I was encouraged by his strong commitment to affordability and reliability and research neutrality and commission independence at his confirmation hearing. I also acknowledged he has faithfully served on the commission for the past five months. As I said when I voted against a nomination last fall, these are not normal times. This administration is creating a crisis.
▶ 0:40:19House Fight Mr. Haustveit: It is killing union jobs and raising electricity prices with it's back to the past energy policies and until this administration respects the will of congress I cannot in good conscience support it's nominees . We also have 12 public land bills on today's agenda and I am pleased to support many of them, including a bill to establish the ralph david abernathy national historic site as well as legislation that will resolve long-standing land issues in carson city, nevada. A place I know well.
▶ 0:40:51House Fight Mr. Haustveit: I am also glad chairman lee and I able -- and I were able to come to agreement on s.3004 for land in price utah. I will speak on two bills I will be voting against on s.2787. Congress recognized the bureau of land management's backlog of environmental reviews created uncertainty.
▶ 0:41:17House Fight Mr. Haustveit: Growers and to address it congress allowed grazing permits to continue until the review could be completed. Nearly a decade later the problem has only grown. It is more common for grazing on public lands to be extended without any review by the agency to adjust terms to me changing -- to meet changing conditions.
▶ 0:41:41House Fight Mr. Haustveit: 60% of bureau of land management land are being raiesed are under automatic renewables without energy -- without any review by energy staff. I'm not opposed to consistency in managing grazing across public lands. That makes sense. I cannot support legislation that expands the practice of perpetual and automatic renewals of any public land used and for these reasons I will be voting no on s.2787.
▶ 0:42:11House Fight Mr. Haustveit: On 2.3527 -- on s.3527, this committee is not moving forward -- I cannot support removing public land conservation without adding it in places where conservation is properly supported by local communities and elected leaders.
▶ 0:42:36House Fight Mr. Haustveit: I hope we can find a path forward for this bill just like I hope we can find a path forward for conservation bills in new mexico, colorado, california, oregon and every other state with a wilderness bill awaiting action by the committee. Until we move wilderness study area release together I will oppose s.2537 and that is the balance of my statement.
▶ 0:42:59Chair Lee: Thank you senator heinrich and thank you for your help on s.3004. The people of price, utah are most grateful. I appreciate the cooperation we have from our committee today, membership and staff.
▶ 0:43:20Chair Lee: If there are no objections I asked unanimous consent the committee staff make any necessary non-substantive technical changes to the legislative text that may be needed. During non-it is so ordered. I would otherwise ask if their other senators who want to speak -- but the amount reported. That will conclude -- they have now departed. That will conclude today's business meeting.
▶ 0:43:49Chair Lee: I asked my colleagues to join me to building -- to bring these bills and nominations to the floor expeditiously. The committee stands adjourned.