Policy Corner: What's Up in DC?

Sandra Schubert • January 10, 2025

A lot has happened since we last talked. I am going to hit some of the highlights.


President Biden Acts


One of the brightest moments this month was President Biden’s announcement on January 7th that he will use his authority under The Antiquities Act to designate Chuckwalla National Monument and Sáttítla Highlands National Monument. The effort to protect these places has been led by Tribes and supported by a diverse coalition. Sáttítla is nestled 30 miles from Mount Shasta within the Shasta-Trinity, Klamath, and Modoc National Forests of northeastern California. Chuckwalla National Monument is in the California desert and reaches from the Coachella Valley region in the west to near the Colorado River in the east. President Biden’s designation protects 848,000 acres of culturally, ecologically and scientifically significant lands while boosting the local economies and ensuring access to nature for recreation. 


Upon these designations, President Biden will have protected 674 million acres of U.S. lands and waters, making great strides in building climate resilience and preserving biodiversity.


119th Congress (2025-2026)


The 119th Congress convened on January 3rd with some changes in leadership and the Committees that oversee many of our issues.


Senate


Republicans hold the Senate majority, with 53 seats. That number may change if Senator Rubio is confirmed as Secretary of State in the Trump Administration. Democrats hold 45 seats and there are 2 Independents. We have a new Senate Majority Leader in John Thune, while Chuck Schumer remains the Senate Minority Leader.


Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) has taken over as the Chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which has jurisdiction over Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service public lands, mining, water and power and energy. Chair Lee is a long-time opponent of expanding federal public lands and has been a leader in the efforts to roll back Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante National Monuments and The Antiquities Act. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM) will take over as ranking member. A former outfitter guide, outdoor educator, lifetime sportsman and conservationist, Ranking Member Heinrich has fought to protect our natural and cultural resources.


House of Representatives


Republicans have a 1 seat majority in the House of Representatives with 219 members. Democrats hold 215 seats. Currently, one seat is open due to Matt Gaetz’ resignation, although this seat is expected to be filled by a Republican. Leadership is unchanged, with Speaker Mike Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries retaining their leadership positions.


The House Committee on Natural Resources will continue to be chaired by Representative Bruce Westerman (R-Ark). The Committee has jurisdiction over federal lands, energy and mineral resources, Indian affairs and water, wildlife and fisheries. Chair Westerman has consistently criticized the establishment and expansion of national monuments, supported legislation to roll back The Antiquities Act and opposed adding Molok Luyuk to Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument. Representative Jared Huffman (D-CA) will take over the mantle of Ranking Member. A long time champion of public lands and our natural and cultural resources, Ranking Member Huffman’s District includes the Northern Inner Coastal Range. He supported the establishment and expansion of Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument.


President-Elect Trump’s Team


President-elect Trump has chosen former North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum to be U.S. Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior and to be his new energy czar. Interior is in charge of national monuments, parks, wildlife refuges and national conservation lands, approximately 20 percent of our lands, as well as mining, fish and wildlife and Bureau of Reclamation. The Bureau of Indian Affairs, which oversees relations with 574 federal recognized Native American tribes is also within Interior. A big promoter of oil and gas production, Governor Burgum has pushed for reduced regulatory burden. He has also prioritized tribal engagement.


President-elect Trump’s choice for Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture is his former domestic policy advisor Brooke Rollins. Agriculture is huge, with offices in every county in the country. Agriculture’s purview includes farm and nutrition programs, home and farm lending, food safety, rural development, agricultural research, nutrition, trade, biofuels and forests. Rollins is currently CEO of the America First Policy Institute, a pro-Trump think tank that she and others formed in 2021. From Texas, Rollins received an undergraduate degree in agricultural development and a law degree.


So, we’re off and running. Stay tuned for more updates from the policy corner.

-Sandra Schubert

Executive Director

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By Bryan Pride May 9, 2025
Across the country wildfires are increasingly more catastrophic; growing larger, spreading faster and burning longer than before. Nationwide, the total acres burned rose dramatically from 2.7 million in 2023 to nearly 9 million in 2024 . California is averaging more than 7,500 wildfires annually . Not including the recent Los Angeles fires, six of the top ten most destructive fires, three of the five deadliest fires, and all of the state's nine largest fires have occurred since 2017. It is unsustainable for both California and the country to continue burning at this magnitude. This leaves us with the question: "What can be done to solve the wildfire problem?" In response to this growing crisis, lawmakers are taking action. Congress is advancing different versions of the Fix Our Forests Act ( FOFA ) in the Senate and House of Representatives. How these bills progress and the opportunities to amend, change or improve these bills are constrained by the different processes in the House and the Senate. The House of Representatives The House of Representatives version of FOFA, (H.R. 471) , was introduced by Representative Bruce Westerman (R-AR) in January 2025 with 43 bipartisan cosponsors, including several from California. With a stated goal to expedite forest management activities under NEPA. H.R. 471, it significantly reflects Executive Order 14225, "Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production" (March 1, 2025). While the legislation takes some important steps, there are also significant concerns regarding rollbacks of environmental protections and judicial review. FOFA , H.R. 471, establishes an interagency Fireshed Center overseen by the Department of the Interior and U.S. Forest Service comprised of 15 agencies, administrations, departments and bureaus to gather data, provide guidance and work with states and tribes. It sets up a process to designate “fireshed management areas” and expands projects exempt from full reviews from 3,000 – 10,000 acres. The bill heavily favors logging as a form of fire management, but also embraces prescribed burns and prioritizes reforestation and restoration projects. H.R. 471 grants numerous “categorical exclusions”, exempting areas and projects from review under the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act and National Historic Preservation Act. H.R. 471 also fast-tracks environmental review and consultation. At the same time, the Administration is significantly gutting personnel and expertise through DOGE and its budget. H.R. 471 alters the judicial process. H.R. 471 limits when a court can grant injunctive relief. What is injunctive relief? That is the ability of the court to say: “Stop doing what you are doing.” Or slow it down, or change it, while we figure this out. It is common. Removing it is unusual. H.R. 471 limits the court’s ability to order corrective actions, limits plaintiff’s ability to sue, limits the court’s ability to require additional data from an agency and allows the challenged activities to go forward while under review. H.R. 471 also decreases the statute of limitations (the time that someone has to sue) from 6 years to 120 days. Much concern was expressed over the expansion of categorical exclusions, the change in judicial review procedures and timelines and fast-tracking of proposals. However, there was no opportunity to address any of these issues. When a bill is introduced in the House of Representatives, much like in the Senate, it is assigned to a committee with subject matter expertise. 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In the House of Representatives, a simple majority vote is necessary for bill passage. In January 2025, the H.R. 471 passed the House of Representatives on a vote of 279-141 without a hearing or mark-up and with scant debate. In the Senate Now, attention has turned to the Senate, where Senators Curtis (R-UT), Hickenlooper (D-CO), Sheehy (R-MT) and Padilla’s (D-CA) version of FOFA , S. 1462 , introduced in April, is making its way through the Senate process. The bill’s stated goal is to improve forest management on BLM and USFS lands. Similar to the House of Representatives, when a bill is introduced in the Senate, it is assigned to a committee for study, hearings, expert testimony, a mark-up session and amendments. In fact, the Senate Agriculture Committee has already begun reviewing the legislation, holding a legislative hearing on S. March 6 . The next step will be a mark-up in committee, where we can expect to see robust debate. If the Committee decides to move forward with the bill, it sends it to the full Senate. If a committee does not send the bill to the Senate, the bill dies in committee. Once a bill is released from committee, the Majority Leader of the Senate is responsible for deciding when to send the legislation for a vote. There is no Rules Committee. At this stage of floor consideration and debate is when there is the most significant difference in the legislative process between the House and the Senate. During floor consideration, a senator or group of senators can exercise their right to unlimited debate through a filibuster, which can keep legislation off the floor indefinitely. Once a debate is closed through cloture, the Senate can move to a final vote on the bill, which requires a simple majority of 51 votes. A bill on the Senate floor requires only 51 votes to pass after a debate has ended, but it takes 60 votes to cut off debate through a process called "cloture." If 60 Senators vote in favor of ending the debate, it will move to a final vote. Because of the razor thin margin in the Senate – 53 Rs, 45 Ds and 2 Independents – Republicans will need Democrats to vote with them to stop debate and advance FOFA to a vote. The requirement for broader consensus often means that legislation passed by the Senate has undergone more compromise. This provides an opportunity for the minority party to shape the bill that is not present in the House of Representatives. Thus, the Senate version of FOFA, S. 1462 , represents a significant improvement over the House version. It too sets up “fireshed management areas” and calls for fireshed assessments, albeit based on different criteria than the House version. A centerpiece of S. 1462 is the establishment of Wildfire Intelligence Center staffed by wildfire experts, technical leads, and indigenous leaders and governed by a Board of 16 agencies, administrations, departments and bureaus. The legislation removes historical barriers that previously prevented foresters, fire teams, and indigenous communities from implementing these preventative practices, allowing for more proactive management across all phases of wildfire prevention, response, and recovery. These centers create opportunities for multifaceted approaches throughout the entire fire management cycle, from prevention to rapid response to restoration. The Senate version also retains more authority for environmental reviews and judicial action. While the S. 1462 retains greater environmental review under NEPA and the National Historic Preservation Act, it also rolls back ESA reviews of land management plans and other environmental reviews depending on acreage. S. 1462 too limits injunctive relief, although not as significantly as the House version. S. 1462 leaves untouched other aspects of judicial review. 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By Kristie Ehrhardt May 9, 2025
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