Washington, D.C. – By voice vote, the U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday passed Alaska Congressman Don Young’s amendment to H.R. 2822, the 2016 Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, which would limit funds from being used to implement the Obama Administration’s revised conservation plan for managing the coastal plain of ANWR as wilderness.

Congressman Young says the Administration’s decision to manage the coastal plain of ANWR as wilderness, including the 10-02 area set aside by Congress for potential development, has left the people of Alaska and those with an interest in our nation’s energy policy with no alternative.

“My amendment would ensure that no funds could be spent implementing this recommendation,” said Congressman Don Young. “The impact of this recommendation should not be overlooked, as the recommendation requires immediate management of the entire area as Wilderness – unilaterally undermining the role of Congress through a de facto Wilderness designation.”

Defending the Alaskan way of life, Young said the Administration’s plan raises significant bureaucratic and administrative hurdles. He said this decision is a “betrayal to the Alaskan people” and further “handcuffs my state from providing for itself and pushes us to be more dependent on federal funds.”

Young drew a firm line in the sand, saying the Administration’s actions are in direct violation of the law, including the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) which established more than 100 million acres of conservation areas and specifically stated that future land withdrawals by the executive branch over 5,000 acres must be approved by Congress in order to be valid.

“We should follow the law. We have given up the responsibility of this Congress to the President – not just this President but other Presidents. It’s clear in the law that nothing more than 5,000 acres can be withdrawn and put into wilderness [in Alaska] without the ‘ok’ of the Congress. ‘No more’ clause, it stands for no more. Now we have a President that says ‘up yours’ to the Congress…We have a responsibility as Congressmen to do our jobs. When [the President] goes against the law through executive order, that’s against the Constitution of the United States.”

To view Congressman Young’s amendment, click here.

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