Grandmothers Growing Goodness and Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic Denounce Senate Republicans’ Decision to Keep Mandated Arctic Leasing in Mega-bill
(Nuiqsut, Alaska/Washington, DC) – Following hours of vote-a-rama on amendments, Senate Republicans passed their version of the budget reconciliation bill 51-50, with Vice President J.D. Vance casting the tiebreaking vote. Despite widespread opposition, the final Senate bill includes mandated oil and gas lease sales across the Arctic, including in the National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska (Western Arctic).
The Arctic is one of our nation’s most majestic landscapes and the traditional homeland of Indigenous Peoples who have stewarded and relied upon these lands from time immemorial. Mandated oil and gas lease sales and subsequent development would devastate critical habitat for caribou, endangered whales, polar bears, and migratory birds, and threaten the health, safety, and sovereignty of Indigenous communities who call the Arctic home.
“It is extremely saddening to see the Senate pass their government funding bill, which includes mandated lease sales in the Western Arctic. In doing so, they have ignored our concerns and the knowledge we’ve gained from stewarding these lands for generations,” said Rosemary Ahtuangaruak, Executive Director of Grandmothers Growing Goodness. “The Trump Administration and Congressional Republicans want us to give up and back down, but we will never give up on defending and protecting our home. We have real problems in Alaska and across the entire country that cannot be solved by the non-stop push for developing more fossil fuels. We hope that our leaders can come together and reconcile a budget bill that doesn’t sell off America’s Arctic for corporate profit.”
“Mandating lease sales in the Western Arctic years down the line does little to solve the issues we are facing today. Energy bills are skyrocketing, the climate crisis is fueling more dangerous storms and heat waves, and local communities have little funds for public services,” said Nauri Simmonds, Executive Director of Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic. “The Senate passage of the budget reconciliation bill makes one thing clear: they do not have a plan to help people in this country. Instead, they once again show their alliance to rich and polluting corporations. But we refuse to give up. This has been our home since time immemorial, and these ‘leaders’ are mistaken if they think we will stop fighting now.”
What’s in the bill:
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Requires 4 lease sales over the next 10 years, starting within one year of passage, offering at least 400,000 acres per sale.
Locks in Trump’s weak 2020 leasing plan, with fewer protections for wildlife, the Coastal Plain, and subsistence resources.
Dramatically increases Alaska’s share of revenues (70% after 2035) to sweeten the deal politically.
Western Arctic (NPR-A)
Requires 5 lease sales over 10 years, with the first within a year of passage.
Opens up vast tracts—4 million acres per sale—under the destructive 2020 Trump-era plan, including a large part of the currently protected Teshekpuk Lake Special Area.