This week, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (GA-11) supported various pieces of legislation condemning Antisemitism, preserving our nation's energy independence and protecting our public lands. Bills are as follows. 

 

H.R. 6090 – Antisemitism Awareness Act – Rep. Mike Lawler (NY-17)

There must be zero tolerance for antisemitism at our universities, in our communities, or anywhere across our nation. This legislation requires the Department of Education to use the 2016 International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism and its contemporary examples when enforcing federal anti-discrimination laws. Usage of this working definition in this context is critical to ensuring antisemitic hate crimes on college campuses are properly investigated and prosecuted. 

• This bill further expresses the sense of Congress that discrimination against Jews may violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 when it is based on race, color, or national origin, which can include discrimination based on actual or perceived shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics. 
  • The IHRA's working definition of antisemitism and its contemporary examples are widely accepted and a vital tool for identifying and addressing discriminatory conduct motivated by antisemitism. It has been adopted by at least 31 states. 
  • H.R. 6090 explicitly states that nothing in this Act "shall be construed to diminish or infringe upon any right protected under the First Amendment." The bill does not make speech or conduct that meets the IHRA definition a per se violation of federal anti-discrimination law, but rather requires the Department of Education to consider it a guide. 
  • The bill also includes a rule of construction stating that nothing in this legislation shall be construed to expand the authority of the Secretary of Education.

H.R. 6285 – Alaska's Right to Produce Act – Rep. Pete Stauber (MN-8)

Since his first day in office, President Biden has waged war on domestic fossil fuels to the detriment of American workers and their families. This legislation reverses the Biden Administration's harmful anti-American energy policies by reinstating statutorily required Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) oil and gas leases and canceling the Department of the Interior's (DOI) National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A) rule. 

• The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 required DOI to hold two lease sales in the 1002 Area of the ANWR, the first by December 2021 and the second by December 2024. The Trump administration held the first lease sale, but the Biden administration cancelled the leases.
• Earlier this month, DOI announced a final rule that would lock up 13 million acres – over half – of the NPR-A for future energy production.
• These decisions will have a devastating impact, as oil and natural gas production in Alaska generated $3.1 billion in state and local revenue in 2019 and supported over 77,000 direct and indirect jobs – about 25% of all jobs in the state. The Biden Administration’s actions were opposed by the entire Alaska delegation, along with local governments, Alaska Native Corporations, federally recognized tribes, and tribal non-profits.
• Specifically, H.R. 6285 would:
  • Express that Congress requires DOI to maintain an active oil and gas leasing program in ANWR, that the NPR-A requires the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to allow for the development of
  • petroleum products in the NPR-A, and that the Biden administration’s recent actions conflict with these statutory requirements.
  • Ratify and approve all authorizations, permits, and any other approvals or orders issued for the establishment and administration of the Coastal Plain oil and gas leasing program in the ANWR.
  • Mandate reissuance of canceled ANWR leases within 30 days of enactment, prevent a future administration from taking similar action to revoke leases, and reaffirm existing law that the DOI must hold another ANWR lease sale by Dec 22, 2024.
  • Require the DOI to withdraw the NPR-A rule and prevent the development of a substantially similar rule.

H.R. 3195 – Superior National Forest Restoration Act – Rep. Pete Stauber (MN-8)

This legislation halts the Biden Administration’s attack on domestic mineral development in Minnesota’s Superior National Forest (SNF) by rescinding the withdrawal of mineral rich lands from development, restoring mineral rights to prospective developers in the area, and requiring the prompt review of any Mine Plans of Operations for potential future development.

• The SNF in northeastern Minnesota contains vast amounts of copper, nickel, cobalt, and platinum metal groups.
• The land is located in a mining corridor locally known as the Iron Range. 

• In January 2022, the Biden administration cancelled the two decades-old mineral leases held by Twin Metals Minnesota in the SNF. One year later, Public Land Order 7917 went into effect, withdrawing 225,000 acres of land in the SNF from mineral extraction for 20 years.
• H.R. 3195 provides for the safe extraction of minerals in the SNF by:
  • Rescinding Public Land Order 7917.
  • Requiring that any Mine Plans of Operations in the SNF currently pending at BLM, and any Mine Plans of Operations submitted or resubmitted to BLM in the next seven years, be reviewed within 18 months.
  • Requiring reissuance of every mineral lease, preference right lease, and prospecting permit that has been cancelled since January 31, 2021. The reissuance of these leases and permits is not subject to judicial review.

 

H.R. 764 – Trust the Science Act – Rep. Lauren Boebert (CO-3)

This legislation adheres to current scientific analysis by reinstating the Trump Administration’s final rule removing the gray wolf as a protected species under the Endangered Species Act in the lower 48 United States.

• Gray wolf populations in the lower 48 states do not face the threat of extinction. The current population exceeds the recovery goal for delisting, which requires a stable or increasing population of wolves in Minnesota and at least 200 wolves outside of Minnesota.
• On November 3, 2020, the Trump Administration published ‘‘Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Removing the Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) From the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife’’ (85 Fed. Reg. 69778). In February 2022, the rule was vacated by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The Biden Department of Justice is currently appealing the decision.
• In 2013, the Obama administration proposed delisting the gray wolf in the lower 48 states, but it was halted due to activist judges.

 

H.R. 615 – Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act – Rep. Rob Wittman (VA-1)

This legislation ensures Americans can continue to enjoy hunting and fishing by prohibiting the Biden Administration from banning the use of lead ammunition or tackle on Federal lands or waters.

• In response to a lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) proposed to ban the use of lead ammunition and tackle in seven national wildlife refuges and to ban lead ammunition, but not tackle, in one additional national wildlife refuge by 2026.
• Lead ammunition and fishing tackle are the most cost-effective options on the market. They also provide an important revenue source for conservation efforts. In Fiscal Year 2024, FWS received over $1.3 billion in conservation funding from excise taxes on hunting and fishing equipment, including ammunition and fishing tackle.

 

H.R. 3397 – Western Economic Security Today (WEST) Act – Rep. John Curtis (UT-3)

This legislation stops the Biden Administration’s Western land grab by withdrawing a proposed rule changing the agency’s multiple use mandate and preventing the issuance of a substantially similar rule in the future.

• On April 3, 2023, the Bureau of Land Management published a proposed rule, ‘‘Conservation and Landscape Health,” which creates a duplicative and burdensome new public lands management system. Specifically, under the proposal, BLM would be able lock up lands under vaguely defined conservation leases and through the expedited designation of new Areas of Critical Environmental Concern, incorporate new standards when evaluating traditional multiple use decisions, and apply land health standards to all public lands.
• The proposed rule marks a significant shift in public land management that would lock up one out of every 10 acres of land in the U.S and is an attempt to further the administration’s flawed 30x30 agenda, which seeks to preserve 30 percent of lands and waters by 2030 with no input from stakeholders.
• Rural communities across the Western United States rely on access to public lands for energy and mineral development, grazing, timber production, and recreation. Withdrawing the proposed rule will protect $201 billion in economic output and save 783,000 jobs.

In case you missed it, this week, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (GA-11) questioned representatives from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Office of The Comptroller of The Currency (OCC) on the political independence of their proposed changes to the bank merger review process.

 

Specifically, he questioned why supposedly independent federal banking agencies like the FDIC made a politically motivated decision to reassess their merger review process following an executive order from President Biden. 

 

Click here or below to tune in. 

This week, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (GA-11) joined Just the News No Noise with John Solomon and Amanda Head to discuss the next steps in the January 6 investigation, which will involve obtaining transcribed interviews from the Department of Defense (DOD).

 

Rep. Loudermilk also said he would like to talk with generals that whistleblowers testified were more concerned with optics over U.S. Capitol security.

 

Click here or below to tune in. 

This week, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (GA-11) joined Reps. Andrew Clyde (GA-9) and Sanford Bishop (GA-2) and Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Chris Coons (D-DE) and 53 of their colleagues in sending a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection  Service (APHIS) Administrator Dr. Michael Watson urging the USDA to advocate for the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) to adopt the definition of "poultry" unanimously approved by the United States Animal Health Association (USAHA). 

 

In the letter, the lawmakers explain the key differences between the WOAH and USAHA's "poultry" definitions:

 

"The current WOAH definition fails to appropriately distinguish commercial poultry involved in international trade from backyard or wild birds posing minuscule trade transmission risk. Over a year ago, the United States Animal Health Association (USAHA) proposed a reasonable definition change that would rightly recognize neighbors gifting backyard poultry eggs to others as non-commercial. It would also exclude birds that are raised to be released at hunting preserves from being considered poultry for international trade purposes."

 

Additionally, the lawmakers discuss how the current definition is costing America's poultry producers dearly:

 

Just The News:

 

House Republicans are expanding their investigation into the January 6 Committee and the security failures that led to the Capitol breach, planning to add staff and pursue new lines of inquiry, the Chairman of the subcommittee leading the investigation told Just the News.

Rep. Barry Loudermilk, Chairman of the House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight, told the "Just the News, No Noise" TV show on Tuesday that he aims to publish a final report by this summer after seeking interviews with top Pentagon officials and any former January 6 committee staff willing to come forward.

So far, Loudermilk’s investigation has spearheaded efforts to release thousands of hours of security footage from January 6, found that the Democrat-led select committee deleted hundreds of encrypted files, and has taken testimony from National Guard whistleblowers criticizing Pentagon leadership for its slow response to the riot at the Capitol.

Cobb County School District: 

 

U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk recently returned to Osborne High School to talk to some of America’s next class of business leaders.

This interaction was part of the prestigious Capitol Hill Challenge program, which provides a unique opportunity for students to converse with members of Congress, gaining insights into personal finance, economics, and the workings of government.

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