The Subcommittee on Federal Lands held an oversight hearing today to review the Fiscal Year 2025 budget request for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the National Park Service (NPS). In response to the budget request, Subcommittee Chairman Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.) stated, "To no surprise, President Biden’s FY25 budget request caters to green lobby radicals, fails to address the environmental degradation from illegal immigration, and puts the American people on the back burner. Americans depend on access to federal lands for their way of life, and it’s time that this administration drops the partisan politics and does what’s best for the communities, families, and small businesses that live and operate closest to our federal lands."
According to critics, BLM's budget request could jeopardize American jobs dependent on access to public lands. They argue that it continues what they perceive as a war on domestic energy production and small businesses by imposing burdensome fees and regulations on oil and gas development. Furthermore, it allegedly fails to request any meaningful permitting reform provisions.
BLM officials have been accused of orchestrating preservationist policies that restrict access and negatively impact local economies. Earlier this month, President Joe Biden expanded a BLM-managed monument in California which was claimed by the Department of Interior would "advance" the 30x30 agenda. The BLM also recently finalized a public lands rule allowing them to lease lands under new "conservation leases," significantly altering standards around access.
Federal land along the U.S.-Mexico border has been identified as dangerous due to its remote location and less frequent patrolling. Critics claim that despite these threats, there is no plan from the Biden administration addressing these issues.
The NPS has also come under scrutiny with claims of abuse of federal lands in conjunction with their border policy failures. House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark,) along with other Republican members witnessed how Floyd Bennett Field in New York City was transformed into a migrant encampment. Requests for information from administration officials on this decision have reportedly been met with little to no response.
The NPS budget request allegedly cuts programs that improve access to national parks and reduce the deferred maintenance backlog to fund vague administration priorities. Critics are particularly concerned about a $25 million decrease in repair and rehabilitation projects in the Facility Operation and Maintenance account, replaced by a proposed $3.1 million for "Increasing Representation on Our Public Lands." This move is seen as neglecting complex maintenance needs in the National Park System, potentially leading to further deterioration of facilities and infrastructure.
