AEA Signs Coalition Letter In Support of HJ Res. 140

On January 15, 2026, the American Energy Alliance joined with 20 other free-market and consumer choice advocacy organizations in sending a letter to House leadership urging the prompt consideration, and passage of HJ Resolution 140, a joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval of Public Land Order (PLO) 7917. The full text of the letter is available below. The full list of signers is available here.

Dear Speaker Johnson and Majority Leader Scalise,

We, the undersigned organizations, write to urge prompt consideration and passage of H.J.Res.140, a joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval of Public Land Order (PLO) 7917. As organizations committed to free markets, responsible development, and the constitutional separation of powers, passage of this resolution is critical to advancing American economic prosperity.

In 2023, the Biden Administration finalized PLO 7917, which withdrew more than 225,000 acres of the Superior National Forest—located in the headwaters of the Boundary Waters—from mineral development for a period of 20 years. The order effectively placed large areas off-limits, despite expert findings that the land contains globally significant, largely undeveloped copper-nickel and platinum-group metal resources, including potentially major reserves of copper, nickel, cobalt, and related minerals. The PLO was finalized despite strong opposition from Members of Congress, mineral developers, and local residents who support responsible development and economic opportunity in the region.

Swift passage of H.J.Res.140 would reverse this misguided policy and allow for the responsible development of these federally owned lands. The mineral deposits at issue are critical to meeting growing global demand for the materials that underpin modern manufacturing, infrastructure, and energy technologies. Notably, Congress has already expressed bipartisan opposition to this withdrawal through House passage of H.R.3195, the Superior National Forest Restoration Act, in the previous Congress.

Now that PLO 7917 has been submitted to Congress as a rule, H.J.Res.140 provides a clear and lawful mechanism for Congress to disapprove the order under the Congressional Review Act (CRA). Use of the CRA offers two important benefits. First, it allows the resolution to advance in the Senate by a simple majority vote. Second, CRA disapproval would prevent future administrations from issuing a “substantially similar” rule, providing long-term certainty and stability for land managers, workers, and developers alike. More broadly, passage of H.J.Res.140 would establish an important precedent confirming that public land withdrawals issued through public land orders constitute rules subject to congressional review. Given the significant economic implications of these decisions, no administration should be permitted to unilaterally remove large swaths of land from productive use without congressional oversight. This Congress has already used the CRA to nullify several misguided Biden Administration resource management plans, and it should similarly act to disapprove PLO 7917—and consider other withdrawals that warrant congressional reexamination.

For these reasons, we respectfully urge House leadership to act expeditiously to advance H.J.Res.140 and reaffirm Congress’s constitutional role in overseeing federal land use decisions. Swift passage of this resolution will restore certainty, enable responsible domestic mineral development, and confirm that major land withdrawals with significant economic consequences are subject to congressional disapproval under the CRA.

Signed,