A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Bureau of Land Management relating to "Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program Record of Decision".

Summary of the Joint Resolution on Arctic Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing

This joint resolution is a formal attempt by Congress to overturn a specific federal rule issued by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the agency that manages federally owned lands. The rule in question established a program for oil and gas leasing on Alaska's Coastal Plain, which is part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) — a large, federally protected wilderness area in northeastern Alaska. By passing this resolution, Congress would have effectively cancelled that leasing program and blocked oil and gas companies from being able to bid on drilling rights in that area under the existing rule.

This type of resolution is a tool available to Congress under a law called the Congressional Review Act, which allows lawmakers to vote to reject rules and regulations issued by federal agencies. If it had passed both chambers of Congress and been signed by the President, the BLM's leasing program would have been nullified, and the agency would have been prohibited from issuing a substantially similar rule in the future without new authorization from Congress.

The resolution would most directly affect energy companies interested in drilling in the region, Alaska's state government and economy (which receives revenue from oil production), and environmental and Indigenous groups who have raised concerns about the ecological and cultural impacts of drilling in the area. The Coastal Plain is considered both an economically significant potential oil reserve and a sensitive ecosystem.

As of the most recent legislative action, the Senate voted to indefinitely postpone the resolution, meaning it was set aside without a final up-or-down vote and did not advance into law.