Interior Secretarial Order bypasses Congressional Approval of Climate Change

Along with Westerners in the House and Senate, I am very concerned that the new Department of Interior climate change policies are simply a way for the administration to implement harsh energy regulations while Congress continues to debate cap and trade legislation.


As chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus, I have sent a letter, co-signed by Senator John Barrasso, responding to a Secretarial Order recently implemented by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. The order will require the DOI to apply new “climate change” policies to the Department’s decision-making process. Specifically, Climate Change Response Centers will apply existing and future land management agreements to a new set of restrictive regulations and mandates set forth by the DOI.

Click here to view our letter to Secretary Salazar.

By bypassing the congressional approval process, the Department of Interior has unilaterally created a new set of restrictive regulations and mandates that will allow special interest groups with narrowly focused agendas to dictate current and future activities on federal lands—all in the name of “climate change.” Westerners will suffer the most from the increased regulatory burdens that will likely stifle energy development and lead to further job loss. *According to a recent report issued by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the West is experiencing the highest rate of regional unemployment.

Western Caucus members are concerned that the Secretarial Order will hit Western states the hardest and put into questions past and future management agreements related to oil and gas development, renewable energy development, recreational use, grazing, hunting on public and private property, and wildlife protection. These agreements made in good faith between States and the Department will now be subject to change and terms which will likely have a detrimental impact on public land users.

Additionally, the new order could potentially cost the American taxpayer millions of dollars and have a far reaching impact on our nation’s energy supply.