1. United States
2. N.C.
3. Letter

I'm reaching out to express my alarm over the House Natural Resources Committee's reckless proposals buried in the budget reconciliation bill. Let's not sugarcoat it. This legislation is a brazen attempt to gut environmental protections and auction off our public lands to oil and gas interests like they're going out of style. Here's what’s wrong: Environmental safeguards? Trashed. Protections that took decades to establish are being tossed out like yesterday’s garbage. Public lands? For sale to the highest bidder. This isn’t governance, it’s a fire sale, and the only ones winning are corporate fat cats and their political cronies. Public input? Silenced. The bill guts public participation, cutting the public out of decisions that affect lands that belong to all Americans. Public lands aren’t political poker chips. They’re critical to our health, environment, and economy. Selling them off to drillers and miners is a slap in the face to the 92% of voters who believe these lands should be preserved—not pillaged. The bill’s targeting of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the Boundary Waters is especially infuriating: Drilling in the Arctic Refuge is a financial dud. The recent lease sales were an embarrassing flop. No revenue, no jobs, no point, just ecological destruction. Copper mining near the Boundary Waters is a toxic disaster waiting to happen. This area is a $1.1 billion tourism powerhouse supporting 17,000 jobs. Why risk clean water and treaty rights for a short-term corporate payday? Let’s be real: this isn’t about fiscal responsibility or energy independence. It’s a blatant handout to industries that already enjoy too much influence. I urge you to vote against any legislation that undercuts environmental protections, silences public input, or sells off public resources. Do the job you were elected to do: stand up for your constituents, not corporate donors.