1. United States
2. Texas
3. Letter

I urge you to oppose House Joint Resolution 140, which passed the House on January 21, 2026, and now awaits Senate consideration. This resolution uses the Congressional Review Act to overturn Public Land Order 7917, a 20-year mining ban protecting 225,504 acres of the Superior National Forest and the Boundary Waters watershed from toxic copper mining. This represents an unprecedented and dangerous misuse of the CRA. The Congressional Review Act has never been used to challenge mineral withdrawals or Public Land Orders, which are properly governed by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act. This maneuver circumvents the Government Accountability Office, which historically provides guidance on what qualifies as a rule under the CRA. If this resolution succeeds, it creates a precedent allowing Congress to retroactively target virtually any public land management decision as a rule, making no established conservation measure safe from politicized nullification. The 20-year protection established in January 2023 was based on extensive environmental study, followed all congressional reporting requirements under FLPMA, and reflected years of public input. Overturning it would allow Twin Metals, a Chilean-owned company, to build a mining complex on Birch Lake near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Copper mining has a 100% track record of polluting water, and pollution from this mine would flow directly into the Wilderness, impacting Quetico Provincial Park, Voyageurs National Park, and the Rainy River watershed. If H.J. Res 140 passes and is signed by the President, the Department of Interior could not issue a similar protective rule without new congressional authorization. This would strip federal agencies of their ability to protect public lands based on science and public interest. I ask you to vote against H.J. Res 140 when it comes before the Senate. Protect the Boundary Waters watershed and preserve the integrity of our public land management system.