Ensuring the Marianas Have a Say on Deep Sea Mining

On Friday, I joined Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-CA), Congresswoman Aumua Amata (R-AS), Congressman Jim Moylan (R-GU), and Congressman Ed Case (D-HI) in a bipartisan letter to Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum and the Marine Minerals Administration calling for a formal, open public comment period on proposed deep sea mining lease sales offshore the Marianas and American Samoa. We urged the Department to provide the public with an opportunity to weigh in on this unprecedented leasing action, which proposes historically low rental and royalty rates and could have far-reaching impacts on our marine ecosystems and ocean resources. I will continue to push for greater transparency and meaningful public engagement as these policies are developed. The people of the Marianas deserve a voice in decisions that could have lasting consequences for our oceans and communities. I will continue working with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to promote responsible stewardship of our natural resources.