The Trump Administrations approach. New mexico and utah officials review current land use application process and delays in permit approval. Without objection, so ordered. Under Committee Rule 4 f, any oral Opening Statement are limited to the chairman, ranking minority member and the vice chair. This will allow us to hear from our witnesses sooner and help members keep to their schedules. I ask unanimous consent that all other statements be made part of the hearing record if submitted by 5 00 p. M. Today. Without objection, so ordered. Today we will examine access to oil on federal land. Or subcommittee is holding a hearing to discuss offshore federal oil and Gas Development and we ask the members reserve all offshore questions for the next hearing. States are owned by all americans and the bureau of Land Management is obligated to responsively manage and develop these resources. On shore federal oil and gas accounts for 20 of americas production and is integral to our Nations Energy, independent and security. Nonfederal production out paces figures do in large part to the overwhelming Administrative Burden of the federal process. Not only has the new administration inherit add backlog of 3,000 drill permit applications but a burdensome regulatory scheme that discouraging investment and development. It is critical that we evaluate these obstacles to ensure a fair return to the American People. There are many factors that influence an operators decision to lease and develop hey drydro carbons. While some may point to low Commodity Prices as a reason to withhold leasing and production, Market Conditions are no excuse for poor policies or for the federal government failing to uphold its statutory obligation. In fact, many operators avoid federal lands due to unquantity fiable risk and uncertainty. Although the mineral leasing act requires the blm to hold quarterly lease bills, this requirement has not been enforced for years. Further more, once an operator has successfully navigated the federal leasing scheme, the lease he must proceed through the application for a permit to drill or apd review process, which could set drilling back over a year. The uncertainty, relay and risk throughout the process make operational and Financial Planning nearly impossible and is a detriment to the locality, state and the American People. Despite the complications and inefficiencies of leasing under the Previous Administration, we are confidence that the new administration will take the time to carefully examine and optimize the bl ms process. Testified before us last week and shared some of the steps he is taking. In addition to increasing program funding, secretary zinke is increasing field office performance. We are grateful for the departments steps in the right direction and look forward to finding a practical solution to find a responsible developmental process. With that i now recognize the Ranking Member for his statement. Thank you. Thank you, mr. Chairman. First i want to compliment you and all the members on both sides of the aisle of this committee as weve been doing so well in our last few meetings. Theyve been bipartisan, cooperative and constructive. I think today is going to be a little more contentious. Mr. Chairman, i dont oppose oil and Gas Development on public lands, but i do oppose letting oil and gas industry call all the shots on how to manage those lands that are owned by all americans. You know, in all of the above policy does not mean that we dont set priorities. And i am concerned about our priorities. Its only taken five months and nearly every move on energy that this administration has made could have come right out of the executive board rooms of the American Petroleum institute or the National Mining association. That may actually be the case given the number of oil, gas and coal lobbyists who now occupy high ranking positions at the interior department, energy department, the Environmental Protection agency and in the white house. Rules to protect public health, gone. Rules to protect our land, air and water and cut down on pollution, gone. Rules to protect fish and wildlife, gone. Rules to make sure that companies are paying their fair share, gone. The standard seems to be did the Obama Administration put it in place and did one oil and gas or coal company complain about it . If so, its gone. In no place is it more important to balance multiple uses Environmental Protections as well as Economic Development than on americas public lands. This idea of balance, this idea that some areas should be protected while others can be developed is at least in danger now and soon that would be gone too. To quote the statement of the acting assistant secretary, Americas Free markets will help determine where and when Energy Development on public lands is feasible. That means that the idea that these lands which belong to all americans should be managed in a way that will ensure that they are here for our children and our grandchildren. That idea is now gone. Instead the administration is operating under the idea that the department of the interior should become a service station for the oil and gas industry. Which lands would you like to lease . Where and how fast do you want to drill . What regulations do you want us to repeal . Are these National Monuments getting in your way . Just let us know. The department of interior is apparently here to keep you happy. Secretary zinke paid lip service to the idea of supporting all forms of energy to be in favor of the all of the above policy. But if we look at his budget, it increases oil and gas and coal programs by 34 million while renewables suffer a 15. 3 million cut. In fact, the fossil fuel program increase seems to be the only one in the entire interior budget that has an increase. Weve seen this movie before. Weve seen an administration where Energy Policy was literally written by big oil. During the eight years of the Bush Administration, the only measure of success for the bureau of Land Management was how many drilling permits it could issue. What did we get . Interior Department Officials thrown in jail, regulators doing drugs and literally getting into bed with the people they were supposed to be regulating and a thirst for mineral revenues that put Safety Standards on the back burner and helped to contribute to the deep water horizon, according to the president ial oil spill commission. When it comes to giving the keys to our public lands to the oil and gas industry, President Trump has made the Bush Administration look bush league. Look, the fact is that oil and Gas Companies are doing just fine on our public lands and in our oceans. Despite the misleading statistics that theyre going to throw around today. Ill complete with that that Oil Statistics really show that Oil Production on public lands is up 59 since 2008. Offshore production is at a record high. Companies have more than 7,500 approved drilling permits that theyre not using and 26 million acres of public land under lease to be developed. Shows you from, what, i believe its the year 2008 right through 2015 the federal onshore Oil Production and how its increased every single year up to 2015. And 2016 was slightly below 2015 but above all the other years. So in closing, i just want to say our new quest for Energy Dominance, whatever that means, means that never nothing is enough. We must do more. Hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, boating, offroading, grazing and all the use of our public lands are now second to second class oil and gas is dominant. So, mr. Chairman, we have an opportunity on this subcommittee to ensure that energys policies reflect the multiple uses of our public lands for the benefit of all of our constituents, not just the special interests of a few billionaires. Lets not squander. Mr. Chairman, i just want to say in closing, i understand your desire you sent out a few days ago that the title of this hearing would be focusing on onshore. I will try to abide by that. However, the title of the hearing was really called examining access to oil and Gas Development on federal lands. As you know, our outer continental shell is really defined as submerged lands lying seaward of the coastline. And mrs. Manager there may be some questions that come up. I thank the gentleman for that clarification. Im going to get now to introducing our witnesses. The first one, we see a familiar face, ms. Catherine mcgregor. Now im going to yield time to the gentleman from new mexico to introduce the first witness. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Id like to introduce ryan flynn whos executive director of the new mexico oil and gas association. As director of that, he has watched the permitting times on our wells increase from around 200 days to something over 400. He was formerly the secretary of new Mexico Environmental Department where he has a strong reputation of balancing Energy Development with responsible environmental stewardship. Appreciate you being here to testify today. I yield back. Our next witness is mr. Mark sclochie, professor of law, dr. Laura nelson. Let me remind the witnesses that under our Committee Rules they must limit their oral statements to five minutes. But their entire statement will appear in the hearing record. Our microphones are not automatic so youll have to press that little button. If youll watch up front it is green. Then it will turn yellow. Then when you see red, please summarize. Well recognize ms. Mcgregor for her testimony. Welcome back. Thank you, chairman bishop, members of the subcommittee. I have to say its very good to be back here today. I absolutely loved working here and with both majority and minority staff. Im currently acting as secretary for land and Minerals Management at the department of the interior. Our responsibility is the management of four bureaus, office of surface mining, the reclamation and enforcement, the bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the bureau of safety and Environmental Enforcement and the bureau of lands management. I appreciate the opportunity to testify in the oil and gas program which plays a Critical Role in our Nations Energy economy. The blm manages 245 million surface acres and 700 million sub surface acres. Accounting for 7 of our nations on shore oil, 10 of our natural gas and 41 of our coal produced domestically. As well as approximately 18,000 mega watts of Renewable Energy. Last year the blm oil and gas program generated over 1. 56 billion in royalties, rental payments and bonus bids, all of which were shared with states. States and counties in turn use these funds for roads, schools and other important municipal needs. Public lands are integral to the administrations America FirstEnergy Agenda and the priority to maintain u. S. Energy dominance by growing Domestic Energy production and sustaining jobs throughout our country. Access to responsible Energy Development on these lands beginnings with the planning and leasing process. Ten years ago the blm had nearly 45 million acres under lease. Today we are at 27 million acres. This is nearly 10 of all blm managed lands in the unite. In 2016 the blm designated 8. 2 million acres. This is one example of designations that limit how public lands may be used. Responsible Energy Production and conservation need not be mutually exclusive. Thats why its vitally important to secretary to strike the appropriate balance in on shore leasing that allows for job creation in rural america. This is about restoring balance. The department and the blm have been proactive in prioritizing responsible Energy Production on public lands. Including by secretarial order. Order 3349 aims to remove duplicative burdens on Energy Production. Order 3352 will jump start alaskan Energy Production. And the National Petroleum reserve, helping increase throughput in the alas can pipeline. These efforts have already shown to be effective. Under the secretarys leadership the blm has had more lease stales, offered more acreage and generated more revenue in 2017 than this same time last year. Were only just getting started. The blm plans to hold 14 additional lease sale this is year. Still promoting access does not come without its challenges. Im sure that all members of this committee are in close contact with their state and local leaders who do not hesitate to communicate their frustrations. It is the secretarys goal to restore trust. For example, the u. S. Census bureau has found that rural new mexico has one of the highest poverty rates in the country yet rural new mexico is home to some of the most Promising Oil and natural gas deposits in the entire world. This is why the Administration Remains committed to promoting responsible oil and Gas Production that creates jobs, promote a robust economy and contribute to Americas Energy security. There are a multitude of factors that affect access to federal oil and Gas Resources and the department and the blm are reviewing all of these and taking action where possible to encourage development. And improoufl efficiencies without cutting corners to ensure these activities are done in a smart and environment tally responsible way. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today and i will be happy to answer questions. I now recognize mr. Flynn for his five minutes. Thank you. Thank you. My name is ryan flynn. Im the executive director for the new mexico oil and gas association. Prior to taking over i was the secretary of environment and Natural Resource trustee in the state of new mexico and worked in State Government for approximately six years, almost six years prior to taking this role. I want to thank representative pierce for recognizing me. I want to recognize representative pierce as well who just had to step out of the room, but he has been a tremendous leader. His district is home to one of the most resilient and productive oil and gas plays in the world. I want to talk to you a little bit about new mexicos oil and gas industry and talk to you about some challenges to oil and Gas Development on federal lands in new mexico and suggest some opportunities for improving blms operations in new mexico. I want to be very clear that my goal here today is not in any way, shape or form to criticize blm individually. We have had a tremendous working relationship with blm staff and leadership and we look forward to continuing that working relationship moving forward. But like any large agency there are several opportunities for improvement. I believe the secretary has inherited a difficult situation but he is more than capable and up to the task for turning things around in a positive direction. New mexicos oil and gas industry is the most important economic industry to the state of new mexico. Last year in 2016, new mexicos oil and gas industry contributed 1. 6 billion to the states general fund or budget. That equalled roughly 25. 8 of the budget last year. The total budget was about 6. 2 billion. In the last ten years oil and gas typically contributes about a third directly to the states general fund. This money goes directly to roads, hospitals, schools, that infrastructure in the state would simply not be possible without the oil and gas industrys contributions. Our industry also employs over 100,000 people in the state of new mexico, a state with about 1. 8 million people. New mexico also has one of the highest poverty rates in the country with almost a quarter of our population living below the federal poverty line. Oil and gas jobs are extremely attractive in our state. Given that the average wage is about 75,000 a year. Nationally new mexico is one of the top Energy Producing states in the country, ranking fifth in crude Oil Production and eighth in natural Gas Production. Even during a prolonged period of low prices, new mexicos oil and gas industry has remained resilient. In the last eight months were seen major acquisitions and purchases in new mexico totaling over 13 billion. The northern Delaware Ba