Public Lands Military Readiness Act of 2025

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5131) to extend military land withdrawals in Alaska, New Mexico, and California for a period of 25 years and to make technical corrections to descriptions for certain military land withdrawals, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 5131, the bill now under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 5131, the Public Lands Military Readiness Act of 2025, sponsored by Representative Begich of Alaska.

This is an important bill that ensures our military continues to have access to the lands they need to train, test, and remain ready to deter and defeat our Nation's adversaries abroad.

H.R. 5131 extends critical land withdrawals for an additional 25 years at Fort Greely and Fort Wainwright in Alaska, Fort Irwin in California, and the McGregor Range at Fort Bliss in New Mexico. These lands provide unique training environments, restricted airspace, and infrastructure that cannot be replicated elsewhere. They are essential for Arctic operations, brigade-level exercises, missile defense testing, and joint training with our allied forces.

The importance of this legislation cannot be overstated. It is vital that we continue to allow the Army to use these unique areas. Fort Greely and Fort Wainwright in Alaska have the only Arctic training environments in this Nation. Fort Irwin, in California's Mojave Desert, houses the National Training Center, the Army's premier site for brigade-level, force-on-force training exercises. Finally, the McGregor Range in southern New Mexico supports Patriot missile live-fire exercises, aerial gunnery, and large-scale mobilization training. Without these vital training areas, we would risk losing our military's strategic advantage over hostile foreign nations.

I commend Representative Begich for his leadership on this effort. His bill provides long-term certainty to the U.S. Army so they can continue training and testing effectively as they prepare for the threats of tomorrow. By advancing this legislation, he is not only helping Alaska, but the entire Nation, by ensuring we have the most capable, prepared Armed Forces in the entire world.

I also thank the U.S. Army for their continued service to our Nation and for their collaboration on this effort. They strongly support this bill, and we were grateful to work alongside them to advance this legislation.

This is a good bill. It strengthens national security, provides certainty for our servicemembers, and ensures America remains prepared to deter aggression and protect our interests around the world. This legislation also directly reflects the priorities set forth in President Trump's executive order on prioritizing military excellence and readiness, which reaffirmed America's commitment to the military superiority necessary to counter new and emerging threats.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Begich for his hard work on this legislation which helps our military. I urge my colleagues to support his bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

House of Representatives,

Committee on Armed Services,

Washington, DC, December 8, 2025.

Hon. Bruce Westerman,

Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources,

House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Westerman: H.R. 5131, the ``Public Lands

Military Readiness Act of 2025'', was referred primarily to

the Committee on Natural Resources, with an additional

referral to the Committee on Armed Services.

H.R. 5131 contains provisions within the Committee on Armed

Services' Rule X jurisdiction. As a result of your having

consulted with the Committee and to expedite this bill for

floor consideration, the Committee on Armed Services will

forego action on the bill. This is being done based on our

mutual understanding that doing so will in no way diminish or

alter the jurisdiction of the Committee on Armed Services

with respect to the appointment of conferees, or to any

future jurisdictional claim over the subject matters

contained in the bill or similar bills.

I would appreciate your response to this letter confirming

this understanding, and would request that you include a copy

of this letter and your response in the committee report or

in the Congressional Record during floor consideration of

this bill. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Sincerely,

Mike Rogers,

Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Begich), who is the lead sponsor on this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I, again, thank Representative Begich for his leadership on the Public Lands Military Readiness Act of 2025. This bill ensures that our military's capabilities and readiness will remain strong as we move into the future.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 5131, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, H.R. 5131, the Public Lands Military Readiness Act of 2025. This is a bipartisan, commonsense measure that ensures our Armed Forces retain access to some of the most essential training lands in the United States.

For decades, public lands in Alaska, New Mexico, and California have been withdrawn from military use under statute. These withdrawals are not permanent, they must be renewed by Congress, and several of them are now scheduled to expire.

If Congress fails to act, then critical training areas at Fort Wainwright and Fort Greely in Alaska, the McGregor Range in New Mexico, and Fort Irwin in California would lose their legal status for military use.

H.R. 5131 solves that problem by extending these withdrawals for 25 more years and making necessary technical corrections to land descriptions to ensure accuracy and proper management.

In Alaska alone, this bill protects more than 850,000 acres of world- class training terrain used by the 11th Airborne Division, the Army's only Arctic-designated division. These soldiers must train in extreme cold, remote, and challenging environments in order to be prepared for real-world missions in the high north. There is simply no substitute for the terrain and conditions Alaska provides.

This legislation does not expand the military footprint or limit public access beyond what is already established. Importantly, this bill does not bypass environmental review. In fact, the military has engaged in robust consultation with Tribes, local communities, conservation groups, and stakeholders across Alaska, New Mexico, and California.

What this bill does is straightforward. It preserves readiness, strengthens national security, and upholds responsible stewardship of public lands, all while ensuring the continuity of training operations that our servicemembers rely on to stay prepared and to stay safe.

At a time when global threats are ever-present, particularly in the Arctic, Congress must ensure our military can train as they fight. H.R. 5131 accomplishes exactly that.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their support, and I urge all Members to join me in voting ``yes'' on this important legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5131, legislation introduced by my colleague from Alaska (Mr. Begich). This important bill will extend the public land withdrawals for several military installations that operate on public lands in Alaska, California, and New Mexico.

Our public lands do a lot. As we have already discussed on the floor of the House today, they mean a lot to the American people.

One critical function that many Americans may not know about is their role in supporting military training, readiness, and other strategic missions throughout the country.

The use of these lands, as made possible by the extensions provided by this bill, is incredibly important to the U.S. Army and the Department of Defense. I thank the majority for working with us in a bipartisan manner to ensure swift consideration of these provisions.

A version of this language is expected to be included in this year's final version of the National Defense Authorization Act, which is expected to get a floor vote very soon. This will ensure that the critical operations at each of these installations proceed without interruption.

Lastly, Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Begich for his work on this bill. I urge swift passage, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.