EARA

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Hageman for drawing attention to the issues with the Interior Board of Land Appeals.

The IBLA resolves disputes related to public lands and natural resources under the Department of the Interior. However, the IBLA can take too long to decide these cases, leaving people waiting for years for a decision.

For example, at the end of fiscal year 2023, the IBLA had cases on their docket from fiscal year 2017. The Expedited Appeals Review Act would attempt to address this problem by creating an optional process for appellants to get expedited review from the IBLA.

Under this bill, if the IBLA does not make a decision by the expedited review deadline, the appellant can take the case directly to district court. The court would start the case de novo, compiling the facts of the case without deference to the original agency's decisionmaking.

While I agree with Representative Hageman that the IBLA timelines are a problem, I do have some concerns that the proposed solution doesn't get to the root of the problem. The underlying cause behind the IBLA's delays is a lack of capacity and resources.

The Board has stated it does not have the resources needed to resolve every appeal filed every fiscal year. Instead

of setting more deadlines that we know the IBLA can't meet, we should be appropriately staffing our agencies and review boards across the Federal Government.

Additionally, I am concerned this bill will create a fast-tracked review procedure that advantages wealthier appellants. Taking the case to district court is time-and resource-intensive, so only the wealthiest appellants are likely to use the expedited review process.

By making the IBLA focus its limited resources on expedited appeals, anyone without the money to take their case to district court may have to wait even longer.

I hope my Republican colleagues will work with us on providing the IBLA with the resources that would address the underlying problem here while also having an expedited review process.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 677) to establish a process to expedite the review of appeals of certain decisions by the Department of the Interior, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 677, as amended, the bill now under consideration.

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

I rise today in support of H.R. 677, the Expedited Appeals Review Act, introduced by Representative Hageman. This bill addresses critical flaws currently plaguing the review process of the Interior Board of Land Appeals, or IBLA.

The IBLA functions as an appellate review body within the Department of the Interior. It is tasked with resolving the many disputes that arise in connection with the public lands and natural resources under the Department's jurisdiction.

With over 600 appeals pending before the IBLA, however, many cases go undecided and are simply left to expire. This effectively results in automatic denials even though no substantive decisions have been rendered.

Thankfully, H.R. 677 offers a needed off-ramp for appellants that the IBLA has left in limbo. Starting 1 year after filing the appeal, an appellant may submit a request that requires the IBLA to decide the case within 6 months.

If the IBLA fails to meet the new deadline, the case automatically becomes eligible for de novo judicial review outside of the Department. This solution will reduce the existing backlog while ensuring stakeholders receive their day in court.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to join me in support of H.R. 677, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from Wyoming (Ms. Hageman), the lead sponsor of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, this legislation will provide a more efficient and predictable form of recourse for those facing extended delays with their IBLA appeals.

Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleague from Wyoming (Ms. Hageman) for her work on this important subject. I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 677, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in favor of my bill, H.R. 677, the Expedited Appeals Review Act, or EARA. This bill addresses the backlog of appeals before the Interior Board of Land Appeals, or IBLA.

The IBLA is an appellant review board within the Department of the Interior, and it is tasked with resolving disputes involving public lands and natural resources under the Department's jurisdiction. This includes appeals involving the Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, Office of Natural Resources Revenue, and Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement.

It considers appeals dealing with grazing, mining, energy development, wildfire management, timber harvesting, trespass, and more.

The IBLA's stated mission is: ``to provide an impartial forum within the Department of the Interior for the fair resolution of disputes involving public lands and natural resources under the Department's jurisdiction.''

There are, however, longstanding inefficiencies in the appeals process. When combined with the high volume of cases, it has resulted in a backlog of over 650 pending appeals dating all the way back to 2014.

The IBLA receives on average 290 appeals per fiscal year. Of those cases that are not resolved on jurisdictional or procedural grounds, only 2 percent are decided in favor of the appellant and against the agency.

As instituted, the IBLA is not only falling short of its stated mission for impartiality, but creating further burdens through its extensive backlog.

The EARA creates an alternative path for expedited review, allowing stakeholders to request an accelerated decision of their appeals within 6 months of such a request. Failure to meet this deadline then makes the decision immediately eligible for de novo judicial review outside of the Department.

This bill will alleviate the backlog in the IBLA, put the appealing entities on a level playing field with the Department and promote efficiency.

I am proud that this bill passed out of committee by unanimous consent, and I urge all of my colleagues to support this bill.