Budget reconciliation could take a huge toll on Alaska

by | May 8, 2025

A pacific loon swims in a still lake. Behind it is a snowy and mountainous range. Both the loon and the pink mountains are reflected in the lake.

A Pacific loon photographed by Malkolm Boothroyd/malkolmboothroyd.com

Update: Republicans in the House narrowly passed their budget reconciliation bill May 21, and there are a couple of bright spots. Requirements for oil and gas leases in the Western Arctic’s National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska and permitting for the proposed Ambler Road were both removed from the bill. Read our full update here.

With the political shift in Washington D.C., the legislative whirlwind of budget reconciliation could be a disaster for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and all of Alaska.

On paper, this process is all about government revenue, spending, taxes, and balancing the budget. In practice, budget reconciliation is a tool for the party in power to fund a wide-range of political priorities because it only requires a majority vote in the House and Senate—rather than the typical 60 votes for Senate bills.

During the first Trump administration, the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act mandated a harmful oil and gas leasing program for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge which was a huge economic failure. 

Now, Republicans on the House Natural Resources Committee have laid out even more destructive proposals for Alaska. Although not yet finalized, here are some of the potentially harmful policies: 

  • Four oil and gas lease sales of at least 400,000 acres in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge over ten years. 
  • Leases every two years in the Western Arctic (NPR-A), offering at least 4 million acres.
  • Permitting the Ambler Mining Road.
  • Six offshore oil and gas leases in Cook Inlet in the next ten years.

The current legislation also attempts to undermine federal environmental oversight, turning it into a pay-to-play model where extractive industries could fund their own fast-tracked environmental reviews. Making this proposed legislation even worse, it attempts to undercut long-standing precedent for agency and judicial review. 

So, to recap: This is truly an appalling smorgasbord of horrible policy.

As the last failed Arctic leases show, these policies are not actually about raising federal revenue. That means that based on Senate rules, they shouldn’t be included in budget reconciliation. 

Now is the time to tell the Alaska delegation these proposed policies are bad business, bad for the environment, and bad for Alaskans. 

Read more in this statement from Grandmothers Growing Goodness.