“The world is changed by your example, not by your opinion.”
~ Tim Ferriss

Hello and Happy Wednesday!

Today is the day that S1377 gets its first hearing in front of the House!

Exciting times for sure!

Federal legislation can be confusing because it is not something that we deal with often.  There are similarities between what we experienced from the ND State Legislature but there are also significant differences.

I mentioned I spent most of the summer contacting members of the House.  I ended up making some GREAT contacts and have met some wonderful people that I can ask questions to who have helped me understand this process.

So, what is happening?

TODAY the House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee’s Subcommittee on Federal Lands is holding a hearing.

What does that mean?

It means that this committee is meeting to gather information and hear testimony about the bills on their agenda.

The Committee will NOT vote on anything today.

What’s next?

The Natural Resources Committee will meet and discuss the bills.  This is where the “mark ups” can happen.  This is where the amendments we are asking for can be put into the final bill that the House will vote on. 

I am being told that there will NOT be another Committee meeting until AFTER the November election. 

If the Committee decides to pass the legislation (with or without the amendments) it will go to the full House floor for a vote. 

If a different version passes the House than what was passed in the Senate, the House version of the bill will go back to the Senate floor for a vote.

You can see that we have taken the appropriate actions at the right time!

This was the time to let the Committee know that we would like to see amendments to this legislation.  That is what all your calls and emails did!

We also targeted North Dakota Congresswoman Julie Fedorchak’s office because while Senator Hoeven introduced this bill into the Senate, there had to be someone on the House side that would “carry” the bill for him.  That person is Julie Fedorchak.

Congresswoman Fedorchak COULD HAVE written her own version of the bill and introduced that to the Committee.  Instead, she chose simply introduce Senator Hoeven’s Senate bill instead. 

We hope that helps you understand this process a little better – where things are, what is happening in this moment and where the rest of this journey will take us.

We also hope you can see that we STILL have some work to do over the next few months!

As a reminder, our Calls to Action are STILL open and you can take these actions as often as you like!

Please email Congresswoman Fedorchak: https://secure.everyaction.com/B4aEEYrcU06vk6tzPKO2_Q2

Please email members of the House Natural Resources Committee Subcommittee on Federal Lands: https://secure.everyaction.com/Tg_0crd4L0mYKFCyakNkAg2

Today’s Committee hearing starts at 2 pm Eastern time.  You can watch the hearing live here: https://naturalresources.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=419053 

Thank you again for your continued support and have a great day!

---

Please help support our critical advocacy work! Click our logo below: