Summary

Nullifies the Bureau of Land Management’s Buffalo Field Office Record of Decision and Approved Resource Management Plan Amendment issued November 20, 2024, by declaring that document to “have no force or effect.” The joint resolution relies on a Government Accountability Office letter that found the document meets the definition of a rule under the Congressional Review Act and therefore permits Congressional disapproval. If enacted, the disapproval rescinds the specified ROD/RMP amendment immediately and, under the Congressional Review Act framework, generally prevents the agency from issuing a substantially similar rule without further congressional authorization or a new rulemaking process.

Key Points

• Directly nullifies the BLM Buffalo Field Office Record of Decision and Approved Resource Management Plan Amendment issued Nov. 20, 2024.
• Relies on a GAO determination that the document is a rule under the Congressional Review Act.
• Uses the CRA joint-resolution process to rescind the identified rule and remove its legal force.
• Rescission halts implementation of any actions that depend on that ROD/RMP amendment and returns management to the prior plan or status quo.
• Under standard CRA effects, the agency is generally barred from issuing a substantially similar rule without subsequent authorization or a new rulemaking.
• Does not appropriate funds, create new programs, or authorize alternative land-management decisions.
• Affects agency operations, local stakeholders, recreation and resource users, and industries relying on BLM land-use decisions.
• Could prompt administrative follow-up at BLM (revisions, outreach) and possible legal or policy disputes among affected stakeholders.

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