Congress stops a rule that protected Minnesota federal lands
H.J.Res. 140 — Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Bureau of Land Management relating to Public Land Order No. 7917 for Withdrawal of Federal Lands; Cook, Lake, and Saint Louis Counties, MN. · Filed by Pete Stauber (R-MN) · 4 cosponsors · Introduced Jan 12, 2026 · Signed
Your members of Congress
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What it does
Congress voted to reject a 2023 rule by the Bureau of Land Management. That rule had stopped mining and development on federal lands. The lands are in three Minnesota counties: Cook, Lake, and Saint Louis. The vote reverses the rule. Now those lands can be used for mining and business.
Who it affects
People in Cook, Lake, and Saint Louis Counties lose protections on federal lands. Companies that want to mine or drill for minerals can now apply for permits.
One thing to notice
The rule had withdrawn the lands from mining. Congress voted to undo that withdrawal.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
4 cosponsors: 4 Republicans.
- Jan 12, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jan 12, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Natural Resources · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources”
- Jan 21, 2026 — Passed the House · Congress.gov: “On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 214 - 208 (Roll no. 38). (text: CR H1147)”
- Apr 16, 2026 — Passed both chambers · Congress.gov: “Passed Senate without amendment by Yea-Nay Vote. 50 - 49. Record Vote Number: 84”
- Apr 17, 2026 — Sent to president · Congress.gov: “Presented to President”
- Apr 27, 2026 — Signed into law · Congress.gov: “Became Public Law No: 119-85”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
13 groups reported lobbying about this bill. They filed 15 reports from Mar 2026 to Jun 2026.
Those reports show $3,740,524 in lobbying spending. Each report lists about 27 bills. So that money was not all for this bill.
More groups named this bill than 94% of bills with any report.
Pete Stauber, who sponsored the bill, received $937,374 from PACs for the 2026 election.
- Nature Conservancy — $900,000 in 1 report
- National Mining Association — $820,000 in 1 report
- International Brotherhood of Teamsters — $489,143 in 1 report
- Earthjustice Action — $376,600 in 2 reports
- Building and Construction Trades Dept AFL-CIO — $290,000 in 1 report
Lobbying is legal. These reports show who lobbied about this bill, not what changed.
Words to know
- Bureau of Land Management — The federal agency that manages public lands owned by the U.S. government.
- withdrawn — Taken out of use for a specific purpose, like mining or drilling.
- federal lands — Land owned by the U.S. government, not by states or private people.
- lobbying — Trying to influence lawmakers about a bill. Companies and groups pay people to do this.
- PACs — Groups that collect money and give it to candidates for office.
- sponsored — To sponsor a bill is to introduce it in Congress and put your name on it.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,215 characters) on Jul 10, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 14,206 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Mar 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-09-17.
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