House Republicans, supported by Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman, are looking into the Biden administration’s plan to allow private ownership of public lands due to energy and national security concerns. The main focus of the inquiry is a controversial proposal for a rule change by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that would permit the formation and trading of Natural Asset Companies (NACs) on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
The Intrinsic Exchange Group, in collaboration with the New York Stock Exchange, defines NACs as organizations created to manage natural assets like forests, wetlands, and coral reefs with the goal of promoting healthy ecosystems. If this proposal is passed, NACs will be allowed to be traded on the open market, which might lead to private investors managing and controlling national parks and other properties under government control.
House Republicans are most concerned about the impacts of NACs on federal land management, wildlife habitat preservation, and natural resource development. They argue that this conduct amounts to an unprecedented power grab and might seriously threaten the statutory multiple-use requirements of public lands.
Under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, Congress mandated a number of uses of lands under federal control, including mining, grazing, energy production, and recreational activities. However, environmentalists have supported the SEC’s proposed NAC and pushed for the opening of regions for conservation.
Republicans warn that the final say on whether NACs supervise federal lands may go with environmental activists rather than Congress or government officials. Concerns regarding the potential for foreign ownership of state property and the outsourcing of energy production are also expressed by them. The Committee emphasized the risks associated with allowing foreign participation in America’s natural resources, as this could lead to a greater dependence on external energy supplies and compromise national security.
The SEC had opted to postpone its rulemaking on NACs in order to allow stakeholders more time to offer feedback, based on the request of Republican state financial officers. Twenty-five attorneys general, led by the attorneys general of Kansas and Utah, Sean Reyes, and Kris Kobach, demanded in comments sent to the SEC that the organization rescind its NAC plan.
Kobach and other opponents of NACs contend that they endanger national security and provide private and foreign entities the ability to take over public lands. Utah State Treasurer Marlo Oaks claims that foreign adversaries may invest in NACs in order to lock up natural resources and increase dependency on other countries.
NACs will limit people’s ability to hunt and enjoy public lands, according to Will Hild, executive director of Consumers’ Research, who outlined the dangers these laws pose to the American people. The investigation by the House Republicans sheds light on the challenging and contentious issues surrounding the nation’s management and usage of public lands.