Heinrich Votes No on Pearce, Commits to Holding BLM Nominee Accountable to Pledges on National Monument and Public Lands

WASHINGTON - During a business meeting on the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to consider pending nominations and legislation, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the Committee, voted no on advancing former Congressman Steve Pearce's nomination for the Director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

Heinrich also voted against Kyle Haustveit's nomination to be the Under Secretary of Energy and David LaCerte's nomination for a full term on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, citing the Trump administration's attacks on innovative energy technologies and clean energy.

VIDEO: Ranking Member Henrich (D-N.M.) delivers opening remarks during a Committee hearing to consider pending nominees and legislation, March 4, 2026.

Additionally, Heinrich voiced his concerns and opposition with the Grasslands Grazing Act and the Montana Sportsmen Conservation Act.

A video of Heinrich's opening remarks can be found here.

A transcript of Heinrich's remarks as delivered is below:

I have known Congressman Pearce a long time. And while I appreciate his testimony before the Energy and Natural Resources Committee last week, I cannot in good faith vote to advance his nomination to serve as our Bureau of Land Management Director.

When Congressman Pearce testified, he promised that he would not recommend rolling back national monument designations, something which is extremely important to me; and he acknowledged that BLM cannot conduct large-scale sell-offs of public lands under existing law, which is correct.

I intend to hold him to these statements. But I also know that commitments to follow the law by previous Trump administration nominees have proven unreliable at times.

And while Congressman Pearce has said that his past actions opposing national monument designations and calling for public land sell-offs are in his rearview mirror, they remain very much in the memory of every New Mexican who faced his opposition to protecting the lands that they cherish.

Like my constituents, I cannot ignore Congressman Pearce's record and for these reasons, I will be voting "no" on his nomination.

I will also be voting "no" on Mr. Haustveit's nomination to be the Under Secretary of Energy.

I voted for his nomination to be Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy last year, but the role of the Under Secretary is far broader than a single fuel source.

Mr. Haustveit's insistence on picking the "best of the above" energy sources is inconsistent with the "all-of-the-above" policy that Democrats and Republicans alike have championed for decades.

It is also inconsistent with the role of the Under Secretary, who must oversee the Department's loan program, which was created to promote innovative energy technologies for the 21st century, not to subsidize the technologies of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Finally, I will vote "no" on Mr. LaCerte's nomination for a full term to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

I was encouraged by his strong commitment to ratepayer protection, affordability, reliability, resource neutrality, and Commission independence at his confirmation hearing.

I also acknowledge that he has faithfully served on the Commission for the past five months.

But as I said when I voted against Laura Swett's nomination last fall, these are not normal times.

This administration is creating a grid crisis, it's killing good union jobs, and it's raising electricity prices with its back-to-the-past energy policies, and until this administration respects the will of Congress, I cannot in good conscience support its nominees.

We also have 12 public lands bills on today's agenda, and I am pleased to support many of them, including a bill to establish the Ralph David Abernathy National Historic Site, as well as legislation that will resolve some longstanding land issues in Carson City, Nevada, a place I know well.

I am also glad Chairman Lee and I were able to come to some agreement on S. 3004 [the Upper Price River Watershed Project Act of 2025] to convey public land for the city of Price, Utah to be used for public purposes.

However, I want to say a few words about two bills I will be voting against.

First, on S. 2787: in 2014, Congress recognized that the Bureau of Land Management's backlog of environmental reviews created uncertainty for stock-growers.

And to address it, Congress allowed grazing permits to continue until the required review could be completed.

Nearly a decade later, the problem has only grown. It is even more common for grazing on public lands to be extended without any review by the agency to adjust terms to meet changing rangeland conditions, which they are changing.

Sixty percent of acres on Bureau of Land Management land that are currently being grazed are under automatic renewals without any review by agency staff.

I am not opposed to consistency in managing grazing across public lands. I think that makes sense.

However, I cannot support legislation that expands the practice of perpetual and automatic renewals of any public land use, including grazing.

And for these reasons, I will be voting no on S. 2787.

Secondly, on S. 3527: as the members of this committee know, this committee is not moving legislation to designate new wilderness areas, national monuments, or conservation areas.

That's the prerogative of the Chairman.

But I cannot support removing public land conservation in some places, without adding it in places where conservation is broadly supported by local communities and elected leaders.

I hope we can find a path forward for this bill, just like I hope we can find a path forward for conservation bills in New Mexico, in Colorado, in California, in Oregon, and every other state with a wilderness bill that is awaiting action by this committee.

But until we can move wilderness study area release together with designation, I will oppose S. 3527.

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