,,ii  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #dhcf  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,october #ba   
7legislative day1 ,october #ai71        
#bjbj,mr4 ,tester 7for himself1 ,mr4    
,van ,hollen1 ,mr4 ,wyden1 ,ms4 ,rosen1 
and ,mr4 ,merkley7 introduced the       
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on the      
,judiciary  ,a ,,bill  ,to prevent      
efforts of the ,department of ,justice  
to advocate courts that an individual   
exercising the authority of the head of 
an agency for more than a year1         
regardless of their title1 is not in    
violation of the ,federal ,vacancies    
,reform ,act of #aiih4  #a4 ,short title
 ,this ,act may be cited as the ,public 
,lands ,leadership ,act of #bjbj4  #b4  
,findings ,congress finds that-- 7#a7   
,william ,perry ,pendley is not an      
appropriate choice to lead1 work in1 or 
advise any public land management agency
 due to his record prior to his         
employment at the ,bureau of ,land      

,management1 and his continuing work    
there2  7#b7 ,mr4 ,pendley has a lengthy
 and public record supporting the       
transfer and privatization of public    
land1 including the #bde1jjj1jjj acres  
and #gjj1jjj1jjj subsurface acres he    
oversaw as de facto ,acting ,director of
 the ,bureau of ,land ,management2  7#c7
 ,mr4 ,pendley has pursued the          
development of natural resources on     
public lands at the expense of ,tribal  
consultation1 public comment1 and       
reasonable oversight2  7#d7 ,mr4        
,pendley has professionally advocated   
for oil and gas leases issued in the    
,badger-,two ,medicine area1 despite the
 leases being issued without            
consultation with the ,blackfeet        
,nation1 and despite the later decision 
of the ,department of ,interior to      
cancel the leases2  7#e7 ,mr4 ,pendley  
has opposed and litigated public access 
to streams and rivers in ,montana       
through his professional opposition to  
the ,montana ,stream ,access ,law2  7#f7

 ,mr4 ,pendley has expressed public     
support for armed insurrection against  
the agency he oversaw as de facto       
,acting ,director of the ,bureau of     
,land ,management2  7#g7 ,mr4 ,pendley  
has publicly opposed bedrock public     
lands laws that protect the land he     
oversaw as de facto ,acting ,director of
 the ,bureau of ,land ,management2  7#h7
 ,mr4 ,pendley has made disparaging     
racial comments1 indicating he does not 
intend to serve the entire citizenry    
equitably and without prejudice2  7#i7  
,mr4 ,pendley has openly mocked the     
cultures and traditions of ,tribal      
nations1 demonstrating his inability to 
serve as a reliable ,federal partner for
 ,tribes and to uphold the trust and    
treaty responsibilities of the ,federal 
,government2  7#aj7 ,mr4 ,pendley has   
reversed course on decades of           
collaborative efforts by private        
landowners1 ranchers1 ,state and local  
governments1 and other stakeholders to  
protect rangeland ecosystems and the    

greater sage grouse2  7#aa7 ,mr4        
,pendley has issued problematic         
,resource ,management ,plans in ,montana
 and other ,states that fly in the face 
of large-scale public opposition to     
prioritizing energy development over    
collaborative conservation efforts and  
other activities2  7#ab7 despite his    
problematic record1 ,mr4 ,pendley served
 in the top leadership role at the      
,bureau of ,land ,management for over a 
year1 and continues to be retained in a 
senior position2  7#ac7 ,mr4 ,pendley   
served as ,deputy ,director for ,policy 
and ,programs exercising the authority  
of the director of the ,bureau of ,land 
,management for #dbd days2  7#ad7 ,mr4  
,pendley was the de facto ,acting       
,director of the ,bureau of ,land       
,management during this period1         
regardless of his specific title2  7#ae7
 the extended role of ,mr4 ,pendley at  
the ,bureau of ,land ,management is a   
clear violation of sections #ccde       
through #ccdi;d of title #e1 ,united    

,states ,code 7commonly known as the    
,federal ,vacancies ,reform ,act of     
#aiih71 as determined by the ,united    
,states ,district ,court for the        
,district of ,montana1 and undermines   
the constitutional responsibility of the
 ,senate to review nominations for      
agency leadership2  7#af7 on ,september 
#be1 #bjbj1 the ,united ,states         
,district ,court for the ,district of   
,montana ruled that the lengthy tenure  
of ,mr4 ,pendley as de facto ,acting    
,director was illegal2  7#ag7 ,mr4      
,pendley continues to operate in a      
senior leadership role at the ,bureau of
 ,land ,management2  7#ah7 the          
,department of ,interior continues to   
employ ,mr4 ,pendley1 and has publicly  
stated its intention to contest the     
court ruling2 and  7#ai7 the failure of 
the ,president to advance a formal      
nominee for the position of the         
,director of the ,bureau of ,land       
,management for congressional review and
 confirmation over the past #ca_/b years

 significantly undermines the           
constitutional responsibility of the    
,senate to provide advice and consent on
 all offices of the ,united ,states4    
#c4 ,prohibiting ,,doj efforts to       
advocate courts to protect the role of  
,william ,pendley as de facto ,acting   
,director ,the ,department of ,justice  
may not1 in ,bullock v4 ,united ,states 
,bureau of ,land ,management1 ,no4      
#d3bj-;cv-#jjjfb-;,,bmm1 #bjbj ,,wl     
#egdfhcf 7,d4 ,mont4 ,sept4 #be1 #bjbj71
 advocate that an individual exercising 
the authority of the head of an agency1 
regardless of their title and serving   
without congressional consent for over a
 year1 is not in violation of sections  
#ccde through #ccdi;d of title #e1      
,united ,states ,code 7commonly known as
 the 8,federal ,vacancies ,reform ,act  
of #aiih074