Title: Public Lands Leadership Act of 2020
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Public Lands Leadership Act of 2020
This bill prohibits the Department of Justice (DOJ) from taking a certain position in the case of Bullock v. United States Bureau of Land Management. Specifically, DOJ may not argue that an individual exercising the authority of the head of an agency, regardless of the individual's title and the individual serving without congressional consent for over a year, does not violate the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998. (That Act generally sets out the means by which an individual may temporarily serve in an executive agency position that requires the advice and consent of the Senate, including the categories of qualifying individuals and the duration of such service.)

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4836 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4836

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 year, regardless of their title, is not in violation of the 
                 Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

             October 21 (legislative day, October 19), 2020

Mr. Tester (for himself, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Wyden, Ms. Rosen, and Mr. 
   Merkley) introduced the following bill; 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 year, regardless of their title, is not in violation of the 
                 Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Public Lands Leadership Act of 
2020''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) William Perry Pendley is not an appropriate choice to 
        lead, work in, or advise any public land management agency due 
        to his record prior to his employment at the Bureau of Land 
        Management, and his continuing work there;
            (2) Mr. Pendley has a lengthy and public record supporting 
        the transfer and privatization of public land, including the 
        245,000,000 acres and 700,000,000 subsurface acres he oversaw 
        as de facto Acting Director of the Bureau of Land Management;
            (3) Mr. Pendley has pursued the development of natural 
        resources on public lands at the expense of Tribal 
        consultation, public comment, and reasonable oversight;
            (4) Mr. Pendley has professionally advocated for oil and 
        gas leases issued in the Badger-Two Medicine area, despite the 
        leases being issued without consultation with the Blackfeet 
        Nation, and despite the later decision of the Department of 
        Interior to cancel the leases;
            (5) Mr. Pendley has opposed and litigated public access to 
        streams and rivers in Montana through his professional 
        opposition to the Montana Stream Access Law;
            (6) Mr. Pendley has expressed public support for armed 
        insurrection against the agency he oversaw as de facto Acting 
        Director of the Bureau of Land Management;
            (7) Mr. Pendley has publicly opposed bedrock public lands 
        laws that protect the land he oversaw as de facto Acting 
        Director of the Bureau of Land Management;
            (8) Mr. Pendley has made disparaging racial comments, 
        indicating he does not intend to serve the entire citizenry 
        equitably and without prejudice;
            (9) Mr. Pendley has openly mocked the cultures and 
        traditions of Tribal nations, demonstrating his inability to 
        serve as a reliable Federal partner for Tribes and to uphold 
        the trust and treaty responsibilities of the Federal 
        Government;
            (10) Mr. Pendley has reversed course on decades of 
        collaborative efforts by private landowners, ranchers, State 
        and local governments, and other stakeholders to protect 
        rangeland ecosystems and the greater sage grouse;
            (11) Mr. 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 
        activities;
            (12) despite his problematic record, Mr. Pendley served in 
        the top leadership role at the Bureau of Land Management for 
        over a year, and continues to be retained in a senior position;
            (13) Mr. Pendley served as Deputy Director for Policy and 
        Programs exercising the authority of the director of the Bureau 
        of Land Management for 424 days;
            (14) Mr. Pendley was the de facto Acting Director of the 
        Bureau of Land Management during this period, regardless of his 
        specific title;
            (15) the extended role of Mr. Pendley at the Bureau of Land 
        Management is a clear violation of sections 3345 through 3349d 
        of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the ``Federal 
        Vacancies Reform Act of 1998''), as determined by the United 
        States District Court for the District of Montana, and 
        undermines the constitutional responsibility of the Senate to 
        review nominations for agency leadership;
            (16) on September 25, 2020, the United States District 
        Court for the District of Montana ruled that the lengthy tenure 
        of Mr. Pendley as de facto Acting Director was illegal;
            (17) Mr. Pendley continues to operate in a senior 
        leadership role at the Bureau of Land Management;
            (18) the Department of Interior continues to employ Mr. 
        Pendley, and has publicly stated its intention to contest the 
        court ruling; and
            (19) 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 3\1/2\ years significantly undermines the constitutional 
        responsibility of the Senate to provide advice and consent on 
        all offices of the United States.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITING DOJ EFFORTS TO ADVOCATE COURTS TO PROTECT THE ROLE 
              OF WILLIAM PENDLEY AS DE FACTO ACTING DIRECTOR.

    The Department of Justice may not, in Bullock v. United States 
Bureau of Land Management, No. 4:20-cv-00062-BMM, 2020 WL 5746836 (D. 
Mont. Sept. 25, 2020), advocate that an individual exercising the 
authority of the head of an agency, regardless of their title and 
serving without congressional consent for over a year, is not in 
violation of sections 3345 through 3349d of title 5, United States Code 
(commonly known as the ``Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998'').
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