Document gbvan6RvG7pjbzL8DaqBRZ1e3

SUSAN M COLLINS, MAINE, CHAIR MITCH McCoNNELL, KENTUCKY USA MURKOWSKI. ALASKA UNDSEY GRAHAM. SOUTH CAROUNA JERRY MORAN. KANSAS JOHN HOEVEN, NORTH DAKOTA JOHN BOWMAN. ARKANSAS SHELLEY MOORE CARITO, WEST VIRGINIA JOHN KENNEDY. LOUISIANA CINDY HYDE-SMITH. MISSISSIPPI BILL HAGERTY, TENNESSEE KATIE BOYD BRITT, ALABAMA mARKWAYNE LuN, OKLAHOMA DES FISCHER, NEBRASKA MIKE ROUNDS. SOUTH DAKOTA PATTY MURRAY,WASHIIGTON. VICE CHAIR RICHARD J. DURBIN,IUJNOIS JACK REED.RHODEMAW JEANNE SHAHEEN, NEW HAMPSHIRE JEFF MERKLEY, OREGON CHRISTOPHER A. COONS, DELAWARE BRIAN SCHATZ, HAWAII TAMMY BALDWIN, WISCONSIN CHRISTOPHER MURPHY. CONNECTICUT CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, MARYLAND MARTIN HEINRICH, NEW MEXICO GARY C. PETERS, MICHIGAN KASTEN E. GILLJBRANO, NEW YORK JON OSSOFF, GEORGIA ELIZABETH McDONNEI.1, STAFF DIRECTOR EVAN T. SCHATZ DEMOCRATIC STAFF DIRECTOR 3.4ttitett *atm *nate COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS WASHINGTON, DC 20510-6025 http://appropriations.senate,gov February 18, 2025 The Honorable Doug Burgum Secretary of the Interior U.S. Department of the Interior 1849 C. Street N.W. Washington D.C. 20240 Dear Secretary Burgum: Congratulations on your confirmation to be Secretary of the Interior. As Chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and the Environment, I very much look forward to working with you on the many issues facing our nation and the State of Alaska. I believe that one of the most critical tools that your department has in helping achieve the President's agenda are its people. I understand and appreciate that it is the new Administration's prerogative to implement its policies and plans, to include identifying wasteful spending. operational redundancies, and programmatic reviews. I also firmly believe that reform is needed, that efficiencies can be identified, and that all federal employees -- whether politically appointed or career civil servants -- should be accountable for their actions. However, any wholesale organizational changes to your department/agency should be done thoughtfully, pragmatically, and judiciously. To that end, I remind you that Section 422 of the annual act providing appropriations to the department/agency requires a notification to Congress in advance of certain actions, including "proposed reorganizations, workforce restructure, reshaping, transfer or functions, or bureau-wide downsizing and include closures, consolidations, and relocations of offices, facilities, and laboratories." In order to determine whether the actions initiated prior to and since your confirmation may implicate these requirements, I request that the Department provide a briefing on what actions have been taken to date, and what, if any, further actions are contemplated. Again, congratulations on your confirmation. I look forward to working with you to help the Department succeed. Sincerely, Lis Murkowski Chairman Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and the Environment Sierra Club v. Dept of Interior - 3:25-cv-05375-PHK 0000186 SC_EVERSPLIT0013152