Constitution Index · H.J.Res. 130 · 2025-10-08

Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Bureau of Land Management relating to Buffalo Field Office Record of Decision and Approved Resource Management Plan Amendment.

Latest official status (2025-12-11): Became Public Law No: 119-51.

Official source ↗

Constitutional grade

A

Constitutional

Constitutional exercise of congressional power over federal lands. Congress used lawful Article I procedures and its Article IV property power to overturn an agency leasing closure, with no Bill of Rights, sovereignty, or due process violation.

Article I Article IV Article IV, Section 3, Clause 2 Article I, Section 1 Article I, Section 7 Amendment X Amendment I Amendment II Amendment IV Amendment V

SI-generated grade · passed automated checks (real Constitution citation, language rules) · not individually reviewed by a person · methodology · Report an error: hello@valuesforamerica.com

The five checks

Enumerated powers · passes

Congress has explicit authority over federal property under Article IV, Section 3, Clause 2, which grants power to dispose of and make needful rules respecting territory and property belonging to the United States. Use of the Congressional Review Act, chapter 8 of title 5, to disapprove a Bureau of Land Management rule is an exercise of legislative power vested by Article I, Section 1 and the lawmaking procedure in Article I, Section 7.

Bill of Rights · passes

No First through Tenth Amendment right is infringed. The resolution does not restrict speech, religion, press, assembly under the First Amendment, does not affect arms under the Second Amendment, and authorizes no search, seizure, or surveillance under the Fourth Amendment. It restores prior leasing policy rather than prohibiting protected conduct.

Individual liberty · passes

The resolution does not restrict any person in use of their own person, private property, speech, labor, or belief. It governs disposition of federally owned coal under Article IV, Section 3, Clause 2. No private conduct is criminalized or compelled, so the government bears no additional justificatory burden here.

Decentralization · passes

Management of federally owned minerals is inherently federal and cannot be handled by individuals, counties, or a single state alone. Under Article IV, Section 3, Clause 2, Congress has direct authority over federal property. The resolution does not consolidate new power upward; it uses the Congressional Review Act under Article I, Section 1 and Article I, Section 7 to check an executive agency rule, preserving legislative control over federal lands.

Due process and takings · passes

No person is deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process under the Fifth Amendment, and no property is taken for public use. The resolution follows the lawful legislative process in Article I, Section 7, with bicameral passage and presentment as Public Law 119-51, providing public notice through Congress. It regulates future federal leasing, not vested private property.

Provenance

Grade ID
180
Rubric version
vfa-constitutional-grade/1.0
Graded
2026-10-08 10:39 UTC
Engine
primary SI engine
Source fetched
2026-10-08 09:43 UTC
Source SHA-256
9b0cc315bd9b0b9473ef2b7807fc0ed3ee8963e251dff929926a8a3548b03d70
Checks
si-editorial-standard/1.0: real Constitution citation, language rules

Version history · never overwritten

GradeGradedRubric Source hashStatus
A · #180 2026-10-08 vfa-constitutional-grade/1.0 9b0cc315bd9b current

Cite this

Values for America. “Constitutional grade: H.J.Res. 130, Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Bureau of Land Management relating to Buffalo Field Office Record of Decision and Approved Resource Management Plan Amendment..” VFA Constitution Index, grade 180 (rubric vfa-constitutional-grade/1.0), graded October 8, 2026. https://www.valuesforamerica.com/constitution-index/grades/180. Accessed 2026-10-19.

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