# S.J.Res. 11 (119th): This joint resolution rescinds a requirement for lessees and operators to submit an archaeological report with any oil and gas exploration or development plan they submit to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) for approval of activities proposed on the Outer Continental Shelf

This joint resolution rescinds a requirement for lessees and operators to submit an archaeological report with any oil and gas exploration or development plan they submit to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) for approval of activities proposed on the Outer Continental Shelf. (An archaeological report identifies material remains of human life or activities that are at least 50 years old and that are of archaeological interest.) Specifically, the joint resolution nullifies BOEM's final rule titled Protection of Marine Archaeological Resources and published on September 3, 2024. Nullifying this rule requires BOEM to reinstate regulations that were previously in effect and authorized BOEM to require an archaeological report only if a BOEM regional director has reason to believe that an archaeological resource may be present in the lease area.

## How this bill is scored

Tier: no Tier 1 record. A bill with no record cannot newly become Tier 1.
Lane: archaeological_resources. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: congressional_review_act. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: cultural_resources. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: cultural_stewardship. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: energy_policy. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: environmental_protection. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: ocean_management. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: regulatory_disapproval. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Tier 1 sign-off: no record. A bill with no record cannot newly become Tier 1.
Stored polarity: mixed. Only tags the rules mark scoreable on a mixed bill are scored. A yea can draw a penalty or a credit according to the tag. A nay on a tag scored as good can draw a penalty.
Roll 61: On Passage. Vote type: final_passage.
Roll 92: On the Joint Resolution S.J.Res. 11. Vote type: final_passage.
Roll 91: On the Motion to Proceed S.J.Res. 11. Vote type: cloture.
Polarity rationale: Reviewed enrichment (llm_import) polarity: The measure is a Congressional Review Act disapproval that removes a general archaeological-reporting requirement for offshore energy plans. It reduces a regulatory burden on energy development while weakening a protection for cultural and archaeological resources. This is a prudential tradeoff between regulatory cost and stewardship, not a direct advancement or restraint of a named moral harm.
Theological note: This measure touches stewardship of creation and of humanity's material cultural heritage, which Scripture gives weight as part of faithful care for the world. It also involves the ordinary equity question of how to balance resource development burdens against protection of historical sites. The issue is relevant to prudent stewardship, but the metadata does not show a direct moral wrong either way.

## Recorded votes

Roll 61: On Passage. Yea 221 · Nay 202 · Other 9.
Roll 92: On the Joint Resolution S.J.Res. 11. Yea 54 · Nay 44 · Other 2.
Roll 91: On the Motion to Proceed S.J.Res. 11. Yea 54 · Nay 42 · Other 4.

HTML: https://justmeasure.org/bill/sjres-11-119/