Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee activity: July 18, 2025 – August 22, 2025

Legislation referred to this committee includes tons of land grabs by Trump Republicans, deregulation, but on the flip side, an attempt to remove Francis Newlands' name on a DC fountain.

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DAVE McCORMICK sits on this committee.

Republican members: Mike Lee (R-UT), Chair; John Barrasso (R-WY); James Risch (R-ID); Steve Daines (R-MT); Tom Cotton (R-AR); Dave McCormick (R-PA); Jim Justice (R-WV); Bill Cassidy (R-LA); Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS); Lisa Murkowski (R-AK); and, John Hoeven (R-ND).

Democratic members: Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Ranking Minority Member; Ron Wyden (D-OR); Maria Cantwell (D-WA); Mazie Hirono (D-HI); Angus King (I-ME); Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV); John Hickenlooper (D-CO); Alex Padilla (D-CA); and, Ruben Gallego (D-AZ).

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Announcement date, July 26, 2025. Meeting date, July 30, 2025. 9:30AM(EDT), 366 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. Business meeting to consider pending calendar nominations. See ACTIONS below for additional information and link to video of hearing.

ACTIONS

July 18, 2025: Transcript of the November 2, 2023 Senate Hearing 118-313 was made available. “Opportunities and Challenges in Deploying Carbon Capture Utilization and Sequestration and Direct Air Capture Technologies on Federal and Nonfederal Lands.”

July 25, 2025: Transcript of the November 9, 2023 hearing was made available. “The Implementation of Federal Coal Mine Land Reclamation and Abandoned Coal Mine Land Economic Revitalization Programs.”

July 30, 2025: Business meeting to consider the nominations of Lanny Erdos, of Ohio, to be Director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, and Audrey Robertson, of Colorado, to be an Assistant Secretary (Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy), and Timothy John Walsh, of Colorado, to be an Assistant Secretary (Environmental Management), both of the Department of Energy. Meeting Details include video of hearing as well as links to the presidential nominations of all persons. Transcript not yet available.

July 30, 2025: Transcript of the December 12, 2023 hearing was made available. “Pending Legislation.” Discussions regarding S.1281 (Mining Regulatory Clarity Act) and S.1742 (Clean Energy Minerals Reform Act).

July 31, 2025: Transcript of the January 11, 2024 hearing was made available. “Federal Electric Vehicle Incentives Including the Federal Government’s Role in Fostering Reliable and Resilient Electric Vehicle Supply Chains.”

Comment: This 2024 hearing was less about promoting EVs and more about what even the Democrats on the committee considered Biden’s overreach through executive order. “We should all be concerned when an Administration tries to implement a law that Congress did not pass. And when it comes to EVs, this Administration is implementing the Build Back Better approach they wanted, not the Inflation Reduction Act that we passed.”

Too bad Trump Republicans chairing committees since January 2025 have not had the same backbone.

August 1, 2025: Transcript of the February 8, 2024 hearing was made available. “The Administration’s Pause on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Export Approvals and the Department of Energy’s Process for Assessing LNG Export Applications.”

August 2, 2025: Transcript of the February 28, 2024 hearing was made available. “Opportunities and Challenges Associated with Developing Geologic Hydrogen in the United States.”

August 6, 2025: Transcript of the March 12, 2024 hearing was released. “The Findings and Recommendations of the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission.”

August 7, 2025: Transcript of the March 21, 2024 hearing was released. “To consider the nominations of Judy W. Chang to be a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, David Rosner to be a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and Lindsay S. See to be a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.”

August 9, 2025: Transcript of the April 10, 2024 hearing was released. “The Federal and Non-Federal Role of Assessing Cyber Threats To and Vulnerabilities Of Critical Water Infrastructure in our Energy Sector.”

August 15, 2025: Transcript of April 16, 2024 hearing was released. “The President’s Budget Request for the U.S. Department of Energy for the Fiscal Year 2025.”

Serious comment: The budget for the Department of Energy was one place where the Trump administration made deep cuts for FY 2026. When things go wrong, let’s be sure to remind them of this fact!

H.R.131 – Finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit Act. To make certain modifications to the repayment for the Arkansas Valley Conduit in the State of Colorado.

Congress.gov summary: This bill reduces payments that communities within the Arkansas River Valley must pay to the Bureau of Reclamation for the construction of the Arkansas Valley Conduit, a pipeline in Colorado for delivering water from the Pueblo Reservoir to such communities. Specifically, it removes interest payments and extends the repayment period to 100 years.

Introduced January 3, 2025 by Lauren Boeberg (R-CO). Cosponsored by Jeff Hurd (R-CO). Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources the same day.

June 25, 2025, committee consideration and mark-up session held. Ordered to be reported in the nature of a substitute by unanimous consent. July 10, 2025, amended with H. Rept. 119-187. Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 152.

July 21, 2025, 4:31 pm: Mr. Gosar moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended. 4:31 pm: Considered under suspension of the rules. 4:31 pm: DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty (sic) minutes of debate on H.R. 131. 4:39 (sic) pm: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, agreed to by voice vote. Passed. 4:40pm: Motion to reconsider laid on the table, agreed to without objection.

July 22, 2025, received in the Senate. Referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources the same day.

H.R.183 – Law Enforcement Officer and Firefighter Recreation Pass Act. To amend the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act to provide for a free annual National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass for law enforcement officers and firefighters.

Congress.gov summary: This bill directs the Forest Service and the Department of the Interior to make the National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass available, without charge and for the lifetime of the passholder, to law enforcement officers.

Introduced January 3, 2025 by Tom McClintock (R-CA). Cosponsored by Robert Onder (R-MO). Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources and Committee on Agriculture the same day.

June 25, 2025, committee consideration and mark-up held. Committee on Natural Resources ordered to be reported in the nature of a substitute by unanimous consent.

July 16, 2025, reported (amended) by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. 119-207, Part I. Committee on Agriculture discharged. Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 170.

July 21, 4:18 pm: Mr. Staube moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended. 4:18 pm: Considered under suspension of the rules. 4:18 pm: DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty (sic) minutes of debate on H.R. 183. 4:31 (sic) pm: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, agreed to by voice vote. Passed. 4:31 pm: Motion to reconsider laid on the table, agreed to without objection. 4:31 pm: The title of the measure was amended. Agreed to without objection.

July 22, 2025, received in the Senate. Referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources the same day.

ALERT: Existing legislation already provided free passes for any member of the Armed Forces, their dependents, and law enforcement officers or firefighters “who provide adequate proof of eligibility for such pass as determined by the Secretary.”

In this quickie vote that required suspension of rules, extant legislation is changed ONLY as follows: By defining firefighter as “any employee of the Federal Government, a State, a unit of local government, or an Indian Tribe who performs work directly related to suppressing fires, including wildland fires.” Similarly, Law Enforcement Officer is now defined as “any officer, agent, or employee of the Federal Government, a State, a unit of local government, or an Indian Tribe authorized by law or by a government agency to engage in or supervise the prevention, detection, or investigation of any violation of criminal law or who is authorized by law to supervise sentenced criminal offenders.”

Does this ensure that the National Park Service goes bankrupt? I guess Kristi Noem gets a lifetime NPS pass for all her cosplay?

H.R.1043 – La Paz County Solar Energy and Job Creation Act. To direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain Federal land in Arizona to La Paz County, Arizona.

Congress.gov summary: This bill directs the Department of the Interior, after receiving a request from La Paz County, Arizona, to convey approximately 3,400 acres of identified land managed by the Bureau of Land Management to the county for fair market value.

Interior must exclude from the conveyance any federal land that contains significant cultural, environmental, wildlife, or recreational resources.

As a condition of the conveyance, La Paz County and any subsequent owner must

• make good faith efforts to avoid disturbing tribal artifacts;

• minimize impacts on tribal artifacts if they are disturbed;

• coordinate with the Colorado River Indian Tribes Tribal Historic Preservation Office to identify artifacts of cultural and historic significance; and

• allow tribal representatives to rebury unearthed artifacts at, or near, where they were discovered.

The federal land is withdrawn from the operation of U.S. mining and mineral leasing laws.

Introduced February 6, 2025 by Paul Gosar (R-AZ). Cosponsored by Andy Biggs (R-AZ) and David Schweikert (R-AZ).

July 21, 2025, 4:40 pm: Mr. Gosar moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill. 4:40 pm: Considered under suspension of the rules. 4:40 pm: DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty (sic) minutes of debate on H.R. 1043. 4:47 (sic) pm: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, agreed to by voice vote. Passed. 4:47 pm: Motion to reconsider laid on the table, agreed to without objection.

July 22, 2025 received in the Senate. Referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources the same day.

ALERT: Unsurprisingly, this bill was introduced and pushed through by Paul Gosar (R-AZ) and cosponsored only by Arizona representatives. I hope the Senate holds strong against this bill.

H.R.3937 - Wabeno Economic Development Act. To provide for the conveyance of certain Federal land in Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest.

Introduced June 11, 2025 by Thomas Tiffany (R-WI). No cosponsors. Referred to the Committee on Agriculture and the Committee on Natural Resources the same day.

June 25, 2025, committee consideration and mark-up held. Committee on Agriculture ordered to be reported in the nature of a substitute by unanimous consent.

July 21, 2025, reported (Amended) by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. 119-211, Part I.

July 22, 2025, 4:01pm: Mr. Tiffany moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended. Considered under suspension of the rules. 4:01pm: DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 3937. 4:08pm: At the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were demanded and ordered. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 8, rule XX, the Chair announced that further proceedings on the motion would be postponed.

4:19pm: Considered as unfinished business. 4:48 pm: Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays. 4:48pm: Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

July 23, 2025, received in the Senate. Referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources the same day.

LEGISLATION REFERRED TO COMMITTEE

S.2325 – Restore and Modernize Our National Laboratories Act of 2025. To direct the Secretary of Energy to fund projects to restore and modernize National Laboratories.

Introduced July 17, 2025 by Ben Ray Luján (D-NM). Cosponsored by four Democratic senators, no Republicans. Referred to Energy and Natural Resources the same day.

S.2369 – Francis G. Newlands Memorial Removal Act. To direct the Secretary of the Interior to remove or permanently conceal the name of Francis Newlands on the grounds of the memorial fountain located at Chevy Chase Circle in the District of Columbia.

Introduced July 22, 2025 by Chris Van Hollen. No cosponsors. Referred to Energy and Natural Resources the same day.

Comment: Francis Newlands was a US Senator and land developer from Nevada who was also a noted segregationist and white supremacist. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) introduced a bill in February 2023 that went nowhere.

S.2385 – Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History Act. To codify Executive Order 14253 relating to restoring truth and sanity to American history.

Introduced July 22, 2025 by Jim Banks (R-IN). Cosponsored by Joni Ernst (R-IA). Referred to Energy and Natural Resources the same day.

Comment and ALERT: Not truth-truth. MAGA truth. In EO 14253, Trump gave the directive “to remove improper ideology” from museums, national parks, zoos, and so on.

This bill seeks to codify that EO.

S.2417 - Star-Spangled Summit Act of 2025. To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to issue a special use permit with respect to the maintaining of a flagpole bearing the flag of the United States at Kyhv Peak Lookout Point, Utah.

Introduced July 23, 2025 by John Curtis (R-UT). Cosponsored by Mike Lee (R-UT). Referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources the same day.

Comment: Fox News covered this in June. Note that the bill would grant the permit to the individual Robert Collins, a private citizen and financial advisor living in Provo, Utah. Additionally, the Forest Service does not prohibit the “planting” of temporary flags on Forest Service peaks. But Collins had installed a large permanent structure.

S.2427 - Zero-Based Regulatory Budgeting to Unleash American Energy Act of 2025. To require certain agencies to impose extendable sunset dates on certain regulations.

Introduced July 24, 2025 by James Risch (R-ID). No cosponsors. Referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources the same day.

Comment: This is 100% an attempt to deregulate without obvious deregulation.

S.2434 - To amend the Dayton Aviation Heritage Preservation Act of 1992 to adjust the boundary of the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park. (No short title.)

Introduced July 24, 2025 by Jon Husted (R-OH). Cosponsored by Bernie Moreno (R-OH). Referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources the same day.

Comment: I know this is going to shock you, but this bill would ADD one acre of land to the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park. The bill does not specify which acre.

S.2437 - Snow Water Supply Forecasting Program Reauthorization Act of 2025. To amend the Snow Water Supply Forecasting Program Authorization Act to reauthorize the Snow Water Supply Forecasting Program.

Introduced July 24, 2025 by John Hickenlooper (D-CO). Cosponsored by John Curtis (R-UT). Referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources the same day.

Comment: This would extend the existing Snow Water Supply Forecasting Program Authorization Act by striking “$15,000,000, in the aggregate, for fiscal years 2022 through 2026” and inserting “$6,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031.” The proposed bill also appears to change the sort of technology funded under the Act.

S.2498 - National Park System Long-Term Lease Investment Act. To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to extend certain leases within units of the National Park System without opening the lease to bidding.

Introduced July 29, 2025 by Thomas Tillis (R-NC). Cosponsored by Ted Budd (R-NC). Referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources the same day.

Snarky comment: I wonder which NPS leases in North Carolina their lobbyist buddies want extended, without opening the lease to bidding? The bill is vague. I know you’re shocked.

S.2546 - To provide for an extension of the legislative authority of the National Emergency Medical Services Memorial Foundation to establish a commemorative work in the District of Columbia and its environs. (No short title.)

Introduced July 30, 2025 by Christopher Coons (D-DE). Three Republican and two Democratic cosponsors. Referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources the same day.

Comment: This simply extends existing law from 2025 to 2032. Section 1(b) of Public Law 115–275 (132 Stat. 4164; 40 U.S.C. 8903 note).

S.2554 - Alaska Native Landless Equity Act. To provide for the recognition of certain Alaska Native communities and the settlement of certain claims under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.

Introduced July 30, 2025 by Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). Cosponsored by Dan Sullivan (R-AK). Referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources the same day.

Comment: From the bill, “The purpose of this Act is to redress the omission of the southeastern Alaska communities of Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, and Wrangell from eligibility under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act by authorizing the Alaska Natives enrolled in the communities… 1) To form urban corporations and 2) To receive certain settlement land pursuant to that Act.”

I am surprised this does not have Democratic support. What do they know that I don’t know about this bill’s intent?

S.2570 - Energy Savings and Weatherization Reauthorization Act of 2025. To amend the Energy Conservation and Production Act to reauthorize the weatherization assistance program.

Introduced July 31, 2025 by Christopher Coons (D-DE). Cosponsored by Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Jack Reed, (D-RI). Referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources the same day.

S.2595 - Saving the Department of Energy's Workforce Act. To institute a reduction in force moratorium at the Department of Energy.

Introduced July 31, 2025 by Martin Heinrich (D-NM). No cosponsors. Referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources the same day.

Comment: YEA!

S.2597 - Saving the Department of the Interior's Workforce Act. To institute a reduction in force moratorium at all agencies and bureaus of the Department of the Interior.

Introduced July 31, 2025 by Martin Heinrich (D-NM). Cosponsored by Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). Referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources the same day.

Comment: YEA!

S.2637 - MAPWaters Act of 2025 (Modernizing Access to our Public Waters Act of 2025).To provide for the standardization, consolidation, and publication of data relating to public outdoor recreational use of Federal waterways among Federal land and water management agencies.

Introduced July 31, 2025 by John Barrasso (R-WY). Cosponsored by Angus King (I-ME). Referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources the same day.

S.2644 - Camden National Battlefield Park Study Act. To require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study to assess the suitability and feasibility of establishing the Camden Battlefield area in the State of South Carolina as a unit of the National Park System.

Introduced August 1, 2025 by Lindsey Graham (R-SC). Cosponsored by Tim Scott (R-SC). Referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources the same day.

Comment: So Graham and Scott want to expand the National Park System at the same time they want to defund and destaff it? The logical disconnects among Trump Republicans are mind-blowing.

AMENDMENT REFERRED TO COMMITTEE

S.Amdt.3408 – “In the nature of a substitute.” This would amend S.1016, Vicksburg National Military Park Boundary Modification Act.

That bill was introduced March 13, 2025 by Roger Wicker (R-MS). Cosponsored by Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS). It was referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources the same day.

July 31, 2025, S.Amdt.3408 was referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Angry comment: The original bill proposed to convey 3.66 acres of National Park Service land within the boundary of Vicksburg National Military Park to the State of Mississippi for use as a State Welcome Center, and to convey 6.48 acres of National Park Service land within the boundary of Vicksburg National Mark Park to the State of Mississippi to be used by the State as an interpretive center or a museum or other public use. This was to be a strict conveyance with no remuneration to the National Park Service.

The proposed amendment ordered a boundary modification for Vicksburg National Military Park and added a specific tract of land for the 3.66 acres which had been undefined.

NONONONONONONO.

RESOLUTIONS REFERRED TO COMMITTEE

S.J.Res.63 – A joint resolution 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 “Central Yukon Record of Decision and Approved Resource Management Plan.”

Introduced July 22, 2025 by Dan Sullivan (R-AK). Cosponsored by Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). Referred to Energy and Natural Resources the same day.

Comment: This would reverse a Biden-era rule submitted by the Bureau of Land Management and supported by a Trump-era (June 2025) GAO report regarding the Central Yukon. It’s as if Lisa Murkowski wants to remind us that she is not a Romney Republican.

S.J.Res.71 - A joint resolution terminating the national emergency declared with respect to energy.

Introduced by Tim Kaine (D-VA). Cosponsored by Martin Heinrich (D-NM). Referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources the same day.

Comment: More like this!

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

EC1411 – July 29, 2025. From the Deputy Associate Director of Offshore Regulatory Programs, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, Department of the Interior, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled “Correcting amendment; Final rule: Bonding Requirements when Filing an Appeal of a Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement Civil Penalty.”

EC1412 - July 29, 2025. From the Acting General Counsel, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled “Critical Infrastructure Protection Reliability Standard CIP-015-1 - Cyber Security - Internal Network Security Monitoring.”

EC1413 - July 29, 2025. From the Regional Director, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Department of the Interior, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled “Pennsylvania Regulatory Program” (30 CFR Part 938).

EC1417 - July 29, 2025. From the Regional Director, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Department of the Interior, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled “Civil Monetary Penalty Inflation Adjustments.”

EC1550 – August 2, 2025. From the Regulatory Specialist, Forest Service, Department of Agriculture, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled “Conversion of Ski Area Authorizations.”

EC1551 - August 2, 2025. From the Regulations Specialist, Office of Subsistence Management, Department of the Interior, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled “Subsistence Management Regulations for Public Lands in Alaska - 2025-26 and 2026-27 Subsistence Taking of Fish and Shellfish Regulations.”

EC1552 - August 2, 2025. From the Deputy Associate Director of Offshore Regulatory Programs, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, Department of the Interior, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled “Remove Regulations for Sulphur Operations.”

EC1553 – August 2, 2025. From the Regulations Specialist, Office of Subsistence Management, Department of the Interior, transmitting, pursuant to law, the report of a rule entitled “Federal Subsistence Management Program; Transfer of Regulations.”

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© 2025 Denise Elaine Heap. Please message me for permission to quote.

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