Climate science, policy, politics, and action
Full committee markup, a continuation of the February 3 markup.
Subcommittee hearing.
Witness:
The purpose of this hearing is to examine the current state of U.S. surface transportation research and to better understand the research and development issues relevant to authorizing surface transportation programs. The hearing will explore the breadth of existing surface transportation research efforts. Reviewing the scope of this work will help inform future legislative actions the Committee may consider to advance surface transportation innovation
Location: 2318 Rayburn House Office Building Subcommittee: Subcommittee on Research and Technology
Witnesses:
Furchtgott-Roth is a notorious climate denier who was the lead author of the Project 2025 Department of Transportation chapter.
A Subcommittee on Emergency Management and Technology hearing entitled “Surveying the Threat of Agroterrorism, Part II: Assessing Federal Government Efforts.”
Witnesses:
On Wednesday, February 11, 2026, at 1:45 p.m., in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources will meet to consider:
H.R. 755 modifies the Energy Act of 2020 to expand the definition of critical minerals to include critical materials designated by the Department of Energy (DOE). By expanding the definition of critical minerals, this bill requires the USGS to include on its list the materials on DOE’s list. Within 45 days of DOE adding a mineral, element, substance, or material to its critical materials list, the USGS must update its list to include such mineral, element, substance, or material.
Subcommittee oversight hearing.
Witnesses
Subcommittee hearing.
Witnesses:
Subcommittee hearing entitled ‘Weaponized Mass Migration: A Security Risk to Europe and the United States.’
Witnesses:
The hearing is publicized with an image of migrants attempting to cross the English Channel from Gravelines, France, in April 2024, confronted by French police who punctured their dinghy. The photo was taken by AFP’s Sameer Al-Doumy. “Migrants react as a French police officer stands by ready to puncture the smuggler’s boat with a knife to prevent migrants from embarking in an attempt to cross the English Channel on the beach of Gravelines, near Dunkirk, northern France on April 26, 2024. Five migrants, including a seven-year-old girl, died on April 23, 2024, trying to cross the Channel from France to Britain, local authorities said, just hours after Britain passed a controversial bill to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda.”
On Tuesday, February 10, 2026, at 10:15 a.m., in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will hold an oversight hearing titled “All in for America250: Public-Private Partnerships Supporting America’s Semiquincentennial on our Public Lands.”
On Tuesday, February 10, 2026, at 2:00 p.m., in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Federal Lands will hold a legislative hearing on the following bills:
Witnesses:
Panel I (Members of Congress):
Panel II (Administration Witnesses):
Panel III (Outside Experts):
The “Land And Social Security Optimization (LASSO) Act,” which would deposit into the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) trust fund, Administered by the Social Security Administration, 10 percent of federal revenues generated on public lands and waters managed by the Department of the Interior (DOI) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS).
In 2020, President Trump signed into law the “Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum Act,” creating the Smithsonian Institution’s 21st museum, which aims to recognize “women’s contributions to various fields and throughout different periods of history that have influenced the direction of the United States.” Since this time, the Museum has been a formally established institution but lacks a permanent physical location. Although the legislation stated that it was “the intent of Congress that the Museum be located on or near the National Mall,” a provision also expressly prohibited the Museum from being located in the Reserve under the Commemorative Works Act (CWA). The Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum Act authorizes the Smithsonian to locate the American Women’s History Museum within the Reserve, which broadly encompasses what is known as the National Mall.
H.R. 3553 directs USFS to carry out a targeted study on 1) the effectiveness of wildfire mitigation methods in shrubland ecosystems and 2) the severity of damage from brush-related wildland fires to communities.
H.R. 5478, sponsored by Representative Blake Moore (R-UT-01), conveys approximately 295 acres of USFS land to Fruit Heights to close the gap along the Bonneville Shoreline Trail.
H.R. 5911, sponsored by Representative Jeff Hurd (R-CO-03), conveys to Ouray, Colo., the Crystal Reservoir, Full Moon Dam and Ditch, and 45 acres of surrounding land necessary to the Reservoir’s operation and maintenance. H.R. 5911 also conveys to the City all water rights associated with the covered land and related infrastructure.
S. 282 authorizes NPS to acquire, from willing sellers or donors, up to 2,465 acres of land to provide road access to the 87,500-acre Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument from the south. The bill sets general management and administration guidelines for the Monument that, among other things, protect hunting and fishing access, allow for the collection of fiddlehead ferns, permit forest management activities, and require the production of public safety and educational materials to better inform visitors about the Monument.