Hill Heat

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, will convene a full committee executive session on Thursday, March 12, 2026 at 11:30 a.m. ET (approx.) to consider the following nominations:

Agenda:

• Matthew Anderson, of Colorado, to be Deputy Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
• Michael Graham, of Virginia, to be a Member of the National Transportation Safety Board
• Richard Kloster, of West Virginia, to be a Member of the Surface Transportation Board
• Seval Oz, of California, to be the Assistant Secretary of Transportation for Research and Technology
• Arvind Raman, of Indiana, to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology
• Coast Guard Promotions (PN 716, PN 769, PN 846)

The nomination hearing for Seval Oz took place on July 23rd. Oz was Head of Global Strategic Partnerships for Google [X]’s Self-Driving Car Program from 2011 to 2014, where she supported business and marketing efforts for the initiative that later became Waymo. Oz recently served on the board of directors of MicroVision Inc., an advanced driver-assistance systems software company. She is Mehmet Oz’s sister. A vote on her nomination had been been scheduled for October, November, and December but was repeatedly delayed. She was renominated in January.

Mike Graham is a current member of the NTSB, appointed in Trump’s first term. His nomination hearing took place on September 17th. A vote on his nomination had been been scheduled for October, November, and December but was repeatedly delayed. He was renominated in January.

The nomination hearing for Richard Kloster took place on November 6th. Kloster, a Republican, is president and founder of Integrity Rail Partners, Inc., a consultant on railroads and rail equipment based in Charles Town, W. Va. Kloster is on the executive board of the National Industrial Transportation League shipper trade group, as well as the board of the Railway Supply Institute. His nomination lapsed at the end of the year, and he was renominated in January.

The nomination hearing for Anderson and Raman took place on March 5th.

Anderson is a corporate Space Force lobbyist.

As the dean of Purdue Engineering, Raman has been actively involved in CHIPS Act investments in Indiana and new collaborations with the Silicon Valley industry. NIST is currently roiled by new Trump rules barring hundreds of foreign scientists from working at the federal institute. Raman immigrated from India to attend Purdue for his graduate studies.

03/12/2026 at 11:30AM

Oversight hearing on “Examining Federal Policies Governing Indian Water Rights Settlements,” and legislative hearing to receive testimony on S. 953, Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement Act of 2025.

The $5 billion package to “secure water rights for Navajo, Hopi and San Juan Southern Paiute tribal members in northeastern Arizona and to give the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe a reservation” is a re-introduction of the same bill from 2024, which died at the end of that year after a furious last-ditch effort.

On paper, tribal nations in the Colorado River basin have senior rights to about one-fourth of the Colorado River’s water.

03/11/2026 at 02:30PM

Full committee business meeting.

Nominees:

• Dr. Wesley Brooks, of Florida, to be Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs
• William “Billy” Long, of Missouri, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Iceland
• Robert Sweeney, of Texas, to be United States Director of the Asian Development Bank, with the Rank of Ambassador

The nomination hearing was February 12th. Fellow nominee Jeremy Carl’s nomination was stalled by bipartisan opposition to his overt white supremacism.

03/11/2026 at 10:30AM

On Wednesday, March 11, at 10:00 a.m., U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, will hold a hearing to examine S. 3135, the Cold Weather Diesel Reliability Act, to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to authorize manufacturers of certain vehicles to suspend engine derate or shutdown functions in prolonged cold weather conditions.

Witnesses:

• Ryan Anderson, Commissioner, Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities
• Todd Fornstrom, President, Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities
• John Walke, Director for Clear Air Programs and Senior Attorney, Natural Resources Defense Council

03/11/2026 at 10:00AM

Full committee hearing.

Witnesses:

• Zippy Duvall, President, American Farm Bureau Federation, Greene County, GA
• Scott Metzger, President, American Soybean Association, Williamsport, OH
• Cathy Burns, CEO, International Fresh Produce Association
• Jed Bower, President, National Corn Growers Association, Washington Court House, OH
• Nathan Reed, Chairman, National Cotton Council, Marianna, AR
• Matt Perdue, President, North Dakota Farmers Union, Ray, ND

03/10/2026 at 03:00PM

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, will convene a hearing to consider nominations for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the National Institute of Standards and Technology at 10:00 AM EST on Thursday, March 5, 2026.

Nominees:

• Matthew Anderson, of Colorado, to be Deputy Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
• Arvind Raman, of Indiana, to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology

Anderson is a corporate Space Force lobbyist.

As the dean of Purdue Engineering, Raman has been actively involved in CHIPS Act investments in Indiana and new collaborations with the Silicon Valley industry. NIST is currently roiled by new Trump rules barring hundreds of foreign scientists from working at the federal institute. Raman immigrated from India to attend Purdue for his graduate studies.

03/05/2026 at 10:00AM

On Wednesday, March 4, at 10:00 a.m., U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, will hold a hearing to examine a discussion draft of S.__ the Toxic Substances Control Act Fee Reauthorization and Improvement Act of 2026

The House Energy and Commerce’s Environment subcommittee held a related hearing on January 22.

• Toxic Substances Control Act Fee Reauthorization and Improvement Act Discussion Draft

The proposed TSCA Fee Reauthorization and Improvement Act introduces higher evidentiary standards, such as a “more likely than not” threshold for regulating toxic risks, which could hinder the EPA from taking action against harmful chemicals. The draft also narrows the scope of risk reviews to manufacturer-defined uses, limits worker protections by restricting the EPA from assuming noncompliance with outdated OSHA standards, and introduces fast-track exemptions that prioritize industry data.

03/04/2026 at 10:05AM

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, will convene a full committee executive session on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. ET to consider the following legislation and Coast Guard promotions:

Agenda:

• S. 933, NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2025 (Cruz, Cantwell, Moran, Peters, Schmitt, Luján, Duckworth)
• S. 3923, Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthorization Act of 2026 (Cruz, Cantwell, Sullivan, Blunt Rochester, Moran, Schatz, Sheehy, Rosen)
• Coast Guard Promotions (PN716, PN846)

S. 933, the NASA Authorization Act of 2026, an amendment in the nature of a substitute to S. 933 (NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2025), is bipartisan legislation to be offered by Chairman Cruz and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.). This legislation is a two-year reauthorization that would reassert American leadership in space by, among other things, directing NASA to establish a permanent Moon Base, advancing the Artemis program, and preserving the International Space Station through at least 2032 when commercial space stations are expected to begin operation. The House markup of H.R. 7273, NASA Reauthorization Act of 2026, took place in February.

The bill does not mention of earth science or climate science at all.

The commercialization of space satellite data is continued (sec. 605).

If the NASA budget kills earth/climate science, the administrator can ignore the NAS decadal survey (sec. 603).

The Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthorization Act of 2026 is a package of 17 bipartisan bills aimed at strengthening the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) forecasting, warning, and hazard communication capabilities. The bill codifies and expand NOAA’s mandate to acquire commercial weather data. The House version, H.R. 5089, includes AI forecasting and fog weather forecasting provisions not in the Senate text.

03/04/2026 at 10:00AM

Business meeting to consider the nomination of Douglas Weaver, of Maryland, to be a Member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a full five-year term beginning July 1, 2026, and expiring June 30, 2031.

Weaver was confirmed to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission by the Senate on December 17, 2025, by a 71–29 vote and sworn in on December 22, 2025 for the remainder of the term expiring June 30, 2026.

03/04/2026 at 10:00AM

The purpose of the business meeting is to consider the pending nominees and legislation listed in the agenda below.

Nominees:

• PN. 730-52, the Nomination of Stevan “Steve” Pearce to be Director of the Bureau of Land Management.
• PN. 786-8, the Nomination of David LaCerte to be a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for a term expiring June 30, 2031.
• PN. 806-3, the Nomination of Kyle Haustveit to be Under Secretary of Energy.

Pearce’s disdain for our public lands extends to the agencies that manage them. As a member of Congress, he encouraged county governments in his district to violate federal laws on Forest Service lands inside their borders. After leaving Congress, as chairman of the Republican Party of New Mexico, Pearce unsuccessfully lobbied the Interior Department to drastically shrink the size of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument, despite it being an economic boon to Doña Ana County.

Haustveit, a former petroleum engineer, is assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy. Throughout his career at Devon Energy, Haustveit led teams that pioneered diagnostic techniques now used worldwide to improve hydraulic fracturing and resource development. He later directed Devon Energy’s Energy Ventures team, driving investments in emerging technologies such as geothermal, carbon utilization, lithium extraction, and produced water treatment.

LaCerte is a Project 2025 contributor who worked for the Trump White House in the Office of Personnel Management before confirmation to FERC on a party-line vote in October 2025.

Legislation:

• S. 601/H.R. 1276, A bill to remove restrictions from a parcel of land in Paducah, Kentucky. (Mr. Paul / Rep. Comer).
• S. 815, A bill to designate the outdoor amphitheater at the Blue Ridge Music Center in Galax, Virginia, as the “Rick Boucher Amphitheater”. (Mr. Warner).
• S. 1135, A bill to amend the National Trails System Act to direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study on the feasibility of designating the Bonneville Shoreline Trail. (Mr. Curtis).
• S. 1981, A bill to require the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to utilize grazing for wildfire risk reduction, and for other purposes. (Ms. Cortez Masto).
• S. 2102, A bill to establish the Ralph David Abernathy, Sr., National Historic Site, and for other purposes. (Mr. Ossoff).
• S. 2787, A bill to amend the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to ensure that ranchers who have grazing agreements on national grasslands are treated the same as permittees on other Federal land. (Mr. Barrasso).
• S. 3004, A bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain Bureau of Land Management land to the city of Price, Utah, and for other purposes. (Mr. Lee).
• S. 3493, A bill to provide for the conveyance of certain Federal land in Carson City, Nevada, and for other purposes. (Ms. Rosen).
• S. 3527, A bill to release from wilderness study area designation certain land in the State of Montana, to improve the management of that land, and for other purposes. (Mr. Daines).
• HR. 204, A bill to require that the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior submit accurate reports regarding hazardous fuels reduction activities, and for other purposes. (Rep. Tiffany).
• HR. 952, A bill to convey the reversionary interest of the United States in certain land in Sacramento, California. (Rep. Matsui).
• HR. 1829, A bill to require the Secretary of Agriculture to convey certain lands within the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, and for other purposes. (Rep. Crane).

03/04/2026 at 09:30AM