David Cummins, of Virginia, to be Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration
Cummins worked as a senior vice president of the Citizen Services Business Group at Serco, a government contractor that works with local and federal agencies. He was the Director of Operations Management for the 2002 Salt Lake Olympic organizing committee. Cummins holds an MBA from the University of Michigan Business School, an MA in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a BA in Political Science from Messiah College.
S. 1791, Gunnison Outdoor Resources Protection Act of 2025, A bill to designate certain special management areas, wildlife conservation areas, protection areas, recreation areas, wilderness areas, and a scientific research and education area in the State of Colorado, and for other purposes. (Mr. Bennet).
S. 4200, Douglas County Economic Development and Conservation Act, A bill to promote conservation, improve public land, and provide for sensible development in Douglas County, Nevada, and for other purposes. (Ms. Cortez Masto).
S. 4239, Plug Offshore Wells Act, A bill to to require the Secretary of the Interior to annually submit to Congress, and make publicly available on a website, a report on decommissioning offshore oil and gas wells, platforms, and pipelines, and for other purposes. (Mr. Welch).
S. 4383, Geothermal Ombudsman for National Deployment and Optimal Reviews Act, A bill to appoint a Geothermal Ombudsman and establish a Geothermal Permitting Task Force from within the Bureau of Land Management, and for other purposes. (Ms. Cortez Masto).
S. 4410, A bill to amend the Mineral Leasing Act to provide for the payment of bonus payments of certain coal leases issued under that Act. (Mr. Barrasso).
S. 4458, Caja del Rio Protection Act, A bill to establish the Caja del Rio Special Management Area and Caja del Rio National Conservation Area in the State of New Mexico, and for other purposes. (Mr. Heinrich).
S. 4561, CLOSE THE GAP Act, A bill to modernize and streamline the permitting process for broadband infrastructure on Federal land, and for other purposes. (Mr. Barrasso).
S. 4605, Geothermal Cost-Recovery Authority Act of 2026, A bill to amend the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to provide cost-recovery authority for the Department of the Interior. (Mr. Gallego).
S. 4715, Offshore Leasing Standards and Accountability Act of 2026, A bill to amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to establish fitness to operate standards and decommissioning escrow accounts for offshore oil and gas operators, and for other purposes. (Mr. Schiff).
H.R. 655, Dalles Watershed Development Act, A bill to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey certain Federal land to the City of The Dalles, Oregon. (Rep. Bentz).
H.R. 1687, CLEAN Act, A bill to amend the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to increase the frequency of lease sales, to require replacement sales, and for other purposes. (Rep. Fulcher).
H.R. 4090, Critical Mineral Dominance Act, A bill to codify certain provisions of certain Executive Orders relating to domestic mining and hardrock mineral resources, and for other purposes. (Rep. Stauber).
H.R. 5587, HEATS Act, A bill to amend the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to waive the requirement for a Federal drilling permit for certain activities, to exempt certain activities from the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, and for other purposes. (Rep. Kim).
H.R. 5631, Geothermal Energy Advancement Act, A bill to promote responsible geothermal energy development on public lands, and for other purposes. (Rep. Hurd).
H.R. 7831, License to Drill Act, A bill to amend the Mineral Leasing Act to extend the period of time during which the Secretary of the Interior is required to collect a fee for each new application for a permit to drill, and for other purposes. (Rep. Kennedy).
We are halfway through 2026, and there are already a lot of climate records to unpack. This next Monthly Climate Brief will look at the latest global and U.S. climate numbers, including temperature rankings, impacts, and notable extremes so far this year. We will also cover the latest El Niño outlook and what it could mean for regional climate impacts and global temperatures later in 2026. As always, there will be time for open Q&A.
Plus, Adam Smith from Climate Central will join us to provide a preview of the billion-dollar disasters recorded so far in 2026 and share updates on new research expected over the coming months.
Speakers:
Dr. Zachary Labe, climate scientist at Climate Central
Adam Smith, senior climate impacts scientist at Climate Central
Moderator:
Jen Brady, senior data analyst and research manager at Climate Central
This is the next installment of our Climate Services webinar series — a monthly, data-driven briefing that delivers clear insights into recent climate patterns, what’s driving them, and what they mean for critical sectors including energy, transportation, health, and agriculture. The webinar is open to the public and includes time for live Q&A. Registered attendees will also receive a recording of this briefing.
On Wednesday, July 15, 2026, at 10:00 a.m., in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources will meet to consider:
H.R. 726 (Rep. Downing), “Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement Amendments Act of 2025” (ANS)
H.R. 2317 (Rep. Amodei), “Northern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act of 2025” (ANS)
H.R. 2406 (Rep. Bonamici), “National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Sexual Harassment and Assault Prevention Improvements Act of 2025”
H.R. 2827 (Rep. Cole), To provide for the equitable settlement of certain Indian land disputes regarding land in Illinois, and for other purposes.
H.R. 6251 (Rep. Begich), To amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to allow importation of polar bear trophies taken in sport hunts in Canada before the date the polar bear was determined to be a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. (ANS)
H.R. 6893 (Rep. Scott of VA), “Chesapeake Bay Watershed Advancement for Training, Education, Restoration, and Science (WATERS) Act”
H.R. 7889 (Rep. Wittman (R-VA)), “Advancing Water Research and Collaboration Act of 2025” or the “AWRC Act of 2025”
H.R. 8658 (Rep. Kennedy of UT), “Indian Health Service Emergency Claims Parity Act”
H.R. 9436 (Rep. Lawler, Golden), “Northeast Lobsterman Protection Act of 2026,” To amend the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 to delay protections for the endangered North Atlantic right whale to 2035 by extending a Biden-era freeze on new rules for the lobster and Jonah crab industries (ANS)
S. 1759, Supersonic Aviation Modernization Act, to allow for the operation of civil supersonic flight in the national airspace system under certain conditions
S. 3258, Aviation Medication Transparency Act of 2025, to require the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to publish the list of medications that the Administrator has compiled for purposes of the medical certification of airmen and air traffic control specialists
S. 3885, Aviation Innovation and Global Competitiveness Act, to provide for updates to the Federal Aviation Administration type certification process to support development of new and novel technologies
S. 4429, Connected Vehicle Security Act of 2026, to prohibit the importation, manufacture, sale, resale, or introduction into interstate commerce in the United States of connected vehicles and related software and hardware associated with foreign adversaries
S. 4448, Accelerating Broadband Permits Act of 2026, to require the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information to create tools for tracking the progress of grant recipients under the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program, to require the Assistant Secretary to help executive agencies improve compliance with the statutory deadline for processing communications use applications
S. 4691, Disaster Communications Coordination and Preparedness Act, to support improved awareness and coordination of Federal communications resources during disasters and emergencies
S. 4802, Hurricane Hunter Aircraft Recapitalization Act, to provide for the acquisition by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of aircraft for air, atmosphere, and weather reconnaissance and research missions
Nominees:
Thomas B. Chapman, of Maryland, to be a Member of the National Transportation Safety Board
Edward Eppler, of Connecticut, to be Chief Financial Officer, Department of Transportation
Karen Jean Hedlund, of New York, to be a Member of the Surface Transportation Board
Brien Lorenze, of Virginia, to be a Commissioner of the Consumer Product Safety Commission
Karen Sessions, of Texas, to be a Commissioner of the Consumer Product Safety Commission
Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
H.R. 2140, Diesel Emissions Reduction Act of 2025 (Reps. Matsui (D-CA) and Langworthy (R-NY)), to extend the DERA program of voluntary retrofitting or replacement of older, high-polluting diesel engines to 2029
H.R. 9317, Buses Utilizing Safety and Environmental Standards (BUSES) Act (Reps. Langworthy and Gottheimer), to overturn local anti-idling municipal ordinances such as NYC’s citizen enforcement policy and to block civil suits against bus-idling pollution
H.R. 9616, Environmental Monitoring and Remediation Technology Assessment Initiative (EMRTAI) Act of 2026 (Reps. Pfluger and Landsman) to encourage mineral extraction from Superfund sites
H.R. 9617, Coordinating and Harnessing America’s Recovery of Minerals (CHARM) Act (Reps. Palmer and Tonko)
H.R. 9618, Diesel Engine Flexibility (DEF) Act (Reps. Fedorchak and Davis (NC))
Motion by Ms. Scanlon to make in order amendment #1 to H.R. 139, offered by Representative Scanlon, which would strike the language of the Sunshine Protection Act and replace it with the full language of the Sunshine for Our Kids Act, which would make Standard Time permanent while allowing states to pass their own legislation enacting permanent Daylight Saving Time if they choose. Defeated: 4–6 on party lines.