A joint hearing by the Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security and the Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence entitled, “Arctic Security in an Era of Global Competition: Safeguarding U.S. Interests in Frigid Waters.”
Witnesses:
Bryan Clark, Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Defense Concepts and Technology, Hudson Institute
Heather Conley, Nonresident Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
Marisol Maddox, Senior Arctic Fellow, Institute of Arctic Studies, Dartmouth College
On Thursday, March 26, 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:
H.R. 6778 (Rep. Beyer), “Parkway Safety and Reinvestment Act”, to install speed cameras in the National Park System to raise fees for parkway maintenance
H.R. 7618 (Rep. Kiggans), “American Battlefield Protection Program Amendments Act of 2026”
H.R. 7951 (Rep. Valadao), “Long-Term Good Neighbor Authority Act”, to extend to 20 years the limit on “good neighbor authority” deals for forest management projects and outdoor recreation projects
H.R. 7979 (Rep. Crank), “Public Lands Access Restoration Act”, to establish that roads and trails on federal land are presumed to be open to motorized use unless explicitly restricted by BLM or USFS
On Thursday, March 26, 2026, at 10:00 a.m., in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries will hold a legislative hearing on the following bills:
H.R. 5694 (Rep. Begich), “Alaska’s Right To Ivory Sales and Tradition Act” or the “ARTIST Act”, to extend the exemption of the taking of marine mammals for subsistence purposes or for the creation of Alaska Native handicrafts and to to allow for the sale of authentic Alaska Native handicrafts and clothing to be sold in interstate commerce
H.R. 6893 (Rep. Scott of VA), “Chesapeake Bay Watershed Advancement for Training, Education, Restoration, and Science (WATERS) Act”, to reauthorize the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Chesapeake Bay Office
H.R. 7250 (Rep. Downing), To reauthorize the Fort Peck Reservation Rural Water System Act of 2000, to continue supporting the development and maintenance of rural water infrastructure serving the Fort Peck Reservation and surrounding communities through 2028
H.R. 7889 (Rep. Wittman), “Advancing Water Research and Collaboration Act of 2025” or the “AWRC Act of 2025”, to include research into the AI industry’s water use and increase the program’s authorization of appropriations from $15 million to $16 million per year
Dr. Tim Petty, Assistant Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere, Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C. [H.R. 5694 and H.R. 6893]
Panel III (Outside Experts)
Megan Onders, Chief, King Island Native Community, Nome, Alaska [H.R. 5694]
Rick Knick, Chairman, Board of Directors, Dry Prairie Rural Water System, Culbertson, MT [H.R. 7250]
Dr. Kevin McGuire, Director, Virginia Water Resources Research Center, Blacksburg, VA [H.R. 7889]
Joshua Kurtz, Secretary, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Annapolis, MD [H.R. 6893] (Minority Witness)
H.R. 7889 would change “promote the interest of State and local governments as well as private industry in research and the development of technology that will reclaim waste water and to convert saline and other impaired waters to waters suitable for municipal, industrial, agricultural, recreational, and other beneficial uses;” to “promote the interest of State and local governments as well as private industry, including the growing artificial intelligence industry, in research and the development of technology that will reclaim waste water and to convert saline and other impaired waters to waters suitable for municipal, industrial, agricultural, recreational, and other beneficial uses;”
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), and U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) will host a spotlight forum on the many ways climate change is driving the affordability crisis, focusing on the consequences for home insurance, grocery prices, and health care costs. The Trump Administration is forcing expensive fossil fuels on American consumers and blocking clean, cheap energy sources.
The spotlight builds on last week’s roundtable on rising energy costs, co-hosted by Senator Whitehouse; Senator Heinrich, Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee; and Leader Schumer.
Speakers:
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ranking Member, Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
Senator Peter Welch (D-VT)
Dr. Kim Clausing, Eric M. Zolt Chair in Tax Law and Policy, UCLA School of Law
Dr. Vijay Limaye, Senior Scientist and Director, Climate and Health, NRDC
Dr. Andrew Pershing, Chief Program Officer, Climate Central
Join Lead Locally, Third Act’s Gray Pac, Jane Fonda PAC, and the DNC Council on the Environment & Climate Crisis to make calls for clean energy champions running for Arizona’s Salt River Project (SRP) Board, which governs one of the country’s largest publicly-owned utilities in Phoeniz, Ariz.! Early voting has begun for the April 7th election.
Very few people have heard of this election, despite its huge stakes for climate. For the first time, voters have the opportunity to elect a Board majority that supports building out renewable energy, keeping rates affordable, and making data centers pay their fair share.
We need your help to counter Turning Point’s efforts. Turnout is historically super low for these races because most homeowners don’t realize that they can vote, making our outreach critical. Sign up to call eligible voters today – we’ll be making sure they are registered to vote and know how to request a mail-in ballot.
Whether you’re making calls for the first time or a seasoned phone banker, we’ve got you covered! We’ll begin with some background on the candidates and what’s at stake in the race, review the phone banking script, and walk through how to use the calling platform.
On Tuesday, March 17, 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 “Unleashing America’s Mineral Potential: The Critical Mineral Commodity Supply Chain.”
Rescheduled to March 25th at 2 p.m.
On Wednesday, March 25, 2026, at 2:00 p.m., in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will hold an oversight hearing titled “Unleashing America’s Mineral Potential: The Critical Mineral Commodity Supply Chain.”
Dr. Simon Jowitt, Director of the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, Nevada State Geologist, and the Arthur Brant Chair in Exploration Geology at the University of Nevada Reno, Reno, NV
Abigail Hunter, Executive Director, Ambassador Alfred Hoffman Jr. Center for Critical Mineral Strategy at SAFE, Washington, D.C.
Faith Williams, Director of the Effective and Accountable Government Program, Project on Government Oversight, Washington, D.C. (Minority witness)
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) publishes and updates a Critical Minerals List (CML), the
most recent edition of which was published on November 7, 2025. The Final 2025 CML listed 60 critical minerals, including 10 new
additions—boron, copper, lead, metallurgical coal, phosphate, potash, rhenium, silicon, silver,
and uranium.
H.R. 4090, introduced by Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN), will remove legal and regulatory
limits to domestic mining by directing the U.S. Department of the Interior to revise or
rescind agency actions that hinder mining projects, recommend changes to streamline current
mining laws, and conduct a nationwide review of state and local laws impeding mineral
exploration and development.
On February 2, 2026, President Trump announced the launch of “Project Vault.”
Backed by a $10 billion loan from the U.S. Export-Import Bank and nearly $2 billion in privatesector investment, Project Vault will establish a U.S. Strategic Critical Minerals Reserve. The
reserve will be an independently governed public-private partnership that stores essential raw
materials in secure facilities nationwide.
On Wednesday, March 25, 2026, at 10:15 a.m., in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, will hold a legislative hearing on the following bills:
H.R. 1555 (Rep. Bice), “Bureau of Land Management Mineral Spacing Act”, remove requirements for a federal drilling permit if there is a state permit and the U.S. owns less than 50 percent of the extracted minerals
H.R. 5639 (Rep. Kennedy of UT), “Co-Location Energy Act”, allows fast-track permitting of solar or wind energy development on the site of an existing federal energy lease
H.R. 7831 (Rep. Kennedy of UT), “License to Drill Act”, to reauthorize BLM Oil and Gas Permit Processing Fee for another ten years
H.R. 7872 (Rep. Hageman), To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to provide for the payment of bonus payments of certain coal leases issued under that act.
H.R. 7882 (Rep. Stauber), To provide for the leasing of certain deposits of minerals located within the City of Carlsbad, New Mexico, by exempting Carlsbad from the MLA’s prohibition relating to the leasing of federal mineral estates located beneath incorporated cities, so that drillers can frack Carlsbad
Mitchell Leverette, Eastern States Director, Bureau of Land Management, Washington, D.C. (All bills)
Panel III (Outside Experts)
Daniel T. Naatz, Executive Vice President and Chief Policy Officer, Independent Petroleum Association of America, Washington, D.C. (H.R. 1555, H.R. 7831, and H.R. 7882)
Adam Met, Ph.D., Executive Director, Planet Reimagined, New York, NY (H.R. 5639)
Kyle Wendtland, Director of Fossil Fuel Development, Wyoming Energy Authority, Cheyenne, WY (H.R. 7872)
Dr. Barbara Vasquez, Member of the Board, Western Organization of Resource Councils & Western Colorado Alliance, Cowdrey, CO [Minority Witness] (H.R. 1555, H.R. 5639, and H.R. 7831)
