Climate science, policy, politics, and action
Full committee markup.
Executive Business Meeting to report the Reconciliation Bill Pursuant to S.Con.Res.33.
Violations of the Byrd rule are expected to be handled with a manager’s amendment on the Senate floor.
Subcommittee hearing.
Witness:
Sean Duffy, Secretary, Department of Transportation
The FY 2027 President’s Budget requests $114.1 billion in budgetary resources for the Department of Transportation (DOT), including $26.8 billion in discretionary budget authority and $87.3 billion in mandatory budget authority.
From the American Public Transportation Association:
The budget requests $16.3 billion (-23 percent) for public transit and $2.8 billion (-82 percent) for passenger rail in FY 2027.
The budget does not request to continue any advance appropriations under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which results in substantial cuts to key public transit and passenger rail investments, including:
Subcommittee markup.
Jurisdiction:
You’ve probably heard how bad the so-called “Fix Our Forests Act” (FOFA) is — the 10,000-acre logging projects that can proceed with zero environmental review, for starters. But buried in the bill is another provision that would functionally eliminate Endangered Species Act, Wilderness, Roadless Area, NFMA, and NEPA protections for any logging project on Forest Service or BLM lands.
Join us — Wilderness Watch and John Muir Project — on Thursday, May 14th at 11 am PT / 2 pm ET to learn what’s in this provision, how it works, and what you can do to stop it.
FOFA has already passed the House and cleared the Senate Agriculture Committee. Large chunks have also been stuffed into the recently House-passed Farm Bill.
On Thursday, May 14, 2026, at 10:30 a.m., in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources will meet to consider:
Any proposed amendments should be emailed to Sophia Varnasidis ([email protected]) no later than 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 13, 2026.
If you need further information, please call Madeline Kelley, Director of Member Services, or Sophia Varnasidis, Director of Legislative Operations, Committee on Natural Resources at (202) 225-2761.
Subcommittee hearing.
Witness:
The House Appropriations markup was April 22.
The House bill provides $9.74 billion for the General Services Administration’s Federal Buildings Fund, which is $49 million above the FY26 enacted level.
Administrative Provisions
Full committee markup.
The House proposes funding NSF at $7 billion, a 20% cut. The House proposes a budget of roughly $6 billion for the NASA Science Mission Directorate — an 18% cut. The House is recommending a total NOAA budget of $5.85 billion — a roughly 5% cut, including $4.07 billion for NOAA’s Operations, Research, and Facilities account, an 11% cut. Under the House proposal, NIST would receive around $1 billion, a $160 million cut from its 2026 budget.
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Scientific and Technical Research and Services – $725 million is provided for NIST research and measurement science programs outside of community projects, $119 million below fiscal year 2026 and $4 million below the fiscal year 2027 request.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) – $5.9 billion is provided, resulting in an increase of $214 million to procurement, acquisition, and construction programs, and a reduction of $214 million to operations, research, and facilities programs, outside of community projects.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) – $24.4 billion is provided, equal to the fiscal year 2026 enacted level and $5.6 billion above the fiscal year 2027 request. The bill includes significant cuts to NASA’s science, aeronautics, and education initiatives.
National Science Foundation (NSF) – $7 billion, a decrease of $1.8 billion below the fiscal year 2026 enacted level and $3 billion above the fiscal year 2027 request, for efforts to support basic scientific research, cutting-edge technology development, and STEM education.
Subcommittee hearing.
Witness:
Lee Zeldin, Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency
For the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency), the President seeks $4.2 billion in base discretionary budget authority for FY 2027—a reduction of $4.6 billion (a 52.4 percent reduction) from the FY 2026 enacted level of $8.8 billion. EPA’s budget request would support a workforce of 12,500 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers.
EPA requests $1.7 million in new funding to administer the Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act of 2024. This program will issue “Good Samaritan” permits and investigative sampling permits to remediators of legacy hardrock mines, who will be exempt from liability under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act and the Clean Water Act.
EPA seeks the reconsideration of greenhouse gas (GHG) regulations and National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP). In FY 2027, EPA intends to address New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) actions under the Clean Air Act for sources of air pollutants in multiple categories including those in the power plant, oil, and natural gas sectors.
EPA plans to identify Brownfields and Superfund sites for qualifying AI projects and develop guidance for more efficient environmental reviews for certain reuse.
EPA seeks to reduce regulations on the auto industry and encourage domestic manufacturing. In FY 2027, EPA will reconsider and reevaluate three major on-road vehicle regulations.
The FY 2027 budget request proposes reductions in the following program areas:
Clean and Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Funds. EPA proposes a reduction of $2.5 billion. The reduction would return primary responsibility for funding local water infrastructure projects to states. The budget would provide $305 million to allow states to adjust to alternative funding sources.
Categorical Grants. EPA proposes a reduction of $1.1 billion. The proposed budget includes an approximately 91 percent decrease from FY 2026 enacted levels. This includes elimination of most categorical grants while maintaining funding for the Tribes and Underground Injection Control grants.
Office of Research and Development. EPA proposes a reduction of $235 million. The proposed budget would provide $281 million for statutorily required research in support of EPA’s core mission areas.
Federal Support for Air Quality Management. EPA proposes a reduction of $112.7 million. This program supports the development of state implementation plans and administers air grants.
Civil Enforcement. EPA proposes a reduction of $94.1 million. The proposed budget would provide $137 million for the Civil Enforcement Program which ensures compliance with environmental laws and regulations.
Criminal Enforcement. EPA proposes a reduction of $54.6 million. The proposed budget would provide $33.9 million for the Criminal Enforcement Program which enforces environmental laws investigating criminal conduct.
Research: Air and Energy. EPA proposes a reduction of $63.2 million. The proposed budget would include $32.0 million for this research program that provides assessments of air quality impacts.
Targeted Airshed Grants. EPA proposes a reduction of $31.6 million. The proposed budget would provide $36.2 million for the Targeted Airshed program.
Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Fund (WIFIA). EPA proposes a reduction of $64 million. The WIFIA program provides low-cost loans for large water and wastewater projects.
The subcommittee hearing is entitled, “Wires, Rates, and States: Permitting Transmission for Affordable, Reliable Power.” The hearing will review the planning, siting, and permitting of electric infrastructure, and the critical role of state regulatory oversight necessary to provide affordable, reliable delivery of electric power.
Witnesses:
U.S. electricity demand is projected to grow nationally at a significant rate through the end of the decade, and beyond. Recent estimates have projected annual growth rates ranging between 3.7 percent to 15 percent by 2030.2 In April, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) noted that, after 15 years of nearly flat electricity consumption, demand has increased by 2.1 percent per year, on average, over the last five years. Electricity demand growth is projected to continue to grow steadily through 2050, with data center energy use a major factor.
Just in the next two years, EIA projects peak summer demand for power to continue to grow significantly overall, at 2.3 percent this year and 3.7 percent in 2027; and for the commercial sector, in which data centers are classified, at 2.6 percent and 5.8 percent respectively. The industrial sector is also projected to grow by upwards of 5.1 percent in 2027. By the end of the decade, data center-driven increases in electricity demand could consume as much as 17 percent of all electricity in the United States.
The North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s (NERC) 2026 Long-Term Reliability Assessment finds that most of North America is at risk of energy shortfalls over the next five years, and the risk is growing. Key drivers include a confluence of interrelated issues, including a generation resource base that is becoming more variable and weather-dependent, unprecedented growth in electricity demand, and a pace of resource additions that is not keeping up with demand projections. The report finds, for example, that over the next 10 years more than 104 gigawatts (GW) of generation is projected to retire while peak power demand may grow by over 224 GW in the same time period. The report finds that projections for generation resource and transmission growth lag behind what is needed to support new data centers and other large loads that drive escalating demand forecasts.8 NERC’s president recently called the reliability challenges facing the United States a “five alarm fire.”
Meanwhile, electricity prices increased by an estimated 29 percent from 2019 to 2025, including 5.3 percent increase over 2025. Analysis shows that transmission and distribution costs have risen steadily while fuel and generation costs have generally declined. In 2025, over 7,000 circuit miles of transmission lines entered into service in RTO/ISO regions.
In 2005, Congress provided FERC limited “backstop” siting authority, under which FERC could override a state and issue permits for the limited number of transmission projects that may qualify by meeting certain conditions and being located within a National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor designated by the Department of Energy. No permit has been issued under this authority. At the same time, Congress also provided authorization for three or more contiguous states to enter an interstate compact, subject to approval by Congress, to establish a regional transmission siting agency to carry out the transmission siting and permitting responsibilities of states. States have not taken action under this authority.