The purpose of this hearing is to receive testimony on the following bills:
S. 90, to prohibit the use of funds by the Secretary of the Interior to finalize and implement certain travel management plans in the State of Utah (Lee);
S. 91, to improve Federal activities relating to wildfires, and for other purposes (Cortez Masto);
S. 140, to address the forest health crisis on the National Forest System and public lands, and for other purposes (Barrasso);
S. 451, to amend the Mineral Leasing Act to eliminate the 2 percent federal administrative fee on royalties paid to states for oil, gas, and geothermal leases on federal lands, and for other purposes (Daines);
S. 764, to provide for the designation of certain wilderness areas, recreation management areas, and conservation areas in the State of Colorado, and for other purposes (Bennet);
S. 790, to redesignate the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center in Casper, Wyoming, as the “Barbara L. Cubin National Historic Trails Interpretive Center” (Lummis);
S. 888, to designate certain land administered by the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service in the State of Oregon as wilderness and national recreation areas, to withdraw certain land located in Curry County and Josephine County, Oregon, from all forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal under the public land laws, location, entry, and patent under the mining laws, and operation under the mineral leasing and geothermal leasing laws, and for other purposes (Wyden);
S. 902, to require the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to establish a standard for the response time to wildfire incidents, and for other purposes (Sheehy);
S. 945, to amend the Smith River National Recreation Area Act to include certain additions to the Smith River National Recreation Area, to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate certain wild rivers in the State of Oregon, and for other purposes (Merkley);
S. 1005, to provide for conservation and economic development in the State of Nevada, and for other purposes (Cortez Masto);
S. 1195, promote conservation, improve public land management, and provide for sensible development in Pershing County, Nevada, and for other purposes (Rosen);
S. 1228, to amend the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 to modify the cost-sharing requirement for conservation projects carried out by a qualified youth or conservation corps, and for other purposes (Risch);
S. 1319, to withdraw certain Federal land in the Pecos Watershed area of the State of New Mexico from mineral entry, and for other purposes (Heinrich);
S. 1341, to amend the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 to add certain land to the Sarvis Creek Wilderness, and for other purposes (Hickenlooper);
S. 1321, to amend the Strom Thurmond National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999 to provide for the transfer of the Moab site to Grand County, Utah, and for other purposes (Curtis);
S. 1363, to provide for greater cooperation and coordination between the Federal Government and the governing bodies and community users of land grant-mercedes in New Mexico relating to historical or traditional uses of certain land grant-mercedes on Federal public land, and for other purposes (Luján);
S. 1468, to amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to provide that Alexander Creek, Incorporated, is recognized as a Village Corporation under that Act, and for other purposes (Sullivan);
S. 1476, to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate certain segments of the Gila River system in the State of New Mexico as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, to provide for the transfer of administrative jurisdiction over certain Federal land in the State of New Mexico, and for other purposes (Heinrich);
S. 1737, to designate and expand wilderness areas in Olympic National Forest in the State of Washington, and to designate certain rivers in Olympic National Forest and Olympic National Park as wild and scenic rivers, and for other purposes (Murray);
S. 1860, to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey to Brian Head Town, Utah, certain National Forest System land (Lee);
S. 2016, to exchange non-Federal land held by the Chugach Alaska Corporation for certain Federal Land in the Chugach Region, and for other purposes (Murkowski);
S. 2033, to direct the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study on existing programs, rules, and authorities that enable or inhibit wildfire mitigation across land ownership boundaries on Federal and non-Federal land (Gallego);
S. 2042, to provide lasting protection for inventoried roadless areas within the National Forest System (Cantwell);
S. 2262, to amend the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to clarify the nature of public involvement for purposes of certain rulemaking, and for other purposes (Barrasso);
S. 2273, to amend the Act of July 10, 1890, to modify certain provisions relating to the disposal of public land in the State of Wyoming for educational purposes (Lummis).
The Subcommittee on Energy has scheduled a hearing for Tuesday, December 2, 2025, at
10:30 a.m. (ET) in 2141 Rayburn House Office Building. The hearing is entitled, “Securing
America’s Energy Infrastructure: Addressing Cyber and Physical Threats to the Grid.” The
hearing will review how electric utilities and other energy entities, in coordination with the
federal government, prepare and respond to cyber and physical threats to the electric grid, as well
as threats to other critical energy infrastructure.
Michael Ball, CEO of the Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center and Senior Vice President, North American Electric Reliability Corporation
Sharla Artz, Security and Resilience Policy Area Vice President at Xcel Energy, on behalf of Edison Electric Institute
Tim Lindahl, President & CEO of Kenergy, on behalf of National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA)
Zach Tudor, Associate Laboratory Director, National & Homeland Security, Idaho
Harry Krejsa, Director of Studies for the Carnegie Mellon Institute for Strategy & Technology
Artz: “The same surge capacity that rushes to companies in need
during hurricanes, winter storms, and wildfires stands ready to assist and share resources in the
face of a potential cyber incident. . . . The Department
of Energy also hosts regionally-based exercises focused on response to natural and man-made threats, such as Liberty Eclipse and Clear Path. Next year, the American Gas Association will
host the biennial Natural Gas Exercise, an exercise in which operators test and validate
response/recovery plans for cybersecurity and physical security threats that stress gas control and
corporate business continuity.”
Lindahl: “Co-ops apply a risk-based, layered defense strategy to
protect critical assets, including power plants, transmission infrastructure that carries electricity
long distances, and substations and distribution lines that provide electricity to local users. This
approach is designed to ensure protection against all hazards – severe storms, vandalism,
physical, and cyber incidents.”
On Tuesday, December 2, 2025, at 10:15 a.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. 4931 (Rep. Murphy of NC), “National Park System Long-Term Lease Investment Act”, to remove competitive bidding requirements for long-term leases within the national parks
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ranking Member of the Environment and Public Works Committee; House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries; and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi will hold a press conference to sound the alarm about the skyrocketing costs of climate change and to condemn Trump’s abandonment of climate action.
The U.N.’s 30th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP), the largest and most important forum for world governments to address the global climate crisis, is currently taking place in Belém, Brazil, but the Trump Administration failed to participate in—and actively undermined Congressional presence at—this year’s gathering, a first in the 30-year history of these U.N. climate talks. Ranking Member Whitehouse was the only U.S. federal government official to attend COP30.
As electricity costs surge because Republicans are suppressing clean power, and home insurance premiums balloon because Republicans refuse to address climate risks, the corrupt Trump administration continues to label climate change a “hoax” and has abdicated U.S. leadership on climate—despite a majority of Americans supporting action on climate change.
Charlton Allen to be General Counsel, Federal Labor Relations Authority
John Walk to be Inspector General, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Thomas Bell to be Inspector General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Allen is the former chairman and chief executive officer of the North Carolina Industrial Commission. He is the founder of the Madison Center for Law & Liberty, Inc., editor of The American Salient, and the host of the Modern Federalist podcast.
Walk serves as Judicial Officer at the United States Department of Agriculture. He served as Associate Counsel to President Donald J. Trump at the White House Counsel’s Office from January 2017 until December 2020. At the White House, Walk advised the President and senior White House officials on the exercise of the President’s constitutional authority, regulatory matters, executive actions, and implementation of public policy. Prior to the White House, Walk served as an attorney at the Department of Homeland Security, providing advice on DHS operations and defending against federal litigation as agency counsel as an ally of Stephen Miller. Before entering the legal profession, Walk was a senior government relations advisor at an international law firm and served as a congressional staffer in the House of Representatives. Walk is the son-in-law of Jeff Sessions, married to Sessions’ daughter Ruth.
As Inspector General for Health and Human Services, Thomas March Bell will oversee fraud, waste and abuse audits of the Medicare and Medicaid programs, which spend more than $1 trillion annually. Bell currently serves as general counsel for House Republicans and has worked for GOP politicians and congressional offices for decades. The president’s nomination of this anti-abortion extremist is a “brazenly political” one. Bell was ousted from Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality in 1997 after a state audit showed he improperly authorized a nearly $8,000 payment to the agency’s former spokesman. He was staff director for House Republicans’ 2016 investigation into Planned Parenthood. During the first Trump administration, Bell helped create the Conscience and Religious Freedom division within the HHS Office for Civil Rights. Bell held leadership positions in Gary Bauer and Pat Robinson’s presidential campaigns.
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
Brent Christensen, of Virginia, to be Ambassador to the People’s Republic of Bangladesh
Benjamin León, Jr., of Florida, to be Ambassador to the Kingdom of Spain, and to serve concurrently and without additional compensation as Ambassador to the Principality of Andorra
Leo Brent Bozell III, of Virginia, to be Ambassador to the Republic of South Africa, all of the Department of State
Brent Bozell is a notorious climate denier and right-wing propagandist, the long-time head of the Scaife-backed Media Research Center. His son was a January 6 rioter.
On Wednesday, November 19, 2025, at 10:15 a.m., in room 1334 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs will hold a legislative hearing on the following bills:
H.R. 4276 (Rep. Case), To amend the Native American Tourism and Improving Visitor Experience Act to authorize grants to Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Native Hawaiian organizations, and for other purposes.
H.R. 5682 (Rep. Issa), To take certain land in the State of California into trust for the benefit of the Pechanga Band of Indians, and for other purposes.
H.R. 5696 (Rep. LaMalfa), “Strengthening Tribal Real Estate Authority and Modernizing Land for Indigenous Nation Expansion Act” or the “STREAMLINE Act”
On Wednesday, November 19, 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 examining PFAS cleanup and disposal policy.
Witnesses;
Eric Gerstenberg, Co-Chief Executive Officer, Clean Harbors
Leah Pilconis, General Counsel, Associated General Contractors of America
Kate R. Bowers, Supervisory Attorney, Congressional Research Service