Hill Heat

Subcommittee hearing.

Subcommittee hearing entitled “Igniting America’s Energy Future: The Promise and Progress of Fusion Power”.

Witnesses:

• Dr. Stephanie Diem, Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Dr. Will Regan, Co-Founder & President, Pacific Fusion
• Dr. Troy Carter, Director of Fusion Energy Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
• Dr. Bob Mumgaard, Co-Founder and CEO, Commonwealth Fusion Systems

On Thursday, September 18, 2025, at 10:00 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. 309 (Rep. Nehls), “National Law Enforcement Officers Remembrance, Support and Community Outreach Act”
• H. R. 2196 (Rep. Hudson), To provide for an extension of the legislative authority of the National Emergency Medical Services Memorial Foundation to establish a commemorative work in the District of Columbia and its environs.
• H. R. 4284 (Rep. Leger Fernandez), “Small Cemetery Conveyance Act”
• H. R. 4386 (Rep. Walberg), To amend the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act to allow two motorcycles to entrance with one America the Beautiful interagency pass.
• H. R. 4467 (Rep. Thompson of MS), “Vicksburg National Military Park Boundary Modification Act”, to transfer the welcome center to the State of Mississippi and the Friends of Vicksburg National Park
• H. R. 5131 (Rep. Begich), “Public Lands Military Readiness Act of 2025”.

These bills are bipartisan in nature.

Join Climate Action Campaign, Senator Markey, and other Members of Congress at the EPA headquarters at 1301 Constitution Avenue NW for a press conference about the EPA’s Climate Chaos Plan and Clean Vehicle Rollback. We will not sit back while Trump and his administration tries to cut climate progress.

Downballot races hold the key to outsized climate impact. Join Climate Cabinet Political Director Jared DeLoof and New Mexico Land Commissioner candidate Juan Sanchez for an inside look at the strategy, data, and opportunities shaping our 2026 Moneyball playbook.

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, will convene a nominations hearing for nominees of the National Transportation Safety Board, the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the Department of Commerce at 10:00 AM EST on Wednesday, September 17, 2025. The hearing will immediately follow an executive session to reconsider the nomination of Dr. Neil Jacobs, of North Carolina, to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere (NOAA Administrator). Jacobs was previously reported to the full Senate on a bipartisan basis by voice vote. However, possible changes in Senate floor procedure around nominations necessitates a roll call vote.

Nominees:

• Michael Graham, of Virginia, to be a Member of the National Transportation Safety Board
• Ethan Klein, of New Jersey, to be an Associate Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy
• Joyce Meyer, of Virginia, to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs to oversee the Census Bureau

Mike Graham is a current member of the NTSB, appointed in Trump’s first term.

Klein served as a technology policy adviser for OSTP for most of Trump’s first term. “After 2021, he served as a nuclear nonproliferation and international safeguards fellow with funding from the National Nuclear Security Administration and completed a PhD at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in nuclear science and engineering.” Klein is also nominated to be U.S. Chief Technology Officer.

Meyer served as the White House’s deputy director of legislative affairs during Trump’s first term, and was a long-time staffer of the former Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.). She would oversee the U.S. Census Bureau.

On Wednesday, September 17, 2025, at 10:00 a.m., in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources will meet to consider:

• H.R. 1366 (Rep. Amodei), “Mining Regulatory Clarity Act of 2025” (amendment in the nature of a substitute)
• H.R. 2306 (Rep. Moolenaar), “The Adams Memorial-Great American Heroes Act”
• H.R. 2815 (Rep. Begich), “Cape Fox Land Entitlement Finalization Act of 2025”
• H.R. 2916 (Rep. Stefanik), To authorize, ratify, and confirm the Agreement of Settlement and Compromise to Resolve the Akwesasne Mohawk Land Claim in the State of New York, and for other purposes.
• H.R. 3692 (Rep. Moulton), To reauthorize the Young Fishermen’s Development Act.
• H.R. 3872 (Rep. Fallon), To amend the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands to make that Act applicable to hardrock minerals.
• H.R. 4090 (Rep. Stauber), To codify certain provisions of certain Executive Orders relating to domestic mining and hardrock mineral resources, and for other purposes. (amendment in the nature of a substitute)
• H.R. 4256 (Rep. Min), “Digital Coast Reauthorization Act of 2025”

Full committee oversight hearing.

Witnesses:

• Adam Telle, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, Department of the Army, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Works
• Lieutenant General William H. Graham Jr., 56th Chief of Engineers and Commanding General, Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, will convene an executive session to reconsider the nomination of Dr. Neil Jacobs, of North Carolina, to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere (NOAA Administrator). Jacobs was previously reported to the full Senate on a bipartisan basis by voice vote. However, possible changes in Senate floor procedure around nominations necessitates a roll call vote. The executive session will be immediately followed by a nominations hearing.

Nominee:

• Dr. Neil Jacobs, of North Carolina, to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere (NOAA Administrator)

The vote was cancelled for lack of a quorum.

EPW business meeting to consider:

• Jeffery Hall to be an Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Enforcement and Compliance Assurance

The vote did not take place for lack of a quorum.

Nomination hearing was on July 3rd.

Jeffery Hall, previously a partner at oil-industry law firm Burke Law Group, is principal deputy assistant administrator in EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. At Burke, Hall represented Dr. Eithan Haim, an anti-trans surgeon who stole minor patient files and shared them with neo-Nazi activist Chris Rufo. The case against Haim was dropped by the DOJ days after Trump became president. Hall also represented the anti-trans organization Do No Harm. Hall also represented the State of Louisiana in arguments before the Fifth Court of Appeals in Texas v. EPA. The court ruled against Louisiana.

A March 12 memo from Hall lays out specific “initial guidance” on realigning the agency’s 2023 National Enforcement and Compliance Initiatives with the Trump Administration’s stated goals. The memo provides that “enforcement and compliance assurance actions shall not shut down any stage of energy production . . . or power generation absent an imminent and substantial threat to human health or an express statutory or regulatory requirement to the contrary.” Further, actions that “would unduly burden or significantly disrupt energy production or power generation,” among other consequences, must be approved by Mr. Hall.