Congress

Our congressional section has the latest on energy, environmental and related legislation in the House and Senate, with must-read stories on upcoming bills, amendments, hearings and floor battles.

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Our congressional section has the latest on energy, environmental and related legislation in the House and Senate, with must-read stories on upcoming bills, amendments, hearings and floor battles.

As Deal Remains Elusive, Lawmakers Express Optimism On Permit Talks

Even as lawmakers struggle to reach a bipartisan agreement on permit streamlining, two House members -- one Democrat, one Republican -- are expressing optimism that they will eventually be able to cut such a deal, arguing that provisions ensuring permitting “certainty” is important enough that will drive a final agreement. Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA) pledged during a Nov. 20 event hosted by the Center for Climate & Energy Solutions (C2ES) that if Republicans bolster such “certainty” provisions in their proposed...

House Panel Clears NEPA Revisions On Party Lines, Setting Up Floor Fight

The House Natural Resources Committee has voted largely along party lines to approve legislation overhauling the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and expediting environmental permitting, though absent a last-minute agreement, the bill will almost certainly face a raucous floor fight when it comes up for a House vote. The committee Nov. 20 voted 25-18 to approve H.R. 4776 , a bill sponsored by committee Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-AR) that is known as the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED)...

Democratic Senators Up Pressure On Pentagon To Speed PFAS Cleanups

The Pentagon is facing stepped-up pressure to scrap a slowed schedule for PFAS cleanups and return to a previously adopted timetable, with the latest push coming from 28 Democratic senators, including Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), urging Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to make the changes. In a Nov. 19 letter led by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), the senators cite concerns over the Defense Department’s (DOD) decision to delay per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) cleanup work at nearly 140 military...

Letter To Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth

FY 2026 Budget Justification Report For Funding Related To Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances


Senators Make Case To Protect PFAS ‘Passive Receivers’ But Path Unclear

Democratic and Republican senators on the environment committee are making the case to protect “passive receivers” of PFAS from Superfund liability, though after years of review on the issue, they appear to be stalled on how best to offer such protections while still ensuring that “polluters” must pay for such cleanups. “If there is a role for Congress to ensure that the right people pay to fix this problem, then I look forward to working together to find a solution,”...

House Committee Weighs NEPA Streamlining Bill, As Deal Remains Elusive

House Republicans are poised to advance broad legislation that would expedite permitting under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), though Democrats remain concerned about the breadth of a revised version of the bill and the lack of provisions creating certainty for clean energy project approvals. The House Natural Resources Committee has scheduled a Nov. 20 meeting to mark up H.R. 4776 , which is also known as the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act, as well as other...

House Panel Clears Republicans’ NEPA Reforms For Broadband Telecom

A House Energy and Commerce Committee panel has approved on a party-line vote revisions to the National Energy Policy Act (NEPA) to expedite permitting for broadband projects, setting the stage for a broader floor debate on permitting reform as the Natural Resources Committee is poised to mark up broader NEPA overhaul legislation. The committee’s Communications and Technology Subcommittee voted Nov. 18 to approve the bills, part of a package of more than two dozen measures intended to expand access to...

D.C. Circuit sets schedule in air toxics reclassification case

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is setting a briefing schedule in environmentalists’ lawsuit against the first Trump administration’s rule allowing “major” sources of air toxics to reclassify as more lightly-regulated “area” sources, leaving related questions over facilities’ “potential to emit” (PTE) for a separate case. In a Nov. 12 order in California Communities Against Toxics, et al. v. EPA , the court sets a schedule that requires environmentalists’ opening brief by Jan. 23 and...

EPA Bar On State Air Plans That Hinder Prescribed Fire Spurs Confusion

State air regulators are expressing confusion about EPA’s rationale for a policy guidance that aims to bar provisions in state plans to meet federal air standards that would inhibit use of “prescribed fire,” a technique used to prevent major wildfires, as environmentalists push back on congressional efforts to promote the practice. In an Oct. 16 policy memo to its regional offices, EPA air chief Aaron Szabo said “any regulatory provisions that would limit strategic deployment of prescribed fire should not...

EPA Resumes Normal Operations After Lengthy Government Shutdown

EPA is resuming its normal operations after President Trump signed a short-term funding bill, ending the 43-day government shutdown that included several aggressive moves by the Trump administration such as threatening to fire staff or withhold back pay from furloughed workers, and the use of “carryover” funds to continue deregulatory activities. The continuing resolution (CR), which Trump signed into law late Nov. 12, will fund EPA at fiscal year 2025 levels until Jan. 30. The CR includes a ban on...

Air Force Nominee Agrees To Work With Slotkin On PFAS Cleanups’ Pace

The nominee for the Air Force’s top environment official has committed to working with Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) in moving ahead on a “positive glide slope” on PFAS cleanups, in response to the senator pressing the Air Force to revert to a faster cleanup schedule following news that the Defense Department (DOD) had adopted an updated, slowed timetable. But Michael Borders, nominated to be Air Force assistant secretary for energy, installations, and environment, did not provide details on his commitment...

Capitol Hill Lawmakers Advance Bill To End Shutdown, Block Agency RIFs

The Senate is advancing a stopgap spending deal that could end the month-plus federal government shutdown, ensure back pay for furloughed employees and stop reductions in force (RIFs) for at least the next two months while lawmakers finalize long term fiscal year 2026 spending legislation for EPA and other agencies. Senators in a 60-40 vote Nov. 10 formally agreed to begin debate on a bipartisan compromise that contains a stopgap measure to fund the government through Jan. 30, alongside several...

Cramer, Whitehouse Urge EPA To Withdraw GHG Reporting Repeal Plan

Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND) -- key voices in their respective parties on energy and environmental issues -- are pressing EPA to withdraw its proposal to undo its Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP), raising concern that such a move would undercut the competitiveness of U.S. industry. The request in a Nov. 3 letter to EPA amplifies industry warnings that ending GHG reporting for nearly all sectors -- and suspending certain oil and gas sector reporting until 2034...

Manufacturers Cite AI, Trump Energy Goals To Urge Bipartisan Permit Deal

The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is arguing that U.S. leadership on artificial intelligence (AI) as well as President Trump’s “energy dominance” agenda are at risk if lawmakers do not reach a bipartisan deal to update environmental permitting policies to expedite the approval of energy and other infrastructure projects. NAM issued an Oct. 29 proposed outline of such a deal, offering the latest plan to streamline permitting policies in an effort to hike pressure on Congress to overcome partisan divisions...

Environmentalists Urge Congress To Again Reject Ban On State AI Rules

A broad coalition of environmental groups is asking leaders from both parties in Congress to reject renewed efforts to override state regulations for artificial intelligence and data centers, citing successful efforts earlier this year to beat back such legislation, including a moratorium on state AI rules in President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill. The coalition, led by the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), is citing upcoming debate on an annual national defense policy authorization bill, or other stand-alone AI-related legislation,...

EPW Backs OECA, OCSPP Picks On Party Lines; Bills Win Broader Support

The Senate environment committee is advancing on party lines President Trump’s nominees to lead EPA’s enforcement and chemicals offices while approving on a bipartisan basis a suite of bills, including measures that would authorize a new Western mine-cleanup office, reauthorize diesel emissions reduction grants and address plastic pollution. During an Oct. 29 business meeting, Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW) lawmakers voted 10-9 along party lines to confirm both Jeffrey Hall and Douglas Troutman to lead EPA’s Office of Enforcement...

Groups back REUSE Act ahead of EPW markup

A broad array of environmental, recycling and other groups are urging lawmakers to support legislation that would require EPA to assess prospects for reusable and refillable packaging systems as an alternative to single-use plastics ahead of a Senate environment committee meeting where senators will consider the measure alongside other key bills. The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) joined 180 groups in an Oct. 28 letter urging senators to cosponsor the Research for Environmental Uses and Sustainable Economies (REUSE) Act of...

Governors’ Bipartisan Permitting Overhaul Hikes Pressure On Congress

The National Governors’ Association (NGA) has released a bipartisan plan to expedite permitting for energy projects under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Clean Water Act (CWA) and other laws, hiking pressure on Congress to act at a time that the government shutdown and partisan rancor have stalled debate on the issue. The reform recommendations -- crafted by the Governors Energy and Infrastructure Working Group -- cover four categories: Streamlining Federal Agency Reviews, Reforms to the National Environmental Policy...

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