Nominations of Audrey Robertson (EERE), Tim Walsh (EM), and David Eisner (IA) to be Assistant Secretaries of Energy, and Lanny Erdos to be Director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation

Full committee hearing.

Nominees:

  • Lanny Erdos to be the Director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement of the United States Department of the Interior
  • Audrey Robertson to be Assistant Secretary of Energy for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
  • Timothy Walsh to be Assistant Secretary of Energy for Environmental Management
  • David Eisner to be Assistant Secretary of Energy for International Affairs

Audrey Robinson is an oil executive who “helped found Denver-based Franklin Mountain Energy, a since-sold natural gas fracking firm in the Permian Basin with an open investigation at EPA over recent Clean Air Act violations.” She “also sits on the board of Liberty Energy, the fracking services company led by Energy Secretary Chris Wright until his resignation in January. Earlier in her career, Robertson worked at Goldman Sachs and Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, an investment firm focused on fossil fuels.”

Tim Walsh is a Colorado real estate developer who “has donated over $2.5 million to Republican candidates and conservative causes since 2022.”

David Eisner worked in the Treasury Department in the first Trump administration, is critical of GOP election deniers, and is a devoted fan of Chris Wright.

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
366 Dirksen

07/09/2025 at 09:30AM

Vote on Nominations of Usha-Maria Turner to be an Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, David Wright to be a Member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission

EPW business meeting to consider:

  • Usha-Maria Turner, of Oklahoma, to be an Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency;
  • David Wright, of South Carolina, to be a Member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; and
  • 31 Committee Resolutions to approve prospectuses from the General Services Administration

Their nomination hearing was on June 25th.

Usha-Maria Turner is a longtime energy-industry lobbyist, most recently for Chesapeake Energy. She previously worked for OGE Energy and TXU Power.

Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
562 Dirksen

07/09/2025 at 08:45AM

POSTPONED Markup of FY26 Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Bill

Subcommittee markup has been postponed.

Budget request

Department of Energy
Program Name $ Change from 2025 Enacted (in millions) Brief Description of Program and Recommended Reduction or Increase
Cuts, Reductions, and Consolidations
IIJA Cancellation -15,247 The Budget cancels over $15 billion in funds committed to build renewable energy, removing carbon dioxide from the air, and other technologies. The Budget also ends programs for electric vehicle and battery makers and cancels the Carbon Dioxide Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act.
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) -2,572 The Budget reorients EERE programs to early-stage research and development programming, eliminating funding for Justice40. This proposal would support technologies that promote fossil-fuel and nuclear power and bioenergy.
Office of Science -1,148 The Budget reduces funding for climate change and renewable energy research. The Budget maintains priority areas such as high-performance computing, artificial intelligence, quantum information science, fusion, and critical minerals.
Environmental Management (EM) -389 The EM program performs activities at 14 active cleanup sites and operates a geologic disposal facility (Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, New Mexico). The EM topline is being reduced by $389 million, which reflects a reduction of about $178 million for the transfer of responsibility from the EM program to the National Nuclear Security Administration for the Savannah River site in South Carolina, where plutonium pit production capabilities would be developed. The Budget maintains the Hanford site in Washington at the 2025 enacted level but reduces funding for various cleanup activities at other sites.
Advanced Research Project Agency‒ Energy (ARPA-E) -260 The Budget reduces funding for ARPA-E, limiting support to research advancing fossil-fuel technologies and other technologies. Pollution-reducing technologies are not supported.
Office of Nuclear Energy -408 The Budget reduces funding for research on nuclear energy. Funding priorities include innovative concepts for nuclear reactors, researching advanced nuclear fuels, and maintaining the capabilities of the Idaho National Laboratory.
Office of Fossil Energy -270 The Budget restores the name and function of the Office of Fossil Energy to its original purpose, which is funding for the research of technologies that could produce an abundance of domestic fossil energy and critical minerals.
Corps of Engineers—Civil Works (Corps)
Cuts, Reductions, and Consolidations
Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF) Surplus -1,071 The HMTF, whose funding is subject to annual appropriations, finances operation and maintenance projects for the Nation’s water channels. The Budget reduces funding for HMTF.
Corps WIFIA program -7 The Corps WIFIA program provides direct loans and loan guarantees for non-Federal dam safety projects. The Budget eliminates this program.
Department of the Interior (DOI)
Cuts, Reductions, and Consolidations
Bureau of Reclamation and the Central Utah Project -609 The Budget provides $1.2 billion for the Bureau of Reclamation and the Central Utah Project, eliminating funds for habitat restoration.
Small Agency Eliminations
Cuts, Reductions, and Consolidations
  • 400 Years of African American History Commission
  • Corporation for National and Community Service (operating as AmeriCorps)
  • Corporation for Public Broadcasting
  • Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service
  • Institute of Museum and Library Sciences
  • Inter-American Foundation
  • Marine Mammal Commission
  • National Endowment for the Arts
  • National Endowment for the Humanities
  • Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation
  • U.S. African Development Foundation
  • U.S. Agency for Global Media
  • U.S. Institute of Peace
  • U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness
  • Woodrow Wilson Center
  • Presidio Trust
-3,586 The Budget includes the elimination of, or the elimination of Federal funding for, the following small agencies. Agencies in bold are in this appropriations bill.
  • Delta Regional Authority
  • Denali Commission
  • Northern Border Regional Commission
  • Southeast Crescent Regional Commission
  • Southwest Border Regional Commission
  • Great Lakes Authority
The Budget eliminates six small regional commissions. The Budget continues funding for Appalachian Regional Commission’s (ARC) operations at $14 million.
Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation (ONHIR) -2 The budget closes this office.
House Appropriations Committee
   Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Subcommittee

07/07/2025 at 06:00PM

POSTPONED Markup of FY26 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Bill

Subcommittee markup has been postponed.

Budget request

Program Name $ Change from 2025 Enacted (in millions) Brief Description of Program and Recommended Reduction or Increase
Department of Commerce
Increases
Fair Trade and Trade Enforcement +134 The Budget includes $134 million to strengthen trade enforcement. This includes an additional $122 million for the Bureau of Industry and Security. These new funds would also increase antidumping and countervailing duty investigations.
Cuts, Reductions, and Consolidations
Economic Development Administration (EDA) and Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) -624 EDA programs are cut. MBDA is fully eliminated.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)—Operations, Research, and Grants -1,311 The Budget terminates a variety of climate-related research, data, and grant programs.
NOAA—Procurement of Weather Satellites and Infrastructure -209 The Budget rescopes NOAA’s Geostationary and Extended Observ by canceling contracts for instruments designed primarily for climate measurements.
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) -325 Climate and environmental grants like NIST’s Circular Economy Program are eliminated.
International Trade Administration (ITA)—Global Markets -145 The Budget refocuses ITA’s footprint to countering China and securing access to fossil-fuel and mineral resources.
Department of Justice (DOJ)
Cuts, Reductions, and Consolidations
Reduce State and Local Grant Programs -1,019 The Budget proposes to eliminate nearly 40 DOJ grant programs. The Budget eliminates programs such as Community Based Approaches to Advancing Justice, as well as programs that focus on hate crimes. Further, the Budget cuts Violence Against Women Act funding.
Cut the FBI -545 The Budget reflects a new focus on counterintelligence and counterterrorism, while reducing non-law enforcement missions, including DEI programs and intelligence activities.
DEA International Capacity -212 The Budget targets DEA’s foreign spending to Mexico, Central America, South America, and China.
Refocus ATF Enforcement and Regulatory Priorities -468 The Budget cuts funding for ATF offices and background checks.
General Legal Activities -193 The Budget focuses funding for General Legal Activities on the Civil Division ($441 million), and the Criminal Division ($220 million). The Budget reduces funding for the Civil Rights Division and the Environment and Natural Resources Division.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Increases
Human Space Exploration +647 The Budget allocates over $7 billion for lunar exploration and introduces $1 billion in new investments for Mars-focused programs.
Cuts, Reductions, and Consolidations
Space Science -2,265 In line with the Administration’s objectives of returning to the Moon before China and putting a man on Mars, the Budget would reduce lower priority research and terminate unaffordable missions such as the Mars Sample Return mission that is grossly overbudget and whose goals would be achieved by human missions to Mars. The mission is not scheduled to return samples until the 2030s.
Mission Support -1,134 The Budget cuts the workforce, IT services, NASA Center operations, facility maintenance, and construction and environmental compliance activities.
Earth Science -1,161 The Budget eliminates funding for climate monitoring satellites and restructures the Landsat Next mission.
Legacy Human Exploration Systems -879 The Budget phases out the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion capsule after three flights. budget. The Budget funds a program to replace SLS and Orion flights to the Moon with commercial systems. The Budget also proposes to terminate the Gateway, a small lunar space station in development with international partners, which would have been used to support future SLS and Orion missions.
Space Technology -531 The Budget reduces Space Technology by approximately half, including eliminating space propulsion projects. The reductions also scale back or eliminate technology projects in favor of private sector research and development.
International Space Station -508 The Budget reflects the transition to a commercial approach to human activities in space. The Budget reduces the space station’s crew size and onboard research, preparing for a decommissioning of the station by 2030 and replacement by commercial space stations. Crew and cargo flights to the station would be significantly reduced.
Aeronautics -346 The Budget eliminates climate-focused green aviation spending.
Office of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Engagement -143 NASA will cut STEM programming and research.
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Cuts, Reductions, and Consolidations
General Research and Education -3,479 The Budget cuts funding for: climate; clean energy; social, behavioral, and economic sciences; and other programs. Funding for Artificial Intelligence and quantum information sciences research is maintained at current levels.
Broadening Participation -1,130 All DEI-related programs at NSF are eliminated.
Agency Operations and Awards Management -93 This reduction to operations aligns with the Agency’s reduced size.
House Appropriations Committee
   Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Subcommittee
2359 Rayburn

07/07/2025 at 05:30PM

NASA Needs Help!

Protest planned to save NASA from Trump cuts! Join us at NASA headquarters at 300 E St SW in DC Monday, June 30, from 7:00 AM to 11:00 AM.

This is a permitted protest.

Please absolutely flood your representatives in Congress with pleas to save NASA. When you do, drive home the point that the cuts are happening now! Most of Congress seems to think that they will save NASA if they work out a budget for the coming fiscal year that funds NASA at previous levels. They don’t realize that NASA’s acting administrator, under pressure from the White House, OMB, and DOGE, are enacting “realignments” and cuts now. So please please please tell Congress that every day our nation is losing dedicated and brilliant career civil servants, contractors, and programs, that NASA is being fed into the woodchipper now. Congress must act immediately to save NASA, not wait for October 1!

NASA Needs Help
District of Columbia
06/30/2025 at 07:00AM

POSTPONED Full Committee Markup of FY26 National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Bill, FY26 Legislative Branch Bill

Full committee markup has been postponed.

Budget request:

Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
Program Name $ Change from 2025 Enacted (in millions) Brief Description of Program and Recommended Reduction or Increase Enacted
Increases
America First Opportunity (A1OF) Fund +2,900 Support India and Jordan; repatriations; counter China and other near-peer rivals; and fund new activities.
Development Finance Corporation +2,820 The Budget increases the U.S. International DFC. This investment includes $3 billion for a new revolving fund to allow DFC to recycle any realized returns from its initial investments without further appropriation.
Cuts, Reductions, and Consolidations
Economic Support Fund, Development Assistance, Democracy Fund, and Assistance for Europe, Eurasia, and Central Asia -8,326 The Budget eliminates funding for these programs and replaces them with the single A1OF and the DFC. International Disaster Assistance,
Migration and Refugee Assistance, and Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance (ERMA)—International Humanitarian Assistance (IHA) -3,207 The Budget reduces disaster assistance. The Budget provides $1.5 billion in ERMA for the President to use at his discretion and consolidates accounts into a new $2.5 billion IHA account.
State and USAID Operations -2,462 Consistent with Executive Order 14169, “Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid,” the Budget reorganizes USAID into the Department of State.
International Narcotics Control & Law Enforcement (INCLE) -1,160 The majority of INCLE funds go to reforming criminal justice systems in foreign governments, rather than to narcotics enforcement, which is primarily undertaken by: Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); Central Intelligence Agency; Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); Department of Homeland Security (DHS); and Department of Defense (DOD) elements. The Budget eliminates rule-of-law programs, while providing $125 million to fund programs that support counter-drug, organized crime, and border security missions.
Peacekeeping Missions -1,614 The Budget does not provide funding for United Nations (UN) and other peacekeeping missions.
Assessed and Voluntary Contributions to International Organizations -1,716 The Budget pauses most assessed and all voluntary contributions to UN and other international organizations, including for the UN Regular Budget, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and the World Health Organization. This is consistent with Executive Order 14199, “Withdrawing the United States From and Ending Funding to Certain United Nations Organizations and Reviewing United States Support to All International Organizations.” The President can choose to fund these international organizations out of the A1OF if he chooses.
Educational and Cultural Exchanges -691
Transition Initiatives (TI) -75 TI funds short-term assistance that aims to shape political outcomes in countries. The Budget eliminates the TI account.
Complex Crisis Fund -55 The Complex Crisis Fund is a fund for nation-building projects. The Budget eliminates this account and redirects crisis funding to the IHA and ERMA accounts.
National Endowment for Democracy (NED) -315 The Budget eliminates funding for NED.
Global Health Programs/Family Planning -6,233 The United States is the largest global contributor to programs that provide family planning. The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief funding is preserved for any current beneficiaries.
Food for Peace (Title II) -1,619 The Food for Peace program spends $1.6 billion to ship food overseas.
Contribution to the Global Environmental Facility and Climate Investment Funds -275 The Budget proposes to eliminate contributions to the Global Environment Facility and the Climate Investment Funds.
Contributions to Multilateral Development Banks (African Development Bank, African Development Fund) -555 Consistent with Executive Order 14169, “Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid,” the Budget proposes to eliminate contributions to the African Development Fund. The Budget also includes $3.2 billion over three years for the U.S. Government contribution to the International Development Association.
Other Treasury International Reductions -86 The Budget proposes to eliminate several of the Department of the Treasury’s international assistance programs, including the Debt Restructuring account, and contributions to the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program.
Small Agency Eliminations
Cuts, Reductions, and Consolidations
  • 400 Years of African American History Commission
  • Corporation for National and Community Service (operating as AmeriCorps)
  • Corporation for Public Broadcasting
  • Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service
  • Institute of Museum and Library Sciences
  • Inter-American Foundation
  • Marine Mammal Commission
  • National Endowment for the Arts
  • National Endowment for the Humanities
  • Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation
  • U.S. African Development Foundation
  • U.S. Agency for Global Media
  • U.S. Institute of Peace
  • U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness
  • Woodrow Wilson Center
  • Presidio Trust
-3,586 The Budget includes the elimination of, or the elimination of Federal funding for, the following small agencies. Agencies in bold are in this appropriations bill.
  • Delta Regional Authority
  • Denali Commission
  • Northern Border Regional Commission
  • Southeast Crescent Regional Commission
  • Southwest Border Regional Commission
  • Great Lakes Authority
The Budget eliminates six small regional commissions. The Budget continues funding for Appalachian Regional Commission’s (ARC) operations at $14 million.
House Appropriations Committee
2359 Rayburn

06/27/2025 at 10:00AM

POSTPONED Full Committee Markup of FY26 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Bill, FY26 Financial Services and General Government Bill

Full committee markup has been postponed.

Budget request

Department of the Interior (DOI)
Program Name $ Change from 2025 Enacted (in millions) Brief Description of Program and Recommended Reduction or Increase
Cuts, Reductions, and Consolidations
Bureau of Reclamation and the Central Utah Project -609 The Budget provides $1.2 billion for the Bureau of Reclamation and the Central Utah Project.
Operation of the National Park System -900 The Budget would transfer most properties to State-level management. Achieving a $900 million cut to operations would require eliminating funding for roughly 350 park sites, 75 percent of the total.
NPS Historic Preservation Fund -158 The Budget eliminates almost all funding except for projects in partnership with HBCUs.
NPS Construction -73 This reduction complements the Administration’s goals transferring most parks to State and tribal governments.
NPS National Recreation and Preservation -77
Bureau of Indian Affairs Programs that Support Tribal Self-Governance and Tribal Communities -617 The Budget eliminates the Indian Guaranteed Loan program for tribal business development. The Budget also terminates the Indian Land Consolidation Program. In addition, the Budget also reduces funding for programs that directly fund tribal operations such as roads, housing, and social services.
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Public Safety and Justice -107 The Budget cuts the tribal law enforcement program by 20 percent.
Bureau of Indian Education Construction -187 The Budget eliminates funding for construction of tribal schools.
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Surveys, Investigations, and Research programs -564 USGS provides science information on natural hazards, ecosystems, water, energy and mineral resources, and mapping of Earth’s features. The Budget eliminates programs that provide grants to universities and crucial climate science initiatives and instead focuses on support for minerals and fossil fuel extraction.
Bureau of Land Management Conservation Programs -198 The Budget proposes deep reductions. The Budget also reduces the Wildlife and Aquatic Habitat Management program.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) State, Tribal, and NGO Conservation Grant Programs -170 The Budget eliminates USFWS grant programs that fund conservation of species managed by States, Tribes, and other nations.
Renewable Energy Programs -80 The Budget proposes to eliminate support for renewable energy deployment.
USFWS Ecological Services -37 USFWS’ Ecological Services program and NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Protected Resources are jointly responsible for administering the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The Budget consolidates these two programs into a single program housed within DOI with significantly reduced funding.
Federal Wildland Fire Service (consolidation of USDA and DOI Wildland Fire Management programs under a unified agency within DOI) -- Federal wildfire risk mitigation and suppression responsibilities currently are split across five agencies in two departments: the U.S. Forest Service in USDA and BIA, Bureau of Land Management, USFWS, and NPS in DOI. The Budget consolidates the Federal wildland fire responsibilities into a single new Federal Wildland Fire Service at DOI, including transferring USDA’s current wildland fire management responsibilities.
Department of Agriculture
Forest Service Operations -391 The Budget reduces funding for expenses including salaries and facility leases.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Program Name $ Change Enacted from 2025 (in millions) Brief Description of Program and Recommended Reduction or Increase
Increases
Drinking Water Programs +9 The Budget provides $124 million in funding for the drinking water mission at EPA. The $9 million increase from the 2025 enacted level is to equip EPA with funds to respond to drinking water disasters.
Indian Reservation Drinking Water Program +27 The Budget increases funding for Tribes to retain access to funding for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure on their lands, with a total level of $31 million for the grant program.
Cuts, Reductions, and Consolidations
Clean and Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Funds -2,460 The Budget provides the decreased funding level of $305 million total.
Categorical Grants -1,006 The Budget includes the elimination of 16 categorical grants, and maintains funding at 2025 enacted levels for Tribes.
Hazardous Substance Superfund -254 The IIJA and the Inflation Reduction Act helped finance the Superfund program.
Office of Research and Development -235 The Budget puts an end to research grants, environmental justice work, climate research, and modeling that influences regulations. The Budget provides $281 million.
Environmental Justice -100 EPA’s environmental justice program is eliminated in line with the vision the President set forth in Executive Order 14151, “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” and Executive Order 14173, “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.”
Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) Grants -90 This program is eliminated.
Atmospheric Protection Program -100 The Atmospheric Protection Program imposes climate change regulations. This program is eliminated in the 2026 Budget.
Department of the Treasury
Increases
Rural Financial Award Program +100 The Budget creates a new $100 million award program that would require 60 percent of Community Development Financial Institutions’ (CDFIs’) loans and investments to go to rural areas.
Cuts, Reductions, and Consolidations
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) -2,488 The Budget reflects a planned 40% cut in personnel.
CDFI Fund Discretionary Awards -291 The Budget recommends eliminating CDFI Fund discretionary awards.
Small Business Administration (SBA)
Cuts, Reductions, and Consolidations
Entrepreneurial Development Programs (EDP) Consolidation -167 Therefore, the Budget ends 15 programs, leaving only the Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) program. Eliminated programs include Women’s Business Centers and SCORE.
Salaries and Expenses (S&E) -111 The Budget provides $250 million for SBA’s S&E. The reduced S&E request also reflects a reduction in staffing costs associated with consolidating the Agency’s EDP.
Small Agency Eliminations
Cuts, Reductions, and Consolidations
  • 400 Years of African American History Commission
  • Corporation for National and Community Service (operating as AmeriCorps)
  • Corporation for Public Broadcasting
  • Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service
  • Institute of Museum and Library Sciences
  • Inter-American Foundation
  • Marine Mammal Commission
  • National Endowment for the Arts
  • National Endowment for the Humanities
  • Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation
  • U.S. African Development Foundation
  • U.S. Agency for Global Media
  • U.S. Institute of Peace
  • U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness
  • Woodrow Wilson Center
  • Presidio Trust
-3,586 The Budget includes the elimination of, or the elimination of Federal funding for, the following small agencies. Agencies in bold are in these appropriations bills.
  • Delta Regional Authority
  • Denali Commission
  • Northern Border Regional Commission
  • Southeast Crescent Regional Commission
  • Southwest Border Regional Commission
  • Great Lakes Authority
The Budget eliminates six small regional commissions. The Budget continues funding for Appalachian Regional Commission’s (ARC) operations at $14 million.
Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation (ONHIR) -2 The budget closes this office.
House Appropriations Committee
2359 Rayburn

06/26/2025 at 10:00AM

Full Committee Markup of FY26 Legislative Branch Bill

Full committee markup.

Budget requests:

U.S. House of Representatives budget requests:

House Appropriations Committee
2359 Rayburn

06/26/2025 at 10:00AM

Forest Management Technologies

On Thursday, June 26, 2025, at 10:00 a.m., in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Federal Lands will hold an oversight hearing titled “Fix Our Forests: Advancing Innovative Technologies to Improve Forest Management and Prevent Wildfires.”

Hearing memo

Witnesses:

  • Dr. Karen Howard, Director of Science and Technology Assessment, Government Accountability Office, Washington, D.C. • Dan Munsey, Fire Chief, San Bernardino County Fire Department, San Bernardino, California • Sean Triplett, Data Integration and Operations Lead, Earth Fire Alliance, Boise, Idaho • Allison Wolff, Chief Executive Officer, Vibrant Planet, Truckee, California • Tyson Bertone-Riggs, Founder and Managing Director, Alliance for Wildfire Resilience, Chicago, Illinois [Minority Witness]
House Natural Resources Committee
   Federal Lands Subcommittee
1324 Longworth

06/26/2025 at 10:00AM