Hill Heat

The purpose of the business meeting is to consider the pending nominees and legislation listed in the agenda below.

Nominees:

• PN. 730-52, the Nomination of Stevan “Steve” Pearce to be Director of the Bureau of Land Management.
• PN. 786-8, the Nomination of David LaCerte to be a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for a term expiring June 30, 2031.
• PN. 806-3, the Nomination of Kyle Haustveit to be Under Secretary of Energy.

Pearce’s disdain for our public lands extends to the agencies that manage them. As a member of Congress, he encouraged county governments in his district to violate federal laws on Forest Service lands inside their borders. After leaving Congress, as chairman of the Republican Party of New Mexico, Pearce unsuccessfully lobbied the Interior Department to drastically shrink the size of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument, despite it being an economic boon to Doña Ana County.

Haustveit, a former petroleum engineer, is assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy. Throughout his career at Devon Energy, Haustveit led teams that pioneered diagnostic techniques now used worldwide to improve hydraulic fracturing and resource development. He later directed Devon Energy’s Energy Ventures team, driving investments in emerging technologies such as geothermal, carbon utilization, lithium extraction, and produced water treatment.

LaCerte is a Project 2025 contributor who worked for the Trump White House in the Office of Personnel Management before confirmation to FERC on a party-line vote in October 2025.

Legislation:

• S. 601/H.R. 1276, A bill to remove restrictions from a parcel of land in Paducah, Kentucky. (Mr. Paul / Rep. Comer).
• S. 815, A bill to designate the outdoor amphitheater at the Blue Ridge Music Center in Galax, Virginia, as the “Rick Boucher Amphitheater”. (Mr. Warner).
• S. 1135, A bill to amend the National Trails System Act to direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study on the feasibility of designating the Bonneville Shoreline Trail. (Mr. Curtis).
• S. 1981, A bill to require the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to utilize grazing for wildfire risk reduction, and for other purposes. (Ms. Cortez Masto).
• S. 2102, A bill to establish the Ralph David Abernathy, Sr., National Historic Site, and for other purposes. (Mr. Ossoff).
• S. 2787, A bill to amend the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to ensure that ranchers who have grazing agreements on national grasslands are treated the same as permittees on other Federal land. (Mr. Barrasso).
• S. 3004, A bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain Bureau of Land Management land to the city of Price, Utah, and for other purposes. (Mr. Lee).
• S. 3493, A bill to provide for the conveyance of certain Federal land in Carson City, Nevada, and for other purposes. (Ms. Rosen).
• S. 3527, A bill to release from wilderness study area designation certain land in the State of Montana, to improve the management of that land, and for other purposes. (Mr. Daines).
• HR. 204, A bill to require that the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior submit accurate reports regarding hazardous fuels reduction activities, and for other purposes. (Rep. Tiffany).
• HR. 952, A bill to convey the reversionary interest of the United States in certain land in Sacramento, California. (Rep. Matsui).
• HR. 1829, A bill to require the Secretary of Agriculture to convey certain lands within the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, and for other purposes. (Rep. Crane).