Climate science, policy, politics, and action
A subcommittee hearing entitled “Rewriting American History: Examining the Smithsonian’s Efforts to Reshape the Past”.
The Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a Full Committee markup on Monday, July 20, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. (ET) in 2123 Rayburn House Office Building, and subsequent days as necessary, to consider the following items:
Bills:
The subcommittee markup of the grid and pipeline bills took place on June 24.
A. H.R. 9340, Ratepayer Protection Act (Reps. Evans (CO) and Castor)
This legislation would amend Section 111(d) of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) to require each state regulatory authority to consider establishing a large-load standard to provide that a rate charged, or related agreement entered into, by an electric utility for providing electric service to a large-load customer shall recover the full, incremental cost of any generation, transmission, or distribution upgrade necessary to serve the load of such customer and to provide for financial assurances to cover such upgrades. The legislation would define large-load customers as non-residential electric consumers requesting electric energy for one or more facilities at a site or campus with peak demand of 100 megawatts or more.
B. H.R. 9332, Load Forecasting Enhancement Act (Reps. Balderson and Menendez)
This legislation would direct the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to hold regional joint boards with state public utility commissions to study and identify best practices for electric load forecasting that enhance the reliability and affordability of electric service to customers, and to develop best practices related to load forecasting. The legislation requires a FERC report to Congress with recommendations from the joint boards and requires each state regulatory authority to consider incorporating the report’s recommendations regarding load forecasting. Further, the legislation would amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) to include in state energy conservation plans procedures and programs to improve accuracy, oversight, and transparency to stakeholders of load forecasting by electric utilities.
C. H.R. 9339, Affordable Innovation for the Grid Act (Reps. Harshbarger and Mullin)
This legislation would direct the Department of Energy, in consultation with FERC and NERC, to study and report to Congress on opportunities to utilize artificial intelligence (AI) and other high-performance computing technologies to enhance the capacity, reliable operation, and operational efficiency of the bulk power systems, and provide recommendations to facilitate adoption of such technologies with respect to grid operation. The bill requires the Department of Energy to consider AI applications for interconnection processes as part of their study.
D. H.R. 9335, Advanced Transmission Technology to Reduce Rates Act (Rep. Goldman (TX))
This legislation would amend EPCA to require the Secretary of Energy to establish and maintain a publicly available clearinghouse that identifies advanced transmission technologies (ATT), analyses, and financial assistance related to the technologies, and would require the Secretary to provide technical assistance to utilities, transmission organizations, and states seeking such assistance concerning ATT. The legislation would enable states to include programs to facilitate deployment of ATT in state energy conservation plans. The legislation would provide that any DOE financial assistance for ATT would not be considered a major federal action under the National Environmental Policy Act. The legislation would require the Secretary to establish best practices for utilities to reduce the risk of wildfire ignition from the bulk power system. This legislation was amended during the Energy Subcommittee markup on June 24, 2026, to clarify provisions related to NEPA under section 2.
E. H.R. 6633, High-Capacity Grid Act (Rep. Fedorchak)
This legislation would direct FERC to establish a best-available transmission conductor standard and to apply the standard to new FERC jurisdictional transmission lines and upgrades, modifications, or replacements. The legislation would establish that a utility is precluded from recovering any costs for conductors, except for conductors meeting the standard, unless the utility can demonstrate that use of such conductors is not prudent and the associated costs are not just and reasonable. This legislation was amended during the Energy Subcommittee markup on June 24, 2026, to establish, in consultation with DOE, a Best Available Transmission Conductor Class and to streamline the process for FERC to implement requirements for public utilities associated with the establishment of such class of conductors.
F. H.R. 6529, Protecting Families from AI Data Center Energy Costs Act (Rep. Landsman)
This legislation would require FERC to hold a Commissioner-led technical conference on strategies and rate structures for protecting residential and small commercial ratepayers from increased costs associated with large loads. Participants would include DOE, utilities, transmission providers, state regulators, consumer advocates, and large loads. FERC would report to Congress on recommendations and best practices resulting from the conference. This legislation was amended during the Energy Subcommittee markup on June 24, 2026, to clarify that the authorities of FERC under the proposed technical conference are focused on federal authorities.
G. H.R. 9338, Pipeline Safety Authorization Act of 2026 (Rep. Weber)
This legislation would reauthorize PHMSA’s pipeline safety program for 5 years and update policies and procedures to modernize PHMSA and improve safety.
Sec. 1 Short Title. This section provides that the Act may be cited as the “Pipeline Safety Authorization Act of 2026.”
Sec. 2 Definitions. This section would modify the definition of “transporting gas” to clarify the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s (PHMSA) regulatory authorities with respect to transfer and in-plant piping.
Sec. 3. Minimum Safety Standards. This section would require PHMSA to consider the “safety and economic benefits within the United States” when conducting cost-benefit analysis for proposed regulations.
Sec. 4. Opportunity for Formal Hearing. This section would provide an opportunity for pipeline operators that have been issued a notice of enforcement from PHMSA to have an onthe-record hearing conducted by an administrative law judge. An operator must prove that compliance with the enforcement action is more than $125,000, or there must be a proposed civil penalty of $125,000 or more to have the opportunity for a formal hearing. The section would also require the Secretary of Transportation to establish protocols for hearings under this section to ensure orderly process and protection of confidential information.
Sec. 5. Special Permit Program. This section would require that any terms placed on safety waivers (special permits) are specific to the pipeline safety regulation being waived and would establish timelines for consideration of special permit applications. The section would also mandate a report to Congress on the status of safety waivers sought under the special permit program and directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to provide a report on PHMSA’s implementation of the provision.
Sec. 6. Strengthening Penalties for Pipeline Safety Violations. This section would strengthen penalties for “damaging, destroying, or impairing the operation of” pipeline facilities or pipeline facilities under construction.
Sec. 7. Authorization Levels. This section would reauthorize PHMSA’s pipeline safety program for five years.
Sec. 8. Pipeline Safety Voluntary Information-Sharing Program. This section would direct PHMSA to establish a voluntary information sharing system to gather, evaluate, and quantify critical pipeline safety data and information to improve safety.
Sec. 9. Excavation Damage Prevention. This section would update PHMSA’s assessment criteria for State Damage Prevention Programs and would describe additional leading practices that state one-call programs should consider implementing to prevent excavation damage to pipelines and other underground utilities.
Sec. 10. Civil Penalties. This section would raise PHMSA’s maximum civil penalty for a violation from $200,000 to $341,200 and raise the maximum civil penalty for a series of violations from $2,000,000 to $3,412,000.
Sec. 11. User Fees. This section would clarify that user fees collected from pipeline operators by PHMSA are to remain in the Pipeline Safety Fund until they are expended and not to be used for other purposes.
H. H.R. 9617, Coordinating and Harnessing America’s Recovery of Minerals (CHARM) Act (Reps. Palmer and Tonko)
This legislation directs the EPA Administrator, in consultation with the heads of other federal agencies, to develop and carry out a National Critical Mineral Recovery Strategy to coordinate federal efforts to recover critical minerals from discarded materials.
I. H.R. 9616, Environmental Monitoring and Remediation Technology Assessment Initiative (EMRTAI) Act (Reps. Pfluger and Landsman)
This legislation would authorize EPA to establish a program to investigate, evaluate, and support processes, methods, and systems which may be utilized to identify sources of critical materials at contaminated sites as well as recovery of such critical minerals.
Full committee hearing.
Nominee:
Cummins worked as a senior vice president of the Citizen Services Business Group at Serco, a government contractor that works with local and federal agencies. He was the Director of Operations Management for the 2002 Salt Lake Olympic organizing committee. Cummins holds an MBA from the University of Michigan Business School, an MA in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a BA in Political Science from Messiah College.
Serco is one of the largest non-government employers of air traffic controllers in the world, managing numerous air traffic control towers for the FAA across the United States, and is a major provider of private prisons. They are known as the “ICE of Europe” for their deportation infrastructure.
The purpose of the business meeting is to consider the nominations and legislation on the below agenda.
Nominees
Hague is a long-time AT&T executive and major campaign donor to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.
Kevin Lilly is the acting assistant secretary for fish, wildlife, and parks at the Interior Department—a position that oversees both the National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Lilly is a Texas wealth manager with no conservation experience. He holds the acting position illegally.
Lilly resigned his position as the chair of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission in order to join the Trump administration as a political appointee. Lilly founded Avalon Advisors, the “largest privately owned wealth management firm in Texas,” according to Southwestern University.
Farzad serves as Managing Director for Global Public Affairs and as Director at FGS Global. During the first Trump administration, he served as the Arabian Peninsula and West Africa Lead at the U.S. Department of Energy, as Chief Speechwriter and Communications Advisor to the U.S. Embassy of the Holy See and as Public Affairs Specialist for the Bureau of Energy Resources at the U.S. Department of State. He was previously a Senior Communications Officer at the Pacific Council on International Policy.
Sens. Heinrich and Hickenlooper attended to provide a quorum despite the absence of Sen. McCormick (R-Pa.).
According to Organ Mountain News, Heinrich said Lilly “had taken his calls, listened to his concerns and demonstrated a willingness to work with him.”
“For that reason, I will vote to report his nomination,” Heinrich said.
Legislation
Subcommittee hearing.
Legislation:
We are halfway through 2026, and there are already a lot of climate records to unpack. This next Monthly Climate Brief will look at the latest global and U.S. climate numbers, including temperature rankings, impacts, and notable extremes so far this year. We will also cover the latest El Niño outlook and what it could mean for regional climate impacts and global temperatures later in 2026. As always, there will be time for open Q&A.
Plus, Adam Smith from Climate Central will join us to provide a preview of the billion-dollar disasters recorded so far in 2026 and share updates on new research expected over the coming months.
Speakers:
Moderator:
This is the next installment of our Climate Services webinar series — a monthly, data-driven briefing that delivers clear insights into recent climate patterns, what’s driving them, and what they mean for critical sectors including energy, transportation, health, and agriculture. The webinar is open to the public and includes time for live Q&A. Registered attendees will also receive a recording of this briefing.
On Wednesday, July 15, 2026, at 10:00 a.m., in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources will meet to consider:
Full committee executive session.
Bills:
Nominees:
The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works will hold a Business Meeting to consider the following items:
Lilly’s nomination was not considered.
Full committee hearing.
Nominees: