Hill Heat

On Thursday, March 26, 2026, at 10:00 a.m., in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries will hold a legislative hearing on the following bills:

• H.R. 5694 (Rep. Begich), “Alaska’s Right To Ivory Sales and Tradition Act” or the “ARTIST Act”, to extend the exemption of the taking of marine mammals for subsistence purposes or for the creation of Alaska Native handicrafts and to to allow for the sale of authentic Alaska Native handicrafts and clothing to be sold in interstate commerce
• H.R. 6893 (Rep. Scott of VA), “Chesapeake Bay Watershed Advancement for Training, Education, Restoration, and Science (WATERS) Act”, to reauthorize the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Chesapeake Bay Office
• H.R. 7250 (Rep. Downing), To reauthorize the Fort Peck Reservation Rural Water System Act of 2000, to continue supporting the development and maintenance of rural water infrastructure serving the Fort Peck Reservation and surrounding communities through 2028
• H.R. 7889 (Rep. Wittman), “Advancing Water Research and Collaboration Act of 2025” or the “AWRC Act of 2025”, to include research into the AI industry’s water use and increase the program’s authorization of appropriations from $15 million to $16 million per year

Hearing memo

Witnesses:

Panel I (Members of Congress)

• To Be Announced

Panel II (Administration Witnesses)

• Dr. Tim Petty, Assistant Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere, Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C. [H.R. 5694 and H.R. 6893]

Panel III (Outside Experts)

• Megan Onders, Chief, King Island Native Community, Nome, Alaska [H.R. 5694]
• Rick Knick, Chairman, Board of Directors, Dry Prairie Rural Water System, Culbertson, MT [H.R. 7250]
• Dr. Kevin McGuire, Director, Virginia Water Resources Research Center, Blacksburg, VA [H.R. 7889]
• Joshua Kurtz, Secretary, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Annapolis, MD [H.R. 6893] (Minority Witness)

H.R. 7889 would change “promote the interest of State and local governments as well as private industry in research and the development of technology that will reclaim waste water and to convert saline and other impaired waters to waters suitable for municipal, industrial, agricultural, recreational, and other beneficial uses;” to “promote the interest of State and local governments as well as private industry, including the growing artificial intelligence industry, in research and the development of technology that will reclaim waste water and to convert saline and other impaired waters to waters suitable for municipal, industrial, agricultural, recreational, and other beneficial uses;”

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), and U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) will host a spotlight forum on the many ways climate change is driving the affordability crisis, focusing on the consequences for home insurance, grocery prices, and health care costs. The Trump Administration is forcing expensive fossil fuels on American consumers and blocking clean, cheap energy sources.

The spotlight builds on last week’s roundtable on rising energy costs, co-hosted by Senator Whitehouse; Senator Heinrich, Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee; and Leader Schumer.

Speakers:

• Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ranking Member, Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
• Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
• Senator Peter Welch (D-VT)
• Dr. Kim Clausing, Eric M. Zolt Chair in Tax Law and Policy, UCLA School of Law
• Dr. Vijay Limaye, Senior Scientist and Director, Climate and Health, NRDC
• Dr. Andrew Pershing, Chief Program Officer, Climate Central
• Andreanecia Morris, Executive Director, HousingNOLA

Join Lead Locally, Third Act’s Gray Pac, Jane Fonda PAC, and the DNC Council on the Environment & Climate Crisis to make calls for clean energy champions running for Arizona’s Salt River Project (SRP) Board, which governs one of the country’s largest publicly-owned utilities in Phoeniz, Ariz.! Early voting has begun for the April 7th election.

Upcoming Phone Bank:

Wednesday, March 25 with Jane Fonda

Very few people have heard of this election, despite its huge stakes for climate. For the first time, voters have the opportunity to elect a Board majority that supports building out renewable energy, keeping rates affordable, and making data centers pay their fair share.

We’re facing Turning Point USA, who is pouring in money to take over the Board with pro-fossil fuel MAGA candidates that want to roll back climate progress. The dirty money is 10 to one against the Clean Energy Slate.

We need your help to counter Turning Point’s efforts. Turnout is historically super low for these races because most homeowners don’t realize that they can vote, making our outreach critical. Sign up to call eligible voters today – we’ll be making sure they are registered to vote and know how to request a mail-in ballot.

Whether you’re making calls for the first time or a seasoned phone banker, we’ve got you covered! We’ll begin with some background on the candidates and what’s at stake in the race, review the phone banking script, and walk through how to use the calling platform.

RSVP

On Tuesday, March 17, 2026, at 10:15 a.m., in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will hold an oversight hearing titled “Unleashing America’s Mineral Potential: The Critical Mineral Commodity Supply Chain.”

Rescheduled to March 25th at 2 p.m.

On Wednesday, March 25, 2026, at 2:00 p.m., in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will hold an oversight hearing titled “Unleashing America’s Mineral Potential: The Critical Mineral Commodity Supply Chain.”

Hearing memo

Witnesses:

• Dr. Simon Jowitt, Director of the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, Nevada State Geologist, and the Arthur Brant Chair in Exploration Geology at the University of Nevada Reno, Reno, NV
• Dr. Gracelin Baskaran, Director, CSIS Critical Minerals Security Program, Washington, D.C.
• Abigail Hunter, Executive Director, Ambassador Alfred Hoffman Jr. Center for Critical Mineral Strategy at SAFE, Washington, D.C.
• Faith Williams, Director of the Effective and Accountable Government Program, Project on Government Oversight, Washington, D.C. (Minority witness)

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) publishes and updates a Critical Minerals List (CML), the most recent edition of which was published on November 7, 2025. The Final 2025 CML listed 60 critical minerals, including 10 new additions—boron, copper, lead, metallurgical coal, phosphate, potash, rhenium, silicon, silver, and uranium.

H.R. 4090, introduced by Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN), will remove legal and regulatory limits to domestic mining by directing the U.S. Department of the Interior to revise or rescind agency actions that hinder mining projects, recommend changes to streamline current mining laws, and conduct a nationwide review of state and local laws impeding mineral exploration and development.

On February 2, 2026, President Trump announced the launch of “Project Vault.” Backed by a $10 billion loan from the U.S. Export-Import Bank and nearly $2 billion in privatesector investment, Project Vault will establish a U.S. Strategic Critical Minerals Reserve. The reserve will be an independently governed public-private partnership that stores essential raw materials in secure facilities nationwide.

Subcommittee hearing.

Witness:

• Taylor Jordan, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Environmental Observation and Prediction, National Weather Service

On Wednesday, March 25, 2026, at 10:15 a.m., in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, will hold a legislative hearing on the following bills:

• H.R. 1555 (Rep. Bice), “Bureau of Land Management Mineral Spacing Act”, remove requirements for a federal drilling permit if there is a state permit and the U.S. owns less than 50 percent of the extracted minerals
• H.R. 5639 (Rep. Kennedy of UT), “Co-Location Energy Act”, allows fast-track permitting of solar or wind energy development on the site of an existing federal energy lease
• H.R. 7831 (Rep. Kennedy of UT), “License to Drill Act”, to reauthorize BLM Oil and Gas Permit Processing Fee for another ten years
• H.R. 7872 (Rep. Hageman), To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to provide for the payment of bonus payments of certain coal leases issued under that act.
• H.R. 7882 (Rep. Stauber), To provide for the leasing of certain deposits of minerals located within the City of Carlsbad, New Mexico, by exempting Carlsbad from the MLA’s prohibition relating to the leasing of federal mineral estates located beneath incorporated cities, so that drillers can frack Carlsbad

Hearing memo

Witnesses:

Panel I (Members of Congress):

• To Be Announced

Panel II (Administration Witness)

• Mitchell Leverette, Eastern States Director, Bureau of Land Management, Washington, D.C. (All bills)

Panel III (Outside Experts)

• Daniel T. Naatz, Executive Vice President and Chief Policy Officer, Independent Petroleum Association of America, Washington, D.C. (H.R. 1555, H.R. 7831, and H.R. 7882)
• Adam Met, Ph.D., Executive Director, Planet Reimagined, New York, NY (H.R. 5639)
• Kyle Wendtland, Director of Fossil Fuel Development, Wyoming Energy Authority, Cheyenne, WY (H.R. 7872)
• Dr. Barbara Vasquez, Member of the Board, Western Organization of Resource Councils & Western Colorado Alliance, Cowdrey, CO [Minority Witness] (H.R. 1555, H.R. 5639, and H.R. 7831)

A House Committee on Homeland Security hearing entitled, “Funding Lapse and Security Gaps: Assessing the Harmful Impacts of the DHS Shutdown on Americans.”

Witnesses:

• Thomas Allan, Vice Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard
• Ha Nguyen McNeill, Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Administrator, Transportation Security Administration
• Nicholas Andersen, Acting Director and Deputy Director, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
• Victoria Barton, Associate Administrator, Office of External Affairs, Federal Emergency Management Agency, replacing originally listed witness Gregg Phillips, Associate Administrator, Office of Response and Recovery, Federal Emergency Management Agency, race-war conspiracy theorist, and self-proclaimed teleporter

Collected testimony

Subcommittee hearing.

Request deadline is Friday, March 27.

Subcommittee hearing.

Witness:

• Scott Kupor, Director, U.S. Office of Personnel Management

Subcommittee hearing.

The Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies will accept project requests in only the following accounts and only in accordance with existing authorizations:

Army Corps of Engineers (Civil Works)

• Investigations
• Construction
• Mississippi River and Tributaries
• Operation and Maintenance

Department of the Interior – Bureau of Reclamation

• Water and Related Resources

The deadline for programmatic requests is March 20, 2026.

Witnesses:

• Rep. Jefferson Van Drew