Cam Hamilton, Acting Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency
Hamilton testified in defense of FEMA:
As the senior advisor to the President on disasters and emergency management, and to the Secretary of Homeland Security, I do not believe it is in the best interest the American people to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Having said that, I am not in a position to make decisions and impact outcomes on whether or not a determination as consequential as that should be made. That is a conversation that should be had between the President of the United States and this governing body.
FSIS inspects meat, poultry, and egg product plants to ensure food safety nationwide. Several States
have their own equivalent inspection program, and FSIS shares in the cost of these programs.
Increases are needed to support increased production and demand for services.
Rental Assistance Grants
+74
The Budget provides funding to renew the rental assistance grant contracts at $1.7 billion. This
prevents the default of the $9 billion in USDA underwritten multifamily housing direct loans, that
depend on the rental assistance grants for the debt service.
Cuts, Reductions, and Consolidations
Program
(millions of $)
Description
National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)
-602
The Budget eliminates programming in NIFA, such as activities related to climate
change, renewable energy, and promoting DEI in education that were prioritized under the Biden
Administration. In addition, the Budget reduces funding for formula grants. Instead, the Budget focuses on the merit-based
Agriculture and Food Research Initiative. The Budget protects funding to youth and K-12 programs
such as 4-H clubs, tribal colleges, and universities. This investment would help prepare future
generations of farmers. It also ensures HBCUs are amply funded.
Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
and USDA Research Statistical
Agencies
-159
The Budget reduces funding for
research sites across the Nation and reduces funding for
research projects. The Budget also makes small
reductions to the Economic Research Service and National Agricultural Statistics Service to stop
climate research added by the Biden Administration while ensuring some
analysis and data collection continues.
Natural Resource Conservation Service
(NRCS)—Private Lands Conservation
Operations
-754
The Budget eliminates discretionary funding for conservation technical assistance. While funding has helped producers deploy conservation practices on their lands,
many have been forced to participate in the program in order to comply with State environmental
regulations such as California’s Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program, which regulates agricultural
runoff.
NRCS Watershed Operations
-16
The Budget eliminates funding to renovate locally owned dams in the NRCS Watershed Programs.
These
programs received an influx of funding through IIJA. Currently, there is over $100 million
in unobligated balances between the two programs.
Rural Development Programs
-721
Infrastructure loans are prioritized for aging
rural water and wastewater systems, as well as technical assistance through the “Circuit Rider”
program balanced with reductions in the grants. Other specialty water grants and earmarks are not
funded except where the tax base cannot support loans, including maintaining funding for Native
American Tribes. Community facility grants are eliminated, as the Congress has been earmarking nearly 100 percent of them. No new USDA funding is needed for broadband
expansion. The Budget
would also eliminate rural business programs, single family housing direct loans, self-help housing grants,
telecommunications loans, and rural housing vouchers. Rural Development salaries and expenses are
reduced commensurately.
Farm Service Agency (FSA) Salaries
and Expenses: Farm Production and
Conservation-Business Center (FPACBC)
-358
The first Trump Administration placed the FSA, NRCS, and Risk
Management Agency under one umbrella: FPAC-BC. The staff-heavy FSA struggles with hiring
due in part because of labor market competition. The Budget reduces funding in order to reflect the Agency’s plans
for efficiencies, which include improving online services.
National Forest System Management
-392
The Budget reduces salaries and expenses by $342 million, and saves an additional $50 million by
eliminating funding for the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration program, and reducing
funding for recreation, vegetation and watershed management, and land management regulation. The
Budget fully supports the Executive Order 14225, “Immediate Expansion
of American Timber Production,” to improve forest management and increase domestic timber
production. The requested funding level supports timber sales, hazardous fuels removal, mineral
extraction, grazing, and wildlife habitat management.
Forest Service Operations
-391
The Budget reduces funding for expenses including salaries and facility leases to streamline the
Agency’s management structure and reduce their real property footprint.
State, Local, Tribal, and NGO
Conservation Programs
-303
The Budget reduces grant programs that subsidize management of State and privately-owned forests.
While the Budget provides reduced support for Federal wildland fire
management activities, these partners should be encouraged to
fund their own community preparedness and risk mitigation activities.
Forest and Rangeland Research (Except
Forest Inventory and Analysis)
-300
The President has pledged to manage national forests for their intended purpose of producing timber.
The Budget reduces funding for the Forest and Rangeland Research program because it is out of step
with timber production, but maintains funding for Forest
Inventory and Analysis, a longstanding census of forest resources and conditions.
Commodity Supplemental Food
Program (CSFP)
-425
The Budget
ends CSFP and replaces it with MAHA food boxes.
The MAHA food boxes provide food directly to
seniors. Unlike the current approach using food banks, which provide those in need with shelf-stable
foods, MAHA boxes would be filled with
commodities sourced from domestic farmers and given directly to American households.
McGovern-Dole Food for Education
Program
-240
The McGovern-Dole Food for Education program buys agricultural commodities from U.S. farmers
and donates them in the form of foreign aid. Only a small portion of the program’s funding goes
toward purchasing U.S. commodities, given the high transportation costs and large portion of funding
provided for technical assistance. While these donated commodities totaled only $37 million in 2023
(0.01 percent of all U.S. crop sales), they undercut commodity prices in markets abroad. The elimination of this program is consistent
with the elimination of other in-kind international food donation programs in the Budget, including
Food for Progress and Food for Peace Title II Grants.
House Appropriations Committee
Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Subcommittee
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 funding to 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 climate change-related activities like the
Biden Administration’s Justice40. This proposal would support technologies that promote fossil-fuel
power and other priorities, such as bioenergy.
Office of Science
-1,148
The Budget reduces funding for climate change and renewable energy research. The Budget
maintains U.S. competitiveness in 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.
Office of Nuclear Energy
-408
The Budget reduces funding for non-essential research on nuclear energy. Continued research priorities include developing innovative
concepts for nuclear reactors, researching advanced nuclear fuels, and maintaining the capabilities of
the Idaho National Laboratory.
Office of Fossil Energy (and Carbon Management)
-270
The Budget renames the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management back to the Office of Fossil Energy, focusing on the research of technologies that could increase extraction of domestic fossil
energy and critical minerals.
House Appropriations Committee
Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Subcommittee
Subcommittee hearing entitled “Cleaning Up the Past, Building the Future: The Brownfields Program.”
Witnesses:
Terry M. Wilbur, Clerk, Oswego County, New York; on behalf of the National Association of Counties
Lisa Shook, Assistant Chief, Division of Environmental Response and Remediation, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency
Lance Larson, Analyst in Environmental Policy; Resources, Science, and Industry Division; Congressional Research Service
Michael Goldstein, Esq., Managing Partner, Goldstein Environmental Law Firm, P.A.
Opening remarks, as prepared, of Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Chairman Mike Collins (R-GA) from today’s hearing, entitled, “Cleaning Up the Past, Building the Future: The Brownfields Program”:
I want to first thank our witnesses for joining us this morning to discuss EPA’s Brownfields Program. As we review the program, last authorized in 2018, I’m looking forward to learning from our witnesses about their experiences with the program, suggestions for program improvements, as well as the tangible impact it’s had on the ground.
All of us here, throughout our travels, have seen abandoned warehouses, dilapidated gas stations, or vacant factories. Often, these blighted properties, which are eyesores in our communities, are considered brownfields. Brownfields are properties that are abandoned or underused due to concerns about environmental contamination. EPA has estimated that there are more than 450,000 brownfield sites across the United States. Their redevelopment and reuse can help increase local tax bases, create jobs, and encourage additional development.
According to EPA, since its inception, the program has made over 10,800 sites ready for productive reuse, leveraged more than $40.4 billion in additional cleanup and redevelopment funding, and helped to create or leverage more than 270,000 jobs.
However, property owners and developers are often hesitant to finance the redevelopment of these sites because of possible liability under CERCLA.
CERCLA liability is no joke. CERCLA has extremely stringent liability standards that could result in a current property owner being held responsible for cleanup costs at a site, even if there was no negligence on their part or if other parties had previously caused the contamination.
This program provides common-sense liability relief to folks who want to improve a degraded site. The EPA Brownfields Program helps communities assess and evaluate contamination at these sites and provides funding to help clean up and promote their redevelopment.
For example, in my district in Georgia, the program assisted the City of Greensboro in addressing contamination at an old cotton mill. As part of this project, approximately 2,600 tons of contaminated soil were removed from the property, and the mill was ultimately redeveloped and converted into a 71-unit apartment complex.
Federal funding through the Brownfields Program helps attract other non-federal project funding for assessment, remediation, and redevelopment efforts. But we know that just throwing hard-earned taxpayer money at problems doesn’t make them go away.
That’s why I also want to underscore the importance of programmatic efficiencies and regulatory relief when it comes to redevelopment and timely project completions.
For far too long, the EPA has placed untenable regulatory and bureaucratic burdens on hardworking Americans that cost them time and money. That’s why I am working with my colleagues here in Congress and with the Trump Administration on efforts to reduce red tape and streamline permitting processes.
At the end of the day, these types of improvements will help important projects get done more efficiently – whether it’s redeveloping Brownfields sites or constructing an Army Corps project. And that benefits all Americans.
S.1462 - A bill to improve forest management activities on National Forest System land, public land under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management, and Tribal land to return resilience to overgrown, fire-prone forested land, and for other purposes. Co-sponsors: Sens. John Curtis (R-Utah), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.)
Witness:
Chris French, Acting Associate Chief, USDA Forest Service
Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee
FSIS inspects meat, poultry, and egg product plants to ensure food safety nationwide. Several States
have their own equivalent inspection program, and FSIS shares in the cost of these programs.
Increases are needed to support increased production and demand for services.
Rental Assistance Grants
+74
The Budget provides funding to renew the rental assistance grant contracts at $1.7 billion. This
prevents the default of the $9 billion in USDA underwritten multifamily housing direct loans, that
depend on the rental assistance grants for the debt service.
Cuts, Reductions, and Consolidations
Program
(millions of $)
Description
National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)
-602
The Budget eliminates programming in NIFA, such as activities related to climate
change, renewable energy, and promoting DEI in education that were prioritized under the Biden
Administration. In addition, the Budget reduces funding for formula grants. Instead, the Budget focuses on the merit-based
Agriculture and Food Research Initiative. The Budget protects funding to youth and K-12 programs
such as 4-H clubs, tribal colleges, and universities. This investment would help prepare future
generations of farmers. It also ensures HBCUs are amply funded.
Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
and USDA Research Statistical
Agencies
-159
The Budget reduces funding for
research sites across the Nation and reduces funding for
research projects. The Budget also makes small
reductions to the Economic Research Service and National Agricultural Statistics Service to stop
climate research added by the Biden Administration while ensuring some
analysis and data collection continues.
Natural Resource Conservation Service
(NRCS)—Private Lands Conservation
Operations
-754
The Budget eliminates discretionary funding for conservation technical assistance. While funding has helped producers deploy conservation practices on their lands,
many have been forced to participate in the program in order to comply with State environmental
regulations such as California’s Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program, which regulates agricultural
runoff.
NRCS Watershed Operations
-16
The Budget eliminates funding to renovate locally owned dams in the NRCS Watershed Programs.
These
programs received an influx of funding through IIJA. Currently, there is over $100 million
in unobligated balances between the two programs.
Rural Development Programs
-721
Infrastructure loans are prioritized for aging
rural water and wastewater systems, as well as technical assistance through the “Circuit Rider”
program balanced with reductions in the grants. Other specialty water grants and earmarks are not
funded except where the tax base cannot support loans, including maintaining funding for Native
American Tribes. Community facility grants are eliminated, as the Congress has been earmarking nearly 100 percent of them. No new USDA funding is needed for broadband
expansion. The Budget
would also eliminate rural business programs, single family housing direct loans, self-help housing grants,
telecommunications loans, and rural housing vouchers. Rural Development salaries and expenses are
reduced commensurately.
Farm Service Agency (FSA) Salaries
and Expenses: Farm Production and
Conservation-Business Center (FPACBC)
-358
The first Trump Administration placed the FSA, NRCS, and Risk
Management Agency under one umbrella: FPAC-BC. The staff-heavy FSA struggles with hiring
due in part because of labor market competition. The Budget reduces funding in order to reflect the Agency’s plans
for efficiencies, which include improving online services.
National Forest System Management
-392
The Budget reduces salaries and expenses by $342 million, and saves an additional $50 million by
eliminating funding for the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration program, and reducing
funding for recreation, vegetation and watershed management, and land management regulation. The
Budget fully supports the Executive Order 14225, “Immediate Expansion
of American Timber Production,” to improve forest management and increase domestic timber
production. The requested funding level supports timber sales, hazardous fuels removal, mineral
extraction, grazing, and wildlife habitat management.
Forest Service Operations
-391
The Budget reduces funding for expenses including salaries and facility leases to streamline the
Agency’s management structure and reduce their real property footprint.
State, Local, Tribal, and NGO
Conservation Programs
-303
The Budget reduces grant programs that subsidize management of State and privately-owned forests.
While the Budget provides reduced support for Federal wildland fire
management activities, these partners should be encouraged to
fund their own community preparedness and risk mitigation activities.
Forest and Rangeland Research (Except
Forest Inventory and Analysis)
-300
The President has pledged to manage national forests for their intended purpose of producing timber.
The Budget reduces funding for the Forest and Rangeland Research program because it is out of step
with timber production, but maintains funding for Forest
Inventory and Analysis, a longstanding census of forest resources and conditions.
Commodity Supplemental Food
Program (CSFP)
-425
The Budget
ends CSFP and replaces it with MAHA food boxes.
The MAHA food boxes provide food directly to
seniors. Unlike the current approach using food banks, which provide those in need with shelf-stable
foods, MAHA boxes would be filled with
commodities sourced from domestic farmers and given directly to American households.
McGovern-Dole Food for Education
Program
-240
The McGovern-Dole Food for Education program buys agricultural commodities from U.S. farmers
and donates them in the form of foreign aid. Only a small portion of the program’s funding goes
toward purchasing U.S. commodities, given the high transportation costs and large portion of funding
provided for technical assistance. While these donated commodities totaled only $37 million in 2023
(0.01 percent of all U.S. crop sales), they undercut commodity prices in markets abroad. The elimination of this program is consistent
with the elimination of other in-kind international food donation programs in the Budget, including
Food for Progress and Food for Peace Title II Grants.
Senate Appropriations Committee
Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Subcommittee
On Tuesday, May 6, 2025, at 10:15 a.m., in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources will hold a markup to consider legislative proposals to comply with the reconciliation directive of cutting $1 billion in net spending over 10 years included in section 2001 of the Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2025, H. Con. Res.14.
Amendment from Rep. Mark Amodei adopted 24-19, Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas) joining Democrats against.
As amended, the ANS adopted 26-17, Rep. Adam Gray (D-Calif.) joining Republicans in favor.
Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.) was not present for the roll call votes.
The bill plans four lease sales for the coastal plain of the Alaska Arctic National Wildlife Refuge over the next ten years. The plan also envisages a restart of the lease sales in the National Petroleum Reserve of Alaska plus quarterly onshore oil and gas lease sales and new offshore tenders. The legislation would open about 85 percent of BLM land “with high potential” for future oil and gas development to leasing, while low and medium-potential areas would be largely closed to leasing. It would mandate quarterly oil and gas lease sales and return royalty rates — which were increased to 16.67 percent through the Inflation Reduction Act — back down to 12.5 percent, and cut coal-mining royalty rates from 12.5 percent to 7 percent.
Also included (Sec. 80173) is language from the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act, which transfers offshore oil and gas revenues in federal waters to the bordering state governments.
Included are proposals to prohibit the implementation of the Bureau of Land Management’s Resource Management plans for the Offices of Colorado River Valley, Colo.; Grand Junction, Colo.; Rock Springs, Wyo.; Buffalo, Wyo.; Miles City, Mont.; and North Dakota.
The bill would also zero out several unobligated IRA funds for climate causes, require more timber harvests and create a new revenue-sharing mechanism for renewable energy on public lands.
TITLE VIII — COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Subtitle A — Energy and Mineral Resources
PART I – OIL AND GAS
SEC. 80101. ONSHORE OIL AND GAS LEASE SALES.
Reinstates quarterly onshore oil and gas lease sales for WY, NM, CO, UT,
MT, ND, OK, NV, AK, and all other states where land is available for oil
and gas leasing under the Mineral Leasing Act.
Requires the Secretary to offer land for leasing if the Secretary
determines the land is open to oil and gas leasing under an approved
land use plan within 18 months of the date of receipt of an expression of
interest.
** Stipulates that revisions of an approved land use plan shall not
prevent or delay leasing under this section if all the other
requirements are met.
Makes Applications for Permit to Drill (APDs) valid for a single, nonrenewable four-year period.
CBO estimates Sections 80101, 80102, 80103, 80104, and 80105 will
collectively generate up to $12 billion in new revenue and savings for
the federal government.
SEC. 80102. NONCOMPETITIVE LEASING.
Requires that lands which do not receive bids during an oil and gas
lease sale, or where the highest bid is less than the national minimum,
must be offered within 30 days for noncompetitive leasing.
SEC. 80103. PERMIT FEES.
Requires the Secretary to approve applications for the commingling of
production from two or more sources, such as oil and gas leases or
communitized areas, if a fee is paid.
Mandates the Secretary to develop regulations to allow oil and gas
activity to occur through a permit-by-rule process if a fee is paid.
SEC. 80104. PERMITTING FEE FOR NON-FEDERAL LAND.
Establishes that the Secretary shall not require a permit to drill for an oil
and gas lease under the Mineral Leasing Act if the lessee pays a fee of
$5,000 and the federal government owns less than 50 percent of the
minerals in the oil and gas drilling unit and does not own the surface
estate where drilling will take place.
SEC. 80105. REINSTATE REASONABLE ROYALTY RATES.
Reinstates the 12.5 percent royalty rate on offshore production, reducing
it back to pre-Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) levels.
Reinstates the 12.5 percent royalty rate on onshore production, reducing
it back to pre-IRA levels.
PART II – GEOTHERMAL
SEC. 80111. GEOTHERMAL LEASING.
Requires the Secretary to hold geothermal lease sales yearly and to
hold replacement sales in the event that a lease sale is delayed or
cancelled.
CBO estimates Sections 80111 and 80112 will collectively generate up to
$23 million in new revenue and savings for the federal government.
SEC. 80112. GEOTHERMAL ROYALTIES.
Stipulates that geothermal facilities on the same geothermal lease are
treated as separate facilities with respect to royalty payment.
PART III – ALASKA
SEC. 80121. COASTAL PLAIN OIL AND GAS LEASING.
Reissues the energy leases revoked by the Biden administration and
mandates the Secretary conduct four lease sales under the Coastal
Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program in the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska within the next ten years.
Mandates that the revenues from leases authorized by the Act be split
evenly between the state and the federal government until 2035, when
the state would start receiving 90 percent.
CBO estimates this section will generate up to $950 million in new
revenue and savings for the federal government.
SEC. 80122. NATIONAL PETROLEUM RESERVE-ALASKA.
Formalizes the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A) oil and gas
program and expeditiously resumes leasing for energy production in
the NPR-A. In resuming this program, this section requires that the
Secretary hold lease sales at least every other year and offer at least
4,000,000 acres per lease sale in the NPR-A.
Mandates that the revenues from leases authorized by the Act be split
evenly between the state and the federal government until 2035, when
the state would start receiving 90 percent.
CBO estimates this section will generate up to $550 million in new
revenue and savings for the federal government.
PART IV – MINING
SEC. 80131. SUPERIOR NATIONAL FOREST LANDS IN MINNESOTA.
Rescinds Public Land Order (PLO) No. 7917, which withdrew federal
lands in Northern Minnesota from mineral entry. Reinstates, for 20
years, the leases cancelled by the Biden administration in the Superior
National Forest. Stipulates terms and conditions for the leases.
CBO estimates this section will generate up to $80 million in new
revenue and savings for the federal government.
SEC. 80132. AMBLER ROAD IN ALASKA.
Establishes a $500,000 per year rental fee for a surface transportation
access road from the Ambler Mining District to the Dalton Highway.
Stipulates that the timely construction and operation of the road are in
the national interest.
Rescinds the Biden administration’s record of decision (ROD) and
replaces it with the 2020 ROD, which includes a preferred alternative
that allows for road construction.
CBO estimates this section will generate up to $5 million in new
revenue and savings for the federal government.
PART V – COAL
SEC. 80141. COAL LEASING.
Mandates coal lease sales and stipulates the requirements for such
lease sales.
CBO estimates Sections 80141, 80142, 80143, and 80302 will collectively
generate up to $237 million in new revenue and savings for the federal
government.
SEC. 80142. FUTURE COAL LEASING.
Rescinds Secretarial Order 3338, which put a moratorium on new coal
leasing and prevents similar action in the future.
SEC. 80143. COAL ROYALTY.
Reduces the royalty rate from 12.5 percent to 7 percent on all coal
leases, new and active.
SEC. 80144. AUTHORIZATION TO MINE FEDERAL MINERALS.
Authorizes the mining of all Federal coal reserves leased under Federal
Coal Lease MTM 97988 in accordance with the Bull Mountains Mining
Plan Modification.
CBO estimates this section will generate up to $42 million in new
revenue and savings for the federal government.
PART VI– NEPA
SEC. 80151. PROJECT SPONSOR OPT-IN FEES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS.
Allows a project sponsor to pay a fee equal to 125 percent of the
anticipated costs of expected agency activities to prepare an
environmental impact statement (EIS) or environmental assessment
(EA). If the project sponsor pays the fee, they will receive their EIS in 1
year and their EA in six months.
The EIS or EA would not be subject to judicial review under the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA).
CBO estimates this section will generate up to $1.4 billion in new
revenue and savings for the federal government.
SEC. 80152. RESCISSION RELATING TO ENVIRONMENTAL AND CLIMATE DATA COLLECTION.
Rescinds IRA funding for the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ).
CBO estimates this section will generate up to $25 million in savings for
the federal government.
PART VII – MISCELLANEOUS
SEC. 80161. PROTEST FEES.
Establishes a filing fee for protests of oil and gas lease sales.
Stipulates the amount that must be paid based on the page length of
the protest and the number of oil and gas parcels included in the
protest.
CBO estimates this section will generate up to $10 million in new
revenue and savings for the federal government.
PART VIII – OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS LEASING
SEC. 80171. MANDATORY OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS LEASE SALES.
Mandates a series of offshore oil and gas lease sales to generate federal
revenue through bonus bids, rentals, and royalties over specified
periods.
** Gulf of America: Requires the Secretary to hold at least 30 lease
sales in the Gulf of America over 15 years (2025–2040) beginning
in August 2025, with locations tied to the 2017–2022 Outer
Continental Shelf (OCS) Program, and a minimum of 80 million
acres per sale, using terms from Lease Sale 254.
** Cook Inlet Planning Area: Mandates six lease sales in the Cook
Inlet each of which shall include at least 1 million acres. Mandates
that the revenues from leases authorized by the Act be split
evenly between the state and the federal government until 2035,
when the state would start receiving 90 percent.
Ensures these sales supplement the 2024–2029 OCS Program,
increasing revenue potential.
Establishes a process for state Governors to nominate adjacent OCS
areas for inclusion, potentially expanding leasable acreage.
CBO estimates this section will generate up to $4.2 billion in new
revenue and savings for the federal government.
SEC. 80172. OFFSHORE COMMINGLING.
Requires the Secretary to approve downhole commingling applications
from multiple reservoirs in a single wellbore in the Gulf of America OCS
unless conclusive evidence shows the practice would be unsafe or
reduce recovery.
Increases federal revenue by boosting oil and gas production efficiency,
resulting in additional royalty payments to the federal government.
SEC. 80173. LIMITATIONS ON AMOUNT OF DISTRIBUTED QUALIFIED OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF REVENUES.
Raises the cap on the distribution of OCS revenues from $500 million to
$650 million for FY 2026 through FY 2035 under the Gulf of Mexico
Energy Security Act of 2006 (GOMESA).
CBO estimates this section will spend $1.2 billion over 10 years
PART IX – RENEWABLE ENERGY
SEC. 80181. RENEWABLE ENERGY FEES ON FEDERAL LANDS.
Codifies annual acreage rent and capacity fees for wind and solar
energy projects on federal lands.
Removes the Secretary’s authority to reduce acreage rent and capacity
fees.
CBO estimates Sections 80181 and 80182 will generate up to $300
million in new revenue and savings for the federal government.
SEC. 80182. RENEWABLE ENERGY REVENUE SHARING.
Creates a revenue sharing mechanism for renewable energy produced
on public lands.
Directs 25% to the state hosting the production, 25% to the county
hosting production, and 50% to the Federal government, deposited into
the General Fund of the Treasury.
Subtitle B—Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries
SEC. 80201. RESCISSION OF FUNDS FOR INVESTING IN COASTAL COMMUNITIES AND CLIMATE RESILIENCE.
Rescinds the remaining funds available for the ‘Investing in Coastal
Communities and Climate Resilience’ section of the IRA.
CBO estimates this section will generate up to $100 million in savings
for the federal government.
SEC. 80202. RESCISSION OF FUNDS FOR FACILITIES OF NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION AND NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARIES.
Rescinds the remaining funds available for the ‘Facilities of the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Marine
Sanctuaries’ section of the Inflation Reduction Act.
CBO estimates this section will generate up to $29 million in savings for
the federal government.
SEC. 80203. SURFACE WATER STORAGE ENHANCEMENT.
Provides $2 billion for construction and associated activities that
increase the capacity of existing Bureau of Reclamation surface water
storage facilities.
SEC. 80204. WATER CONVEYANCE ENHANCEMENT.
Provides $500 million for construction and associated activities that
increase the capacity of existing Bureau of Reclamation conveyance
facilities.
Subtitle C—Federal Lands
SEC. 80301. PROHIBITION ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ROCK SPRINGS FIELD OFFICE, WYOMING RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN.
Prohibits the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) from implementing,
administering, or enforcing the Record of Decision and Approved
Resource Management Plan (RMP) for the Rock Springs Field Office in
Wyoming, finalized by the Biden administration.
CBO estimates this section will generate up to $200 million in new
revenue and savings for the federal government.
SEC. 80302. PROHIBITION ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BUFFALO, WYOMING FIELD OFFICE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN.
Prohibits the BLM from implementing, administering, or enforcing the
Record of Decision and Approved RMP Amendment for the Buffalo
Field Office in Wyoming, finalized by the Biden administration.
CBO estimates Sections 80141, 80142, 80143, and 80302 will collectively
generate up to $237 million in new revenue and savings for the federal
government.
SEC. 80303. PROHIBITION ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MILES CITY, MONTANA FIELD OFFICE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN.
Prohibits the BLM from implementing, administering, or enforcing the
Record of Decision and Approved RMP Amendment for the Miles City
Field Office in Montana, finalized by the Biden administration.
CBO estimates this section will generate up to $15 million in new
revenue and savings for the federal government.
SEC. 80304. PROHIBITION ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NORTH DAKOTA RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN.
Prohibits the BLM from implementing, administering, or enforcing the
Record of Decision and Approved RMP for North Dakota, finalized by
the Biden administration.
CBO estimates this section will generate up to $5 million in new
revenue and savings for the federal government.
SEC. 80305. PROHIBITION ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE COLORADO RIVER VALLEY FIELD OFFICE AND GRAND JUNCTION FIELD OFFICE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLANS.
Prohibits the BLM from implementing, administering, or enforcing the
Records of Decision and Approved RMPs for the Colorado River Valley
Field Office and Grand Junction Field Office in Colorado, finalized by
the Biden administration.
CBO estimates this section will generate up to $80 million in new
revenue and savings for the federal government.
SEC. 80306. RESCISSION OF FOREST SERVICE FUNDS.
Rescinds the remaining funds made available to the U.S. Forest Service
(USFS) in the IRA for the Biden administration’s Old-Growth Initiative.
CBO estimates this section will generate up to $8 million in savings for
the federal government.
SEC. 80307. RESCISSION OF NATIONAL PARK SERVICE AND BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT FUNDS.
Rescinds the remaining funds made available to the National Park
Service (NPS) and BLM in the IRA for a “conservation and resilience” fund.
CBO estimates this section will generate up to $7 million in savings for
the federal government.
SEC. 80308. RESCISSION OF BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT AND NATIONAL PARK SERVICE FUNDS.
Rescinds the remaining funds made available to the NPS and the BLM
in the IRA for a “conservation and ecosystem restoration” fund.
CBO estimates this section will generate up to $5 million in savings for
the federal government.
SEC. 80309. RESCISSION OF NATIONAL PARK SERVICE FUNDS.
Rescinds the remaining funds made available to the NPS in the IRA to
hire new federal employees.
CBO estimates this section will generate up to $267 million in savings
for the federal government.
SEC. 80310. CELEBRATING AMERICA’S 250TH ANNIVERSARY.
Provides $40 million to the Secretary of the Interior to establish and
maintain a statuary park named the National Garden of American
Heroes.
Provides $150 million to the Secretary of the Interior for events,
celebrations, and activities related to the 250th anniversary of America’s
founding in 2026.
SEC. 80311. LONG-TERM CONTRACTS FOR THE FOREST SERVICE.
On forests created from the public domain, requires the USFS to enter
into at least one 20-year contract for timber harvesting per region
annually for FY 2025 through FY 2029.
Sets standard terms and conditions for the contract, including special
provisions for cancellation ceilings.
Requires all contract funds to be deposited into the General Fund of the
Treasury.
CBO estimates this section will generate up to $110 million in new
revenue and savings for the federal government.
SEC. 80312. LONG-TERM CONTRACTS FOR THE BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT.
Requires the BLM to enter into no less than one 20-year contract for
timber harvesting annually between FY 2025 through FY 2029.
Sets standard terms and conditions for the contract, including special
provisions for cancellation ceilings.
Requires all contract funds to be deposited into the General Fund of the
Treasury.
CBO estimates this section will generate up to $40 million in new
revenue and savings for the federal government.
SEC. 80313. TIMBER PRODUCTION FOR THE FOREST SERVICE.
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, within 1 year of this section’s
enactment, to authorize timber harvests on National Forest System
lands that equal or exceed a volume 25 percent higher than the volume
harvested during fiscal year 2024.
Stipulates that such harvests must be in accordance with the allowable
sale quantity or probable sale quantity of timber applicable to a certain
area of federal lands.
Specifies that this provision applies to forests created from the public
domain and does not apply to wilderness areas, roadless areas, or areas
where timber harvesting is prohibited by statute.
SEC. 80314. TIMBER PRODUCTION FOR THE BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT.
Directs the Secretary of the Interior, within 1 year of this section’s
enactment, to authorize timber harvests on public lands under the
jurisdiction of the BLM that equal or exceed a volume 25 percent higher
than the volume harvested during fiscal year 2024.
Stipulates that such harvests must be in accordance with the
applicable RMP.
Specifies that this provision does not apply to wilderness areas or areas
where timber harvesting is prohibited by statute.
CBO estimates this section will generate up to $8 million in new
revenue and savings for the federal government.
This is a hearing of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials.
Witnesses:
Matthew Dietrich, Executive Director, Ohio Rail Development Commission
Garrett Eucalitto, Commissioner, Connecticut Department of Transportation; on behalf of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
Kevin Hicks, Senior Vice President, TranSystems; on behalf of the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association
Kristin Bevil, General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer, Pinsly Railroad Company; on behalf of the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee
