Hill Heat

The subcommittee hearing is entitled, “Wires, Rates, and States: Permitting Transmission for Affordable, Reliable Power.” The hearing will review the planning, siting, and permitting of electric infrastructure, and the critical role of state regulatory oversight necessary to provide affordable, reliable delivery of electric power.

Hearing memo

Witnesses:

• Tony Clark, Executive Director, National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC)
• Mark Christie, former Chairman, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and Director, Center on Energy and Law, William & Mary Law School
• Randy S. Howard, General Manager, Northern California Power Agency
• Clay Rikard, Senior Vice President, System Planning, Southern Company
• Rob Gramlich, President, Grid Strategies
• Michael Skelly, CEO and Co-founder, GridUnited

U.S. electricity demand is projected to grow nationally at a significant rate through the end of the decade, and beyond. Recent estimates have projected annual growth rates ranging between 3.7 percent to 15 percent by 2030.2 In April, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) noted that, after 15 years of nearly flat electricity consumption, demand has increased by 2.1 percent per year, on average, over the last five years. Electricity demand growth is projected to continue to grow steadily through 2050, with data center energy use a major factor.

Just in the next two years, EIA projects peak summer demand for power to continue to grow significantly overall, at 2.3 percent this year and 3.7 percent in 2027; and for the commercial sector, in which data centers are classified, at 2.6 percent and 5.8 percent respectively. The industrial sector is also projected to grow by upwards of 5.1 percent in 2027. By the end of the decade, data center-driven increases in electricity demand could consume as much as 17 percent of all electricity in the United States.

The North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s (NERC) 2026 Long-Term Reliability Assessment finds that most of North America is at risk of energy shortfalls over the next five years, and the risk is growing. Key drivers include a confluence of interrelated issues, including a generation resource base that is becoming more variable and weather-dependent, unprecedented growth in electricity demand, and a pace of resource additions that is not keeping up with demand projections. The report finds, for example, that over the next 10 years more than 104 gigawatts (GW) of generation is projected to retire while peak power demand may grow by over 224 GW in the same time period. The report finds that projections for generation resource and transmission growth lag behind what is needed to support new data centers and other large loads that drive escalating demand forecasts.8 NERC’s president recently called the reliability challenges facing the United States a “five alarm fire.”

Meanwhile, electricity prices increased by an estimated 29 percent from 2019 to 2025, including 5.3 percent increase over 2025. Analysis shows that transmission and distribution costs have risen steadily while fuel and generation costs have generally declined. In 2025, over 7,000 circuit miles of transmission lines entered into service in RTO/ISO regions.

In 2005, Congress provided FERC limited “backstop” siting authority, under which FERC could override a state and issue permits for the limited number of transmission projects that may qualify by meeting certain conditions and being located within a National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor designated by the Department of Energy. No permit has been issued under this authority. At the same time, Congress also provided authorization for three or more contiguous states to enter an interstate compact, subject to approval by Congress, to establish a regional transmission siting agency to carry out the transmission siting and permitting responsibilities of states. States have not taken action under this authority.

Full committee markup of H.R. 7037, the Developing Overseas Mineral Investments and New Allied Networks for Critical Energies (DOMINANCE) Act, and other legislation.

Legislation:

• H.R. 8649, To amend the Arms Export Control Act to authorize the use of foreign military financing for direct commercial contracts, and for other purposes;
• H.R. 8665, To require the implementation of a strategy to encourage foreign partners to participate in the foreign military sales and direct commercial sales processes on a multinational basis, and for other purposes;
• H.R. 8661, To authorize the Secretary of State to provide certain direct loans and loan guarantees for the procurement of defense articles, defense services, and design and construction services, and for other purposes;
• H.R. 7037, To promote United States and allied energy and mineral security, and for other purpose;
• Kim Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to H.R. 7037
• H.Res. 64, Affirming the Alliance Between the United States and the Republic of Korea;
• H.R. 3563, To improve defense cooperation between the United States and Taiwan, and for other purpose;
• H.R. 8019, To authorize International Military Education and Training Assistance for Greece;
• H.R. 8562, To designate a building of the Chancery of the United States in Pristina, Kosovo, as the “Eliot L. Engel Building”;
• H.R.__, To reduce recurring reporting requirements imposed by law on the Department of State;
• H.Res. 1179, Condemning attacks on civilians in Sudan and calling for an end to external support to the warring parties and for efforts to promote a negotiated settlement of the war;
• H.R. 4332, To establish a comprehensive United States Government initiative to build the capacity of young leaders and entrepreneurs in Africa, and for other purposes.

On Wednesday, May 13, 2026, at 10:00 a.m., in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources will hold an oversight hearing titled “Examining the President’s FY 2027 Budget Request for the Department of the Interior.”

Witness:

• Doug Burgum, Secretary, U.S. Department of the Interior

Department of the Interior FY2027 Proposed Budget

• summary
• detailed budget
• detailed NPS budget

The budget calls for $15.9 billion for the department, a $2.3 billion decrease from the fiscal 2026 enacted level.

The budget agains calls for the unification of the Interior and Agriculture departments’ wildland firefighting activities under a single agency within the Interior Department.

The budget also calls for consolidating the Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act permitting within one agency in the Interior Department.

The fiscal year 2027 budget in detail:

• Renewable Energy: cuts $45 million from the Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and eliminates renewable energy funding which includes onshore and offshore wind energy.
• Bureau of Land Management: cuts $480 million and slashes funding for Wildlife and Aquatic Habitat Management by $139 million, which includes funding for sage grouse and threatened and endangered species.
• US Fish and Wildlife (FWS): cuts $526 million, decreasing the National Wildlife Refuge System by 20 percent, eliminates grant programs managed by States, Tribes, and other nations, and moves NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service into FWS ($125 million transfer).
• National Park Service: cuts $1.06 billion
• U.S. Geological Survey (USGS): cuts $526 million, a 37 percent reduction that eliminates ecosystems, and dramatically cuts funding for core science and natural hazards.
• Bureau of Indian Affairs: cuts $378 million, including the elimination of the Indian Guaranteed Loan program and the Indian Land Consolidation program, and a 34 percent reduction in funds that support self-governance and directly fund tribal operations.
• Bureau of Indian Education: cuts $436 million, a 32 percent reduction; some eliminations include funding for Tribal Colleges and Universities, Replacement School Construction, and Early Child and Family Development.
• Wildland Fire: Transfers all U.S. Forest Service Wildland Fire Management functions to DOI.

Details of National Park Service: cuts $1.06 billion

• Operation of the National Park System: cuts $760 million or 26 percent. The skinny budget suggests they may change the funding formula to defund or drastically cut support for smaller or less visited park units.
• National Recreation and Preservation: cuts $86 million or 93 percent
• Historic Preservation Fund: cuts $170 million, or a 94 percent cut, and eliminates everything except funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
• Construction: cuts $40 million, or a 45 percent cut.

The budget also calls for a $10 billion mandatory fund to establish the Presidential Capital Stewardship Program within the National Park Service. The fund’s purpose would be “to coordinate, plan, and execute targeted, priority construction and beautification [sic] projects in and around Washington, D.C.”

On Wednesday, May 13, at 10:00 a.m., U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, will hold a hearing examining the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) proposed budget for fiscal year 2027.

Witnesses:

• Ho K. Nieh, Chairman, Nuclear Regulatory Commission
• David A. Wright, Commissioner, Nuclear Regulatory Commission
• Bradley R. Crowell, Commissioner, Nuclear Regulatory Commission
• Matthew J. Marzano, Commissioner, Nuclear Regulatory Commission
• Douglas W. Weaver, Commissioner, Nuclear Regulatory Commission

The NRC’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 budget request is $892,349K, including 2,606 full-time equivalents (FTE). In comparison to the FY 2026 Enacted Budget, the FY 2027 budget request decreases by 8.1 percent or $79,146K. FTE decrease by 7.0 percent or 196 FTE from the FY 2026 Enacted Budget to the FY 2027 budget request. As shown in Figure 1, the FY 2027 budget request reflects a decrease of 4.8 percent in total obligation authority and 18.2 percent in total FTE when compared to the FY 2018 Enacted Budget.

The Office of the Inspector General’s (OIG’s) component of the FY 2027 budget request is $14,245K, including 63 FTE, of which $12,900K is for auditing and investigation activities for NRC programs and $1,345K is for the auditing and investigation activities of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB). This is a decrease of $4,550K or 24.2 percent when compared to the FY 2026 Enacted Budget.

The purpose of the hearing is to examine the President’s Budget Request for the United States Forest Service for Fiscal Year 2027.

Witness

• Tom Schultz, Chief, United States Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture

Proposed budget cuts USFS budget by 75%.

State, Private, & Tribal Forestry, which provides technical and financial assistance to nonfederal landowners, would be cut entirely.

National Forest System, which oversees the management of federal grasslands and forests, would be cut by 24% compared to last year’s funding. Budget seeks to eliminate the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program, while quadrupling the Forest Products line item—which funds the federal timber sale program, among other activities—from $39 million to $175 million.

Capital Improvement & Maintenance, which supports USFS infrastructure, would be cut by 28% compared to last year’s funding.

Land Acquisition, which funds the acquisition and improvement of National Forest System lands, would be increased from $2.5 million to $7 million.

Wildland Fire Management Account and Reserve Fund, which funds the personnel, equipment, and immediate post-fire risk mitigation necessary for wildfire suppression on federal lands, would be moved entirely to DOI.

Full commmittee hearing entitled “Perspectives on the Fertilizer Industry: Ensuring a Stable and Affordable Supply for American Producers.”

Witnesses:

• Andy Green, Principal and Senior Advisor, Center Market Strategies, Washington, DC
• Trent Kubik, President, South Dakota Corn Growers, Hamill, SD
• Eddie Melton, President, Kentucky Farm Bureau Federation, Louisville, KY
• Corey Rosenbusch, President and CEO, The Fertilizer Institute, Arlington, VA
• Joshua Westling, CEO, J. Westling & Co., LLC, Omaha, NE

Business meeting was postponed.

Legislation:

• S.___, Budget Reconciliation (Chairman’s Mark)

• $3.5 billion through 2029 for U.S. Customs and Border Protection employees

• $31 billion through 2029 for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

• $2.5 billion in undirected funds to the Department of Homeland Security

• $1.5 billion to the Department of Justice through 2029 for federal law enforcement efforts

• $1 billion for the East Wing ballroom

Join Beyond Plastics on Thursday, May 7 at 4 PM PT/ 7 PM ET for a free educational webinar to explore plastics’ impact on reproductive health. We’ll hear from Louie Psihoyos, the Academy Award-winning filmmaker and director of the new documentary film, The Plastic Detox, with Eric and Julie Isaac, one of the couples that is featured in the film that had tried to conceive for five years, Shanna Swan, Ph.D., one of the world’s leading environmental and reproductive epidemiologists and a professor of Environmental Medicine and Public Health at the Icahn School of Medicine, and Judith Enck, former US EPA regional administrator and founder and president of the nonprofit advocacy group, Beyond Plastics.

RSVP

Subcommittee hearing.

Witness:

• Tom Schultz, Chief, United States Forest Service

Proposed budget cuts USFS budget by 75%.

State, Private, & Tribal Forestry, which provides technical and financial assistance to nonfederal landowners, would be cut entirely.

National Forest System, which oversees the management of federal grasslands and forests, would be cut by 24% compared to last year’s funding. Budget seeks to eliminate the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program, while quadrupling the Forest Products line item—which funds the federal timber sale program, among other activities—from $39 million to $175 million.

Capital Improvement & Maintenance, which supports USFS infrastructure, would be cut by 28% compared to last year’s funding.

Land Acquisition, which funds the acquisition and improvement of National Forest System lands, would be increased from $2.5 million to $7 million.

Wildland Fire Management Account and Reserve Fund, which funds the personnel, equipment, and immediate post-fire risk mitigation necessary for wildfire suppression on federal lands, would be moved entirely to DOI.

Subcommittee markup of the Fiscal Year 2027 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Bill and the Fiscal Year 2027 Legislative Branch Bill.