Climate science, policy, politics, and action
Full committee hearing. This hearing has been postponed.
Witness:
Subcommittee hearing titled “Powering America’s AI Future: Assessing Policy Options to Increase Data Center Infrastructure.” This hearing will examine the structure, implementation, and oversight of federal permitting frameworks governing the development of energy and data center infrastructure that support artificial intelligence (AI).
Witnesses:
The Committee on Rules will meet Monday, February 23, 2026 at 4:00 PM ET in H-313, The Capitol on the following measures:
H.R. 4626, formerly the ‘‘Don’t Mess With My Home Appliances Act,’’ will raise electricity costs. The bill amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) to add burdensome, duplicative, and contradictory procedures to the Department of Energy’s (DOE) processes for issuing energy efficiency standards. It also gives future administrations the ability to revoke existing standards, potentially violating the statute’s anti-backsliding provisions. The bill would also prohibit the banning of a product based on a type of fuel and ban DOE from factoring in social costs of greenhouse gas emissions in its determination. H.R. 4626 was amended in the Subcommittee Markup to further weaken energy efficiency standards. Language was added to the bill to extend compliance dates for all products, delaying cost savings for consumers. Moreover, additional cumbersome considerations were included for DOE to examine when issuing efficiency standards.
H.R. 4758, the Homeowner Energy Freedom Act, repeals three programs created by the Inflation Reduction Act: the High-Efficiency Electric Home Rebate Program, the State-Based Home Energy Efficiency Contractor Training Grants, and Assistance for Latest and Zero Building Energy Code Adoption. The bill also rescinds all unobligated funds for the High-Efficiency Electric Home Rebate Program and Assistance for Latest and Zero Building Energy Code adoption.
Full committee hearing.
Nominees:
Brooks has been the Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory & Scientific Affairs, Office of Water, EPA since May 2025. He was the Director of Federal Affairs for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (2020-2021) and then the Chief Resilience Officer, in charge of programs to respond to sea level rise, (Nov. 2021-May 2025) under Gov. Ron DeSantis. Previously, he was a staffer for a series of Florida Republicans, first for Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (2013-2017, then Rep. Brian Mast (2017), then Sen. Marco Rubio (2017-2020). He first joined Ros-Lehtinen’s staff as a congressional fellow funded by Shell. He received a Ph.D. in 2013 from Rutgers University in ecological science. His academic work has included assessments of ecosystem damage caused by climate change, invasive plants, invasive fish, and citizen-science initiatives.
In his testimony, Brooks advocated for deep-sea mining and protecting the U.S. plastics industry from global regulation.
Jeremy Carl is a white supremacist.
Billy Long is an auctioneer and former Republican congressman who had a brief and ignominious tenure as IRS Commissioner from June 16, 2025 to August 8, 2025.
Robert Sweeney was the CEO of Mission National Bank and is an executive with Texas-based Accelex Resources. He is an advocate of geothermal energy and modular nuclear reactors.
Full committee markup, a continuation of the February 3 markup. Attached to hearing with NTSB on the DC air collision.
All bills reported favorably by committee by a single voice vote.
Subcommittee hearing.
Witness:
The purpose of this hearing is to examine the current state of U.S. surface transportation research and to better understand the research and development issues relevant to authorizing surface transportation programs. The hearing will explore the breadth of existing surface transportation research efforts. Reviewing the scope of this work will help inform future legislative actions the Committee may consider to advance surface transportation innovation
Location: 2318 Rayburn House Office Building Subcommittee: Subcommittee on Research and Technology
Witnesses:
Furchtgott-Roth is a notorious climate denier who was the lead author of the Project 2025 Department of Transportation chapter.
A Subcommittee on Emergency Management and Technology hearing entitled “Surveying the Threat of Agroterrorism, Part II: Assessing Federal Government Efforts.”
Witnesses:
On Wednesday, February 11, 2026, at 1:45 p.m., in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources will meet to consider:
H.R. 755 modifies the Energy Act of 2020 to expand the definition of critical minerals to include critical materials designated by the Department of Energy (DOE). By expanding the definition of critical minerals, this bill requires the USGS to include on its list the materials on DOE’s list. Within 45 days of DOE adding a mineral, element, substance, or material to its critical materials list, the USGS must update its list to include such mineral, element, substance, or material.
Subcommittee oversight hearing.
Witnesses