The Committee on Rules will meet Wednesday, May 21, 2025 at 1:00 AM ET in H-313, The Capitol on the following emergency measure:
H.R. ____ – One Big Brutal (“Beautiful”) Bill Act, to provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of the Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2025, H. Con. Res. 14
Published in 2022, Stephen Markley’s novel The Deluge captured critics’ and readers’ imaginations with its depiction of climate chaos and resistance. “Markley’s dark depiction of the near future is filled with vivid descriptions of climate catastrophes, but his intricate network of complex characters balances precision with pathos, offering a kaleidoscopic view of humanity’s fraught relationship with its changing planet,” wrote Scientific American.
Join the Fossil Free California community for a conversation with Stephen Markley about climate futures, resistance in dark times, and the role of radical imagination. If you attended our February book talk with Manjula Martin and Kim Stanley Robinson, get ready for another thought-provoking and inspiring discussion!
If the ticket price causes a financial hardship please reach out to info@fossilfreeca.org for a complementary ticket.
Over the next few weeks, we’re watching the House closely as Republicans kick off voting on their budget reconciliation bill, which is chock-full of handouts to polluters and billionaires and is on track to be one of the most harmful, costly, and sweeping pieces of legislation in recent history.
On Tuesday May 20th at 7 pm EST we’re hosting a virtual phone bank to fight back against Republicans’ attempts to pass massive cuts to essential programs to provide handouts to billionaires and polluters. RSVP now to secure your spot! After you RSVP, we’ll follow up with the Zoom link you’ll use to join the phone bank.
Marco Rubio, Secretary of State, U.S. Department of State
Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
Program Name
$ Change
from 2025
Enacted
(in millions)
Brief Description of Program and Recommended Reduction or Increase Enacted
Increases
America First Opportunity (A1OF) Fund
+2,900
Support India and Jordan; repatriations; counter China and other near-peer rivals; and fund new activities.
Development Finance Corporation
+2,820
The Budget increases the U.S. International DFC. This investment includes $3 billion for a new revolving fund to allow
DFC to recycle any realized returns from its initial investments without further appropriation.
Cuts, Reductions, and Consolidations
Economic Support Fund, Development Assistance, Democracy Fund, and Assistance for Europe, Eurasia, and Central Asia
-8,326
The Budget eliminates funding for these programs and replaces them with the single A1OF and the DFC.
International Disaster Assistance,
Migration and Refugee Assistance, and
Emergency Refugee and Migration
Assistance (ERMA)—International
Humanitarian Assistance (IHA)
-3,207
The Budget reduces disaster assistance. The Budget provides $1.5 billion in ERMA for the President to use at his discretion and
consolidates accounts into a new $2.5 billion IHA account.
State and USAID Operations
-2,462
Consistent with Executive Order 14169, “Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid,”
the Budget reorganizes USAID into the Department of State.
International Narcotics Control & Law
Enforcement (INCLE)
-1,160
The majority of INCLE funds go to reforming criminal justice systems in foreign governments, rather
than to narcotics enforcement, which is primarily undertaken by: Drug Enforcement Administration
(DEA); Central Intelligence Agency; Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); Department of
Homeland Security (DHS); and Department of Defense (DOD) elements. The Budget eliminates
rule-of-law programs, while providing $125 million to fund programs that
support counter-drug, organized crime, and border security missions.
Peacekeeping Missions
-1,614
The Budget does not provide funding for United Nations (UN) and other peacekeeping
missions.
Assessed and Voluntary Contributions
to International Organizations
-1,716
The Budget pauses most assessed and all voluntary contributions to UN and other international
organizations, including for the UN Regular Budget, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization, and the World Health Organization. This is consistent with Executive Order 14199,
“Withdrawing the United States From and Ending Funding to Certain United Nations Organizations
and Reviewing United States Support to All International Organizations.” The President can choose to fund these international organizations out of the A1OF if he chooses.
Educational and Cultural Exchanges
-691
Transition Initiatives (TI)
-75
TI funds short-term assistance that aims to shape political outcomes in countries. The Budget eliminates the TI account.
Complex Crisis Fund
-55
The Complex Crisis Fund is a fund for nation-building projects. The
Budget eliminates this account and redirects crisis funding to the IHA and
ERMA accounts.
National Endowment for Democracy
(NED)
-315
The Budget eliminates funding
for NED.
Global Health Programs/Family
Planning
-6,233
The United States is the largest global contributor to programs that provide family planning. The U.S.
President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief funding is preserved for any current beneficiaries.
Food for Peace (Title II)
-1,619
The Food for Peace program spends $1.6 billion to ship food overseas.
Contribution to the Global
Environmental Facility and Climate
Investment Funds
-275
The Budget proposes to eliminate contributions to the Global Environment Facility and the Climate
Investment Funds.
Contributions to Multilateral
Development Banks (African
Development Bank, African
Development Fund)
-555
Consistent with Executive Order 14169, “Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid,”
the Budget proposes to eliminate contributions to the African Development Fund. The Budget also includes $3.2 billion over three years
for the U.S. Government contribution to the International Development Association.
Other Treasury International
Reductions
-86
The Budget proposes to eliminate several of the Department of the Treasury’s international
assistance programs, including the Debt Restructuring account, and contributions to the International
Fund for Agricultural Development and the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program.
Senate Appropriations Committee
State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Subcommittee
On Tuesday, May 20, 2025, at 2:00 p.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. 513 (Rep. Higgins), “Offshore Lands Authorities Act of 2025”
H.R. 931 (Rep. Downing), To allow certain Federal minerals to be mined consistent with the Bull Mountains Mining Plan Modification, and for other purposes.
H.R. 2556 (Rep. Hunt), “Comprehensive Offshore Resource Evaluation Act of 2025” or the “CORE Act of 2025”
H.R. 3168 (Rep. Valadao), “National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program Reauthorization Act of 2025”
H.R. 3176 (Rep. Begich), To amend the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act to reauthorize the National Volcano Early Warning and Monitoring System.
Dr. Walter Cruickshank, Deputy Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC [H.R. 513 & H.R. 2556]
Panel III:
Cory Kief, Director of Business Development, Crosby Tugs, LLC, Galliano, LA [H.R. 513 & H.R. 2556]
Parker Phipps, CEO, Signal Peak Energy, Roundup, MT [H.R. 931]
Dr. Mike West, Director and State Seismologist, Alaska Earthquake Center, Fairbanks, AK [H.R. 2250, H.R. 3168, H.R. 3176]
Doug Helton, former Regional Operations Supervisor, Emergency Response Division, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Seattle, WA [H.R. 513 & H.R. 2556] (Minority Witness)
H.R. 513 (Rep. Higgins), “Offshore Lands Authorities Act of 2025”
The Offshore Lands Authorities Act of 2025 seeks to nullify specific Presidential withdrawals of
offshore lands made under Section 12(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA).
The bill would also amend OCSLA to limit future Presidential withdrawals.
H.R. 931 (Rep. Downing), To allow certain Federal minerals to be mined consistent with the Bull Mountains Mining Plan Modification.
Signal Peak Energy (SPE) currently operates the only underground coal mine in Montana: the
Bull Mountain Mine. Despite reserves that can last over 50 years,6the mine will soon run out of
recoverable reserves as SPE cannot access federal coal tracts that run in a checkerboard pattern
across the area. SPE has been seeking OSMRE’s approval to mine 1,835 acres of federal coal
since 2013. OSMRE previously approved a mining plan modification along with an
environmental assessment in 2015 and 2018 that would allow access to this acreage but both
efforts were vacated by the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana in 2017 and 2023, respectively. Specifically in the 2023 decision, Judge Donald W. Molloy vacated the mine
modification and remanded the matter to the Department of the Interior to prepare an
environmental impact statement (EIS).
H.R. 931 would require the Secretary of the Interior to approve the Bull
Mountains Mining Plan Modification, allowing the mine and its 300 workers to continue
operations. Under the bill, all Federal coal reserves leased under Federal Coal Lease MTM
97988 would be permitted to be mined by the Secretary of the Interior. This bill mirrors a companion bill
introduced by Senator Daines, S. 362.
Landslides are a major geologic hazard in every state, causing between $1 and $ 2 billion in
damages and more than 25 casualties annually. The United States Geological Survey (USGS)
established the Landslide Hazards Program (LHP) in the 1970s to research the Earth’s geologic
structure and draw scientific conclusions about landslides and ground failures.16 The states
utilize this research to prepare for and properly respond to these disasters.
The National Landslides Preparedness Act (NLPA) was passed in the House of Representatives
in the 116th Congress and was signed into law on January 5, 2021. The NLPA established the
National Landslide Hazards Reduction Program (NLHRP) and the 3D Elevation Program
(3DEP), authorizing both programs from 2021 to 2024. The programs allow USGS to gather data
to enable states and communities to reduce loss in the event of a landslide. The Director of the
USGS leads implementation of the NLHRP and coordinates with states, territories, and Indian
tribes to coordinate data collection and share information. The NLPA also charges the USGS
with mapping and researching landslide hazards, responding to landslides, and coordinating with
state, local, territorial, and tribal entities to reduce landslide risks. The goal of 3DEP is to
establish high-quality topographic elevation data of the entire U.S., enabling better understanding
of landslides and why they occur. USGS uses Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR)
technology when mapping the Earth. By the end of fiscal year (FY) 2022, the USGS had
elevation data gathered via LIDAR for 90 percent of the U.S. 3DEP allows the USGS to gather
new topography data and study how landslides shift the landscape from one year to the next. This
allows USGS and the states to develop plans and procedures in the event of a landslide to
minimize losses.
Landslides have affected numerous communities across the U.S. In 2018, Alaska experienced a
devastating series of 43 landslides after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit just north of
Anchorage. This disaster caused $76 million in damage, but fortunately, there were no
fatalities. Heavy rainfall is the most common cause of landslides, particularly rainfall on
burned, steeply sloped terrain (e.g., a post-wildfire debris flow). H.R. 2250 reauthorizes
NLHRP at $35 million, which represents an increased authorization of $10 million per year until
FY 2030, over the current $25 million levels. It also authorizes 3DEP through FY 2030 at the
current authorization of appropriations level of $40 million per year.
H.R. 2556 (Rep. Hunt), “Comprehensive Offshore Resource Enhancement Act of 2025” or the “CORE Act of 2025”
BOEM periodically conducts resource assessments of the OCS and regularly prepares 5-
year leasing plans as mandated by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct05) and OCSLA.
These assessments, which include Undiscovered Technically Recoverable Resources (UTRR)
and Undiscovered Economically Recoverable Resources (UERR), contribute to 5-year program planning and development.
The CORE Act requires BOEM to leverage existing seismic data to resolve boundary
disputes, examine unresolved boundaries for decision-maker clarity, and assess joint production
feasibility. It also forces BOEM to assess activity by Cuba, Mexico, Canada, the Bahamas, and
Russia to ensure compliance with transboundary agreements to determine whether U.S. revenue
is protected from exploitation of cross-border reservoirs with our neighbors.
The Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources held a legislative hearing on the CORE
Act on July 23, 2024. Provisions that have changed in the current version include the addition
of the Transboundary hydrocarbon analysis, U.S.-Canada collaborative boundary delineation
instructions, changes to agency roles from Secretary of Defense to Secretary of State, addition of
non-energy mineral resource analyses, and comparative analysis of other offshore producing
countries’ practices to those of the United States.
H.R. 3168 (Rep. Valadao), “National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program
Reauthorization Act of 2025”
The USGS is in charge of monitoring and reporting earthquakes, assessing damage, and
researching their causes and effects. The National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program
(NEHRP) is aimed at gaining a better understanding of earthquakes while also reducing risks in
the United States. NEHRP is a joint agency effort led by the National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST), with help from the USGS, the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). These agencies work together to conduct
science, but they also have individual goals for mitigating damage from earthquakes.
NEHRP was first authorized in 1977 with the goal of managing the impacts of earthquakes on
life, property, and the economy. The program was designed to achieve this goal through a
large, coordinated effort between the community of earthquake professionals in academia,
businesses, government agencies, and codes and standards organizations that develop earthquake
building codes.44 NEHRP has been reauthorized several times, and most recently in 2018. This
reauthorization in 2018 established the first operational earthquake early warning system in the
United States aptly named ShakeAlert.
Currently, ShakeAlert operates in California, Oregon, and Washington and aims to provide alerts
to people who are in the affected areas of an earthquake. This application, run by the USGS,
can save thousands of lives and millions of dollars by alerting an individual’s phone or other
electronic device, notifying them that an earthquake has been detected. The application has
successfully been integrated into several industries across the West Coast, specifically on the
Metrolink in Southern California It has been integrated into Metrolink’s Positive Train Control
systems to automatically slow or stop trains when an alert is received.
H.R. 3168 reauthorizes NEHRP through FY 2030.
H.R. 3176 (Rep. Begich), To reauthorize the National Volcano Early Warning and Monitoring System
The United States currently has about 170 young volcanoes, and roughly half of those pose a
threat due to their proximity to communities and the intensity of their eruptions. Many of these
volcanoes are not adequately monitored, and others have no monitoring equipment.
The National Volcano Early Warning and Monitoring System (NVEWS)52 was established in
2019 through the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act. This
program was new in 2019 and falls under the Volcano Hazards Program (VHP) which has
existed since 1980 and is also administered by USGS.
Congress authorized appropriations of
$55 million for NVEWS from FY 2019 through FY 2023. In FY 2022, Congress appropriated
an additional $2.2 million for NVEWS implementation and $1.8 million for the Mount Rainier
lahar detection system out of the $33.3 million appropriated to the VHP. The authorization for
NVEWS expired at the end of FY 2023, but its programs have continued to operate as a part of
VHP.
The USGS operates many volcano observatories across the country, the hubs of which are
located in Alaska, California, Hawaii, and Washington. These observatories electronically
monitor and research volcanoes while remaining far enough away from the danger of an
eruption. These observatories are outfitted with seismometers, GPS receivers, and gas sniffers to
track seismicity or detect volcanic gas in the surrounding area.
The goal of NVEWS is to monitor the most active and hazardous volcanoes to give ample time
to evacuate the communities in the surrounding area of the volcano. Hawaii is the most at risk
state as the islands themselves are active volcanoes, so the nearby cities must be prepared for
potential eruptions. Additionally, Alaska has the most volcanoes in its borders of any state at
over 130 volcanoes and volcanic fields, and more than 50 have been active in the last 300
years.
On Tuesday, May 20, 2025, at 10:30 a.m. in room 1334 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. 1885 (Rep. Murphy), “Town of North Topsail Beach Coastal Barrier Resources System Map Amendment Act of 2025”
H.R. 2294 (Rep. Ezell, Bonamici, Weber, Dingell, Radewagen, Davis (Ill.)), To reauthorize the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 2009.
H.R. 3179 (Rep. Babin, Gonzales (TX), Crenshaw, De La Cruz, Hunt, Nehls, Weber, Cloud, Pfluger, Roy, McCaul), To rename the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge located in the State of Texas as the “Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge”.
On Tuesday, May 20, 2025, at 10:15 a.m., in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Federal Lands will hold a legislative hearing on the following bill:
Discussion Draft of H.R. ___ (Rep. Hurd), “Fostering Opportunities to Restore Ecosystems through Sound Tribal Stewardship Act” or the “FORESTS Act.”
Mr. John Crockett, Deputy Chief for State, Private, and Tribal Forestry, U.S. Forest Service
Panel III (Outside Experts):
Cody Desautel, President, Intertribal Timber Council, Nespelem, Washington
Sara Clark, Co-Lead, The Stewardship Project, San Francisco, California
Tim Vredenburg, Director of Forest Management, Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians, Roseburg, Oregon
Austin Lowes, Chairman, Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan [Minority Witness]
The “Fostering Opportunities to Restore Ecosystems through Sound Tribal Stewardship
(FORESTS) Act” is comprehensive legislation that empowers cross-boundary forest
management on
Tribal forest lands and federal forest lands where Tribes have a
principally relevant tribal interest.
To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior
to enter into agreements with Indian Tribes for the performance of
certain forest management activities on Federal lands, including the
performance of forest land management activities, biochar demonstration
projects, and sawmill infrastructure demonstration projects, and for other
purposes.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Program Name
$ Change Enacted
from 2025
(in millions)
Brief Description of Program and Recommended Reduction or Increase
Increases
Drinking Water Programs
+9
The Budget provides $124 million in funding for the drinking water mission at EPA. The $9 million
increase from the 2025 enacted level is to equip EPA with funds to respond to drinking
water disasters.
Indian Reservation Drinking Water Program
+27
The Budget increases funding for Tribes to retain access to funding for drinking water and
wastewater infrastructure on their lands, with a total level of $31 million for the grant program.
Cuts, Reductions, and Consolidations
Clean and Drinking Water State
Revolving Loan Funds
-2,460
The Budget provides the
decreased funding level of $305 million total.
Categorical Grants
-1,006
The Budget includes the
elimination of 16 categorical grants, and maintains funding at 2025 enacted levels for Tribes.
Hazardous Substance Superfund
-254
The IIJA and
the Inflation Reduction Act helped finance the Superfund program.
Office of Research and Development
-235
The Budget puts an end to research grants, environmental justice work,
climate research, and modeling that influences regulations. The Budget provides $281 million.
Environmental Justice
-100
EPA’s environmental justice program is eliminated in line with the vision the President set forth in
Executive Order 14151, “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and
Preferencing,” and Executive Order 14173, “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.”
Diesel Emissions Reduction Act
(DERA) Grants
-90
This program is eliminated.
Atmospheric Protection Program
-100
The Atmospheric Protection Program imposes climate change regulations. This
program is eliminated in the 2026 Budget.
Joint subcommittee hearing entitled “Mandates, Meddling, and Mismanagement: The IRA’s Threat to Energy and Medicine.”
Witnesses:
Ben Lieberman, Senior Fellow, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Dr. Erin Trish, Ph.D., Co-Director, USC Schaeffer Center, Associate Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical and Health Economics, USC Mann School of Pharmacy
Dr. William McBride, Ph.D., Chief Economist and Stephen J. Entin Fellow in Economics, Tax Foundation
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee
Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs Subcommittee
Over the next few weeks, we’re watching the House closely as Republicans kick off voting on their budget reconciliation bill, which is chock-full of handouts to polluters and billionaires and is on track to be one of the most harmful, costly, and sweeping pieces of legislation in recent history.