The Week in Climate Hearings: The Darkest Days

Editor’s note: We must admit that we are ready for the holiday break, and are struggling to find enthusiasm for this final week of Congressional business during the darkest week of the year.

This week, the GOP-run House is expected to jam through legislation to eviscerate the National Environmental Policy Act, with the backing of a handful of dirty Democrats.

The GOP-run Senate is pushing through a passel of 97 Trump nominees, including billionaire and Elon Musk enthusiast Jared Isaacman as NASA Administrator; Stephen Miller anti-immigrant ally and Jeff Sessions son-in-law John Walk as USDA Inspector General; the brazenly political anti-abortion activist Tom Bell as HHS Inspector General, the climate-denial propagandist Brent Bozell as ambassador to South Africa; Trumpist political operative Trent Morse to be a member of the board of directors of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority; meat lobbyist Mindy Brashears as Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food Safety, former oil and battery lobbyist Harry Kumar to be an Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs; former Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) staffer Joyce Meyer to be be Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs, in charge of the U.S. Census Bureau; and many more.

Monday, December 15

On Monday afternoon, the House Rules Committee Republicans prepared three major anti-environmental bills—the misnamed SPEED Act (H.R. 4776), the misnamed Mining Regulatory Clarity Act (H.R. 1366), and the misnamed Reliable Power Act (H.R. 3616)—for a floor vote this week. The SPEED Act, backed by the GOP and the dirty Democrats Henry Cueller and Vincente Gonzalez (Texas), Adam Gray and Jim Costa (Calif.) Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Wash.), and Don Davis (N.C.), eviscerates the National Environmental Policy Act; the Mining Regulatory Clarity Act, backed by Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), overturns the Ninth Circuit’s Rosemount decision which limits where miners can dump their waste, and radically expands mining companies’ rights on public lands; and the Reliable Power Act, backed only by Republicans, would grant the fracking-friendly Federal Energy Regulatory Commission a veto over other agency actions, such as the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2024 rule on greenhouse pollution from power plants (which the Trump regime is proposing to repeal).

This holiday season, give the gift of climate news, uncompromised by corporate influence or polluter cash:

Tuesday, December 16

At 10 am, Chris Stallings, the Small Business Administration Associate Administrator for the Office of Disaster Recovery & Resilience, testified on the SBA disaster assistance program before the House Small Business Committee. This year, the SBA has approved 27,996 disaster loans totaling $4,760,732,713, including for the fossil-fueled Hurricane Helene, the fossil-fueled Los Angeles widlfires, the fossil-fueled Kerr County, Texas floods, and the fossil-fueled Alaska typhoon Halong. The SBA is now giving disaster relief to religious organizations. “We can’t control Mother Nature,” Stallings told climate-denier Rep. Mark Alford (R-Mo.), who claimed no-one could have predicted the devastation of Helene.

At 10:15 am, the House Natural Resources Committee Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee received testimony on nine pieces of geothermal energy legislation from Bureau of Land Management Nevada director Jon Raby, Nature Conservancy Nevada Climate and Energy Strategy Director Dr. Kerry Rohrmeier, and geothermal energy executives. Most of the bills—including Rep. Celeste Maloy’s (R-Utah) Geothermal Energy Opportunity Act (H.R. 301), Rep. Susie Lee’s (D-Nev.) STEAM Act (H.R. 1077), Rep. Russ Fulcher’s (R-Idaho) CLEAN Act (H.R. 1687) and Enhancing Geothermal Production on Federal Lands Act (H.R. 5576), and Rep. Young Kim’s (R-Calif.) HEATS Act (H.R. 5587)—would force the rapid approval of geothermal permits by sidestepping environmental rules or otherwise shortcutting the approval process.

Wednesday, December 17

At 9 am, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee holds its Member Day for fellow members of Congress to testify on issues within the Committee’s jurisdiction, including specific legislation or topics of importance to them, their district, and their constituents.

At 9:30 am, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee holds a markup of federal lands legislation.

At 10 am, the House Natural Resources Committee holds a markup of legislation to weaken the Endangered Species Act, extend the Washington, D.C. occupation, and other bills. Rep. Bruce Westerman’s ESA Amendments Act of 2025 (H.R. 1897) would, among other elements, codify the Supreme Court’s radical Loper Bright decision which overruled the Chevron doctrine.

Thursday, December 18

At 10 am, the House Energy and Commerce Committee Environment Subcommittee investigates the impact of EPA’s CERCLA designation for two PFAS chemistries and potential policy responses to Superfund liability concerns. In 2024, the Biden EPA designated two forms of these forever chemicals as hazardous substances, empowering action to protect water supplies from these deadly carcinogens. The Trump EPA has been working to reverse the fight against PFAS.

At 12 pm, the House Homeland Security Committee holds its Member Day.