Environment & Energy Congressional Round-Up | June 2 - June 5, 2025

Highlights:

The House passed the Aerial Firefighting Enhancement Act of 2025 (S.160). Originally introduced by Sens. Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), the bill would improve aerial wildfire combat through the purchase of excess military aircraft. It will now move to President Trump’s desk for his signature.

The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation passed the Tornado Observation Research Notification and Deployment to Operations (TORNADO) Act  (S.258). Reintroduced by Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Gary Peters (D-Mich.), the bill would improve forecasting and communicating of tornadoes and other extreme weather events. 

Reps. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) reintroduced the Weather Act Reauthorization bill (H.R.3816) to improve forecasting of extreme weather events. The bill would create new weather forecasting programs, forge private-public partnerships to increase information sharing, strengthen disaster preparedness efforts, and provide farmers and ranchers with resources to bolster their climate resilience. EESI’s briefing, Innovations in Weather Forecasting for a Changing Climate, explores how weather intelligence technologies help build communities’ resilience to extreme weather events. 

The House introduced four bills to address extreme heat. Reps. Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.) and Michael Lawler (R-N.Y.), cochairs of the new House Extreme Heat Caucus, lead the Heat Management Assistance Grant Act of 2025 (H.R.3738), which would help state and local governments respond to extreme heat events. Rep. Yassamin Ansari’s (D-Ariz.) Extreme Heat Economic Study Act of 2025 (H.R.3702/S.1743) would launch a federal study on the financial costs of extreme heat. Rep. Ansari’s Excess Urban Heat Mitigation Act of 2025 (H.R.3703/S.1166) would establish a federal grant program to support the implementation of local heat mitigation projects. Her Coordinated Federal Response to Extreme Heat Act of 2025 (H.R.3704/S.325) would establish a federal framework for preparing for and responding to extreme heat.

The House also introduced a slate of bills to improve fisheries management. Reps. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) and Brian Mast’s (R-Fla.) Forage Fish Conservation Act of 2025 (H.R.3714) promotes responsible fishing and increases protections for fisheries. Reps. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) and Ed Case (D-Hawaii) and Del. James Moylan (R-Guam) reintroduced the Sustaining America’s Fisheries for the Future Act (H.R.3718) to reauthorize the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Rep. Brian Babin’s (R-Texas) Standards for Understanding Source and Habitat Identification (SUSHI) Act (H.R.3706) would combat illegal fishing, which contributes to fishery depletion and threatens economic and food security, by improving seafood traceability. Reps. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.), and Nick Begich’s (R-Alaska) Fighting Foreign Illegal Seafood Harvest (FISH) Act (H.R.3756) would also combat illegal fishing.

To catch up on all of the recent environmental and energy legislation in Congress, read the pdf here.