Environment & Energy Congressional Round-Up | June 30 - July 4, 2025

Highlights:

The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation passed the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Act of 2025 (S.93). Sens. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) reintroduced the bill to reauthorize and bolster federal programs that improve forecasting, monitoring, and mitigation of harmful algal blooms. Reps. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.) and David Joyce (R-Ohio) lead the bill (H.R.644) in the House. Check out EESI’s briefing on the Mississippi River to learn more about efforts to combat nitrogen pollution.

The House Committee on Natural Resources passed the La Paz County Solar Energy and Job Creation Act (H.R.1043). Reps. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) and Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) reintroduced the bill to permit the transfer of federal lands to Arizona’s La Paz County for solar energy development. The project would create more than 700 jobs, and the resulting solar park would have enough solar and battery storage capacity to power about 75,000 homes. Sens. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) lead the bill’s Senate companion (S.909). 

Rep. Dave Min (D-Calif.), alongside Reps. Rob Wittman (R-Va.), Kevin Mullin (D-Calif.), and Buddy Carter (R-Ga.), introduced H.R.4256 to reauthorize the Digital Coast Act. The Act codifies the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Digital Coast project, which provides critical information to coastal managers and communities about coastal erosion, sea level rise, coastal storm surge, and more.

Congress also completed the budget reconciliation process, signed into law on July 4. The law (P.L. 119-21) makes significant changes to clean energy tax credits as well as a wide range of climate, energy, and environment-related programs across the federal government. In general, these changes will make it far more challenging for the United States to meet its prior climate and clean energy deployment goals. 

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