Environment & Energy Congressional Round-Up | October 27 - October 31, 2025

Highlights:

The House Committee on Natural Resources passed the Digital Coast Reauthorization Act of 2025 (H.R.4256). Reps. Dave Min (D-Calif.) and Rob Wittman (R-Va.) introduced the bill to reauthorize the Digital Coast program, whose funding expired this September. The program supports information, technology, and training needed to preserve and protect coastal communities from the growing threats of climate change. Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) lead the bill (S.2245) in the Senate. 

The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works agreed to the Research for Environmental Uses and Sustainable Economies (REUSE) Act of 2025 (S.2110). Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) introduced the bill, which directs the Environmental Protection Agency to collect data on and provide recommendations for plastics reuse and refill systems across the country.

The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations advanced the Critical Minerals Partnership Act of 2025 (S.2250). The bill, introduced by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and John Curtis (R-Utah), aims to strengthen international partnerships to develop secure supply chains for critical minerals. To learn more about critical minerals, check out EESI’s issue brief, Critical Minerals and the U.S. Clean Energy Transition.

The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works advanced the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) of 2025 (S.2235), led by Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.). The bill, if passed, would reauthorize and bolster the DERA program through 2029 to reduce pollution from heavy-duty diesel engines. Reps. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.), Ken Calvert (R-Calif.), Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), and Nick Langworthy (R-N.Y.) reintroduced the bill (H.R.2140)  in the House. 

Reps. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) and Richard Neal (D-Mass.) introduced the American Energy Independence and Affordability Act (H.R.5862) with the support of 114 democratic cosponsors. The bill aims to restore key renewable energy tax incentives passed in the Inflation Reduction Act (P.L.117-69) to support the country’s clean energy transition. To learn more about the IRA’s clean energy tax credits, check out EESI’s 2023 briefing. 

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