Environment & Energy Congressional Round-Up | July 6 - 10, 2026

Highlights:

The House introduced three bills on critical minerals this week: Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks’s (R-Iowa) Battery Recycling for America’s Competitive Economy (BRACE) Act (H.R.9615) to establish universal recycling and recovery standards for lithium-ion batteries, Reps. August Pfluger’s (R-Texas) and Greg Landsman’s (D-Ohio) Environmental Monitoring and Remediation Technology Assessment Initiative Authorization (EMRTAI) Act (H.R.9616) to allot $10 million for an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) program to assist critical mineral recovery efforts from contaminated sites, and the Coordinating and Harnessing America’s Recovery of Minerals (CHARM) Act (H.R.9617), led by Reps. Gary Palmer (R-Ala.) and Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), to direct the EPA to conduct a national critical mineral recovery strategy. To learn more about critical mineral sourcing and supply chains, check out our issue brief and our lithium and cobalt deep-dives.

Reps. Rob Wittman (R-Va.) and Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) introduced the Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (MRI) Reauthorization Act of 2026 (H.R.9640). Earth MRI is a U.S. Geological Survey program that helps generate baseline data on geologic hazards, critical mineral, and geothermal resources across the United States. This bill would extend the program’s funding (currently set to expire at the end of September) for another five years and expand research to include natural hydrogen deposits. Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) introduced the Senate version (S.4870) in June. 

Reps. Ryan Mackenzie (R-Pa.) and Janelle Bynum (D-Ore.) introduced the Better Information through Line-item Labeling Drivers (BILL Drivers) Act (H.R.9630). The bill would direct the Energy Information Administration and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to analyze and publicly report findings on the components driving rising electricity bills for residential and small business customers. To learn more, check out EESI’s briefing on strategies to lower utility bills for households and small businesses.

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