The United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources is a

standing committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and ...

. It has jurisdiction over matters related to energy and mineral resources, including nuclear development; irrigation and reclamation, territorial possessions of the United States, trust lands appertaining to America's indigenous peoples, and the conservation, use, and disposition of federal lands. Its roots go back to the Committee on Interior and Insulars Affairs. In 1977, it became the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, and most matters regarding Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians were removed from its jurisdiction and transferred to the

Committee on Indian Affairs The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs is a committee of the United States Senate charged with oversight in matters related to the American Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native peoples. A Committee on Indian Affairs existed from 1820 to 1 ...

History

The Committee on Public Lands was created in 1816 during the 14th Congress chaired by senator

Jeremiah Morrow Jeremiah Morrow (October 6, 1771March 22, 1852) was a Democratic-Republican Party politician from Ohio. He served as the ninth governor of Ohio, and was the last Democratic-Republican to hold that office. He also served as a United States Senato ...

. In its early years, it managed the settlement of the recently purchased

Missouri Territory The Territory of Missouri was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 4, 1812, until August 10, 1821. In 1819, the Territory of Arkansas was created from a portion of its southern area. In 1821, a southe ...

. Over time, the committee oversaw the western expansion of the United States, including the

Texas annexation The Texas annexation was the 1845 annexation of the Republic of Texas into the United States. Texas was admitted to the Union as the 28th state on December 29, 1845. The Republic of Texas declared independence from the Republic of Mexico ...

, the

Oregon Treaty The Oregon Treaty is a treaty between the United Kingdom and the United States that was signed on June 15, 1846, in Washington, D.C. The treaty brought an end to the Oregon boundary dispute by settling competing American and British claims to t ...

, the

Mexican Cession The Mexican Cession ( es, Cesión mexicana) is the region in the modern-day southwestern United States that Mexico originally controlled, then ceded to the United States in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 after the Mexican–American W ...

, and the

Gadsden Purchase The Gadsden Purchase ( es, region=MX, la Venta de La Mesilla "The Sale of La Mesilla") is a region of present-day southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico that the United States acquired from Mexico by the Treaty of Mesilla, which took effe ...

. The

Homestead Act of 1860 The Homestead Act of 1860 in the United States would have made land available for 25 cents per acre. This act was passed by the United States Congress, but was ultimately vetoed by President James Buchanan.Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the m ...

was established, with the Public Lands Committee serving as legislative oversight. The committee became responsible for enacting legislation to conserve nature and its resources. Due to the actions of the committee, Congress began working towards preservation of forests, wilderness, and historical landmarks with the signing of the

Antiquities Act The Antiquities Act of 1906 (, , ), is an act that was passed by the United States Congress and signed into law by Theodore Roosevelt on June 8, 1906. This law gives the President of the United States the authority to, by presidential procla ...

in 1906 and the establishment of the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government within the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of ...

in 1916. The committee has gone under a number of name changes, but the functions and policy have remained similar to its creation. In 1921, the committee merged with the Committee on Geological Surveys to become the Committee of Public Lands and Surveys. Following the

Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 The Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (also known as the Congressional Reorganization Act, ch. 753, , enacted August 2, 1946) was the most comprehensive reorganization of the United States Congress in history to that date. Background The n ...

, it became the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, absorbing the jurisdiction of the

Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States federal agency within the Department of the Interior. It is responsible for implementing federal laws and policies related to American Indians and Al ...

, Territorial and Insular Affairs, Mines and Mining, and Irrigation and Reclamation committees. Its most recent iteration, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, was established on February 4, 1977, after the Committee System Reorganization Amendments of 1977.

Legislation

Current Year

Notable Past Legislation

Jurisdiction

In accordance of Rule XXV of the United States Senate, all proposed legislation, messages, petitions, memorials, and other matters relating to the following subjects is referred to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: # Coal production, distribution, and utilization; #

Energy policy Energy policy is the manner in which a given entity (often governmental) has decided to address issues of energy development including energy conversion, distribution and use as well as reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in order to cont ...

; #

Energy regulation Energy laws govern the use and taxation of energy, both renewable and non-renewable. These laws are the primary authorities (such as caselaw, statutes, rules, regulations and edicts) related to energy. In contrast, energy policy refers to t ...

and

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and managem ...

; # Energy related aspects of deepwater ports; # Energy research and development; # Extraction of minerals from

oceans The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wo ...

and

Outer Continental Shelf The Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) is a feature of the geography of the United States. The OCS is the part of the internationally recognized continental shelf of the United States which does not fall under the jurisdictions of the individual U. ...

lands; #

Hydroelectric power Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined a ...

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been dev ...

, and

reclamation Reclaim, reclaimed, reclaimer, reclaiming or reclamation means "to get something back". It may refer to: * Land reclamation, creating new land from oceans, riverbeds, or lake beds * Dedesertification, reversing of the land degradation in arid ...

; # Mining education and research; #

Mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...

, mineral lands, mining claims, and mineral conservation; #

National parks A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individua ...

, recreation areas,

wilderness areas Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

wild and scenic rivers The National Wild and Scenic Rivers System was created by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968 (Public Law 90-542), enacted by the U.S. Congress to preserve certain rivers with outstanding natural, cultural, and recreational values in a free ...

, historical sites, military parks and battlefields, and on the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...

, preservation of prehistoric ruins and objects of interest; # Naval petroleum reserves in Alaska; # Nonmilitary development of

nuclear energy Nuclear energy may refer to: *Nuclear power, the use of sustained nuclear fission or nuclear fusion to generate heat and electricity *Nuclear binding energy Nuclear binding energy in experimental physics is the minimum energy that is required t ...

; # Oil and gas production and distribution; #

Public lands In all modern states, a portion of land is held by central or local governments. This is called public land, state land, or Crown land ( Australia, and Canada). The system of tenure of public land, and the terminology used, varies between countri ...

and

forests A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

, including

farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peop ...

and

grazing In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to roam around and consume wild vegetations in order to convert the otherwise indigestible (by human gut) cellulose within grass and other ...

thereon, and

mineral extraction Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

therefrom; #

Solar energy Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar power to generate electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating), and solar architecture. It is an ...

systems; and, # Territorial possessions of the United States, including trusteeships. The Committee is also charged to "study and review, on a comprehensive basis, matters relating to

energy In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of hea ...

and resources development, and report thereon from time to time."

Members, 117th Congress

Subcommittees

The Energy Committee has four subcommittees:

Chairpersons

Committee on Public Lands, 1816–1921

(R-OH) 1816–1819 * Thomas Williams (R-MS) 1819–1820 * Jesse Thomas (R-IL) 1820–1823 * David Barton (NR-MO) 1823–1831 *

William R. King William Rufus DeVane King (April 7, 1786 – April 18, 1853) was an American politician and diplomat. He was the 13th vice president of the United States from March 4 until his death in April 1853. Earlier he had served as a U.S. represen ...

(D-AL) 1831–1832 *

Elias Kane Elias Kent Kane (June 7, 1794December 12, 1835) was the first Illinois Secretary of State and a U.S. Senator from Illinois. Early life He was born in New York City, to merchant Capt. Elias Kent Kane and Deborah VanSchelluyne of Dutchess County, ...

(D-IL) 1832–1833 *

George Poindexter George Poindexter (April 19, 1779 − September 5, 1853) was an American politician, lawyer and judge from Mississippi. Born in Virginia, he moved to the Mississippi Territory in 1802. He served as United States Representative from the newly adm ...

(W-MS) 1833–1835 *

Thomas Ewing Thomas Ewing Sr. (December 28, 1789October 26, 1871) was a National Republican and Whig politician from Ohio. He served in the U.S. Senate as well as serving as the secretary of the treasury and the first secretary of the interior. He is al ...

(W-OH) 1835–1836 * Robert Walker (D-MS) 1836–1841 *

Oliver Hampton Smith Oliver Hampton Smith (October 23, 1794March 19, 1859) was a United States representative and United States Senate, Senator from Indiana. Born on Smith's Island, near Trenton, New Jersey, (is also believed to have been born at the Smith Family Far ...

(W-IN) 1841–1843 *

William Woodbridge William Woodbridge (August 20, 1780October 20, 1861) was a U.S. statesman in the states of Ohio and Michigan and in the Michigan Territory prior to statehood. He served as the second Governor of Michigan and a United States Senator from Mich ...

(W-MI) 1843–1845 *

Sidney Breese Sidney Breese (July 15, 1800 – June 27, 1878), a lawyer, soldier, author and jurist born in New York, became an early Illinois pioneer and represented the state in the United States Senate as well as served as Chief Justice of the Illinois ...

(D-IL) 1845–1849 *

Alpheus Felch Alpheus Felch (September 28, 1804June 13, 1896) was the fifth governor of Michigan and U.S. Senator from Michigan. Early life Felch was born in Limerick, Maine, Limerick (in modern-day Maine, then a part of Massachusetts). He was left an orphan ...

(D-MI) 1849–1853 *

Solon Borland Solon Borland (September 21, 1808 – January 1, 1864) was an American physician who served as a United States Senator from Arkansas from 1848 to 1853. In later life, he served as an officer of the Confederate States Army who commanded a cava ...

(D-AR) 1853 * Augustus Dodge (D-IA) 1853–1855 *

Charles E. Stuart Charles Edward Stuart (November 25, 1810May 19, 1887) was a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from the state of Michigan. Biography Stuart was born in New York, either near Waterloo, New York, or in Columbia County. He studied law, was admi ...

(D-MI) 1855–1859 * Robert W. Johnson (D-AR) 1859–1861 * James Harlan (R-IA) 1861–1865 *

Samuel Pomeroy Samuel Clarke Pomeroy (January 3, 1816 – August 27, 1891) was a United States senator from Kansas in the mid-19th century. He served in the United States Senate during the American Civil War. Pomeroy also served in the Massachusetts Hous ...

(R-KS) 1865–1873 * William Sprague (R-RI) 1873–1875 * Richard Oglesby (R-IL) 1875–1879 *

Joseph E. McDonald Joseph Ewing McDonald (August 29, 1819 – June 21, 1891) was an American politician who served as a United States representative and Senator from Indiana. He also served as Indiana's 2nd Attorney General and unsuccessfully sought the Democ ...

(D-IN) 1879–1881 *

Preston Plumb Preston Bierce Plumb (October 12, 1837December 20, 1891) was a United States senator from Kansas, as well as an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Biography Born in Delaware County, Ohio, at 9 his family removed to Marysv ...

(R-KS) 1881–1891 *

Joseph N. Dolph Joseph Norton Dolph (October 19, 1835March 10, 1897) was an American politician and attorney in the state of Oregon. A native of the state of New York, he immigrated to Oregon over the Oregon Trail and settled in Portland where he became the s ...

(R-OR) 1891–1893 *

James H. Berry James Henderson Berry (May 15, 1841 – January 30, 1913) was a United States Senator and served as the 14th governor of Arkansas. Early life James Henderson Berry was born in Jackson County, Alabama, to Isabella Jane (née Orr) and James McFe ...

(D-AR) 1893–1895 *

Fred T. Dubois Fred Thomas Dubois (May 29, 1851February 14, 1930) was a controversial American politician from Idaho who served two terms in the United States Senate. He was best known for his opposition to the gold standard and his efforts to disenfranchise ...

(R-ID) 1895–1897 *

Henry C. Hansbrough Henry Clay Hansbrough (January 30, 1848November 16, 1933) was a United States politician who served as the first United States Representative from North Dakota, as well as a Senator from North Dakota. Biography Henry Clay Hansbrough was born ...

(R-ND) 1897–1908 *

Knute Nelson Knute Nelson (born Knud Evanger; February 2, 1843 – April 28, 1923) was an American attorney and politician active in Wisconsin and Minnesota. A Republican, he served in state and national positions: he was elected to the Wisconsin and Minnesot ...

(R-MN) 1908–1912 *

Reed Smoot Reed Smoot (January 10, 1862February 9, 1941) was an American politician, businessman, and apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). First elected by the Utah State Legislature to the U.S. Senate in 1902, he served ...

(R-UT) 1912–1913 *

George E. Chamberlain George Earle Chamberlain Sr. (January 1, 1854 – July 9, 1928) was an American attorney, politician, and public official in Oregon. A native of Mississippi and member of the Democratic Party, Chamberlain's political achievements included appo ...

(D-OR) 1913–1915 *

Henry L. Myers Henry Lee Myers (October 9, 1862 – November 11, 1943) was a United States senator from Montana. Biography Born near Boonville, Missouri, he attended Cooper Institute and Boonville Academy, both private schools. He studied law and was admitt ...

(D-MT) 1915–1919 *

(R-UT) 1919–1921

Committee on Public Lands and Surveys, 1921–1947

(R-UT) 1921–1923 *

Irvine L. Lenroot Irvine Luther Lenroot (January 31, 1869 – January 26, 1949) was a United States representative and United States senator from Wisconsin and an associate judge of the United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals. Education and career B ...

(R-WI) 1923–1924 *

Edwin F. Ladd Edwin Fremont Ladd (December 13, 1859June 22, 1925) was an American chemist, academic administrator, and politician. While serving in the United States Senate, he was chairman of the Committee on Public Roads and Surveys during the sixty-eighth C ...

(R-ND) 1924 *

Robert Nelson Stanfield Robert Nelson Stanfield Jr (July 9, 1877April 13, 1945) was an American Republican politician and rancher from the state of Oregon who served in the Oregon House of Representatives (1912–18) including as Speaker (1917–18) and was later ele ...

(R-OR) 1924–1927 *

Gerald P. Nye Gerald Prentice Nye (December 19, 1892 – July 17, 1971) was an American politician who represented North Dakota in the United States Senate from 1925 to 1945. He was a Republican and supporter of World War II-era isolationism, chairing the Nye ...

(R-ND) 1927–1933 *

John B. Kendrick John Benjamin Kendrick (September 6, 1857 – November 3, 1933) was an American politician and cattleman who served as a United States senator from Wyoming and as the ninth Governor of Wyoming as a member of the Democratic Party. Early life ...

(D-WY) 1933 *

Robert F. Wagner Robert Ferdinand Wagner I (June 8, 1877May 4, 1953) was an American politician. He was a Democratic U.S. Senator from New York from 1927 to 1949. Born in Prussia, Wagner migrated with his family to the United States in 1885. After graduating ...

(D-NY) 1933–1937 *

Alva B. Adams Alva Blanchard Adams (October 29, 1875 – December 1, 1941) was a Democratic politician who represented Colorado in the United States Senate from 1923 until 1924 and again from 1933 to 1941. Biography Adams was born in Del Norte, Colorado and ...

(D-CO) 1937–1941 *

Carl A. Hatch Carl Atwood Hatch (November 27, 1889 – September 15, 1963) was a United States senator from New Mexico and later was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico. Education and career Hatch w ...

(D-NM) 1941–1947

Committee on Public Lands, 1947–1948

* Hugh Butler (R-NE) 1947–1948

Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, 1948–1977

* Hugh Butler (R-NE) 1948–1949 *

Joseph C. O'Mahoney Joseph Christopher O'Mahoney (November 5, 1884December 1, 1962) was an American journalist, lawyer, and politician. A Democrat, he served four complete terms as a U.S. Senator from Wyoming on two occasions, first from 1934-1953 and then again fro ...

(D-WY) 1949–1953 * Hugh Butler (R-NE) 1953–1954 *

Guy Cordon Guy F. Cordon (April 24, 1890June 8, 1969) was an American author, politician and lawyer from the state of Oregon. A native of Texas, he served in the Army during World War I and later was the district attorney of Douglas County in Southern Orego ...

(R-OR) 1954–1955 *

James E. Murray James Edward Murray (May 3, 1876March 23, 1961) was an American politician and United States Senator from Montana, and a liberal leader of the Democratic Party. He served in the United States Senate from 1934 until 1961. Background Born on a fa ...

(D-MT) 1955–1961 *

Clinton P. Anderson Clinton Presba Anderson (October 23, 1895 – November 11, 1975) was an American politician who represented New Mexico in the United States Senate from 1949 until 1973. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as United Sta ...

(D-NM) 1961–1963 * Scoop Jackson (D-WA) 1963–1977

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 1977–present

* Scoop Jackson (D-WA) 1977–1981 * James McClure (R-ID) 1981–1987 *

Bennett Johnston John Bennett Johnston Jr. (born June 10, 1932) is a retired American attorney, politician, and later lobbyist. A member of the Democratic Party, Johnston represented Louisiana in the U.S. Senate from 1972 to 1997. Beginning his political ca ...

(D-LA) 1987–1995 *

Frank Murkowski Frank Hughes Murkowski (born March 28, 1933) is an American politician and a member of the Republican Party. He was a United States Senator from Alaska from 1981 until 2002 and the eighth governor of Alaska from 2002 until 2006. In his 2006 re-e ...

(R-AK) 1995–2001 *

Jeff Bingaman Jesse Francis "Jeff" Bingaman Jr. (born October 3, 1943) is an American politician who served as a United States Senator from New Mexico from 1983 to 2013, for 5 terms. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as Chairman of Committee Outreach ...

(D-NM) 2001 *

(R-AK) 2001 *

(D-NM) 2001–2003 *

Pete Domenici Pietro Vichi "Pete" Domenici (May 7, 1932 – September 13, 2017) was an American attorney and politician who served as a United States Senator from New Mexico from 1973 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, he served six terms in the S ...

(R-NM) 2003–2007 *

(D-NM) 2007–2013 *

Ron Wyden Ronald Lee Wyden (; born May 3, 1949) is an American politician and retired educator serving as the senior United States senator from Oregon, a seat he has held since 1996. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in the United States House ...

(D-OR) 2013–2014 *

Mary Landrieu Mary Loretta Landrieu ( ; born November 23, 1955) is an American entrepreneur and politician who served as a United States senator from Louisiana from 1997 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, Landrieu served as the Louisiana State Treasur ...

(D-LA) 2014–2015 *

Lisa Murkowski Lisa Ann Murkowski ( ; born May 22, 1957) is an American attorney and politician serving as the senior United States senator for Alaska, having held that seat since 2002. Murkowski is the second-most senior Republican woman in the Senate, after ...

(R-AK) 2015–2021 *

Joe Manchin Joseph Manchin III (born August 24, 1947) is an American politician and businessman serving as the senior United States senator from West Virginia, a seat he has held since 2010. A member of the Democratic Party, Manchin was the 34th governor o ...

(D-WV) 2021–present

Historical committee rosters

116th Congress

;Subcommittees

115th Congress

;Subcommittees Source

References

External links

Official Committee WebsiteArchive

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
– Legislation activity and reports,

Congress.gov Congress.gov is the online database of United States Congress legislative information. Congress.gov is a joint project of the Library of Congress, the House, the Senate and the Government Publishing Office. Congress.gov was in beta in 2012, and b ...

{{United States congressional committees

Energy In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of hea ...

Energy in the United States Environment of the United States 1816 establishments in Washington, D.C. Organizations established in 1816