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 or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate 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 Senat ...

. 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 Republic of Texas was annexation, annexed into the United States and Admission to the Union, admitted to the Union as the List of U.S. states by date of admission to the Union, 28th state on December 29, 1845. The Republic of Texas Texas ...

, the

Oregon Treaty The Oregon Treaty was 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 ...

, the

Mexican Cession The Mexican Cession () is the region in the modern-day Western United States that Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United S ...

, and the

Gadsden Purchase The Gadsden Purchase ( "La Mesilla sale") 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 effect on June 8, 1854. The purchase included lan ...

. The

Homestead Act of 1860 Homestead may refer to: *Homestead (building), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses * Nguni homestead, a cluster of houses inhabited by a single extended family, typically with a kraal ...

, which would have benefited western settlers and migrants, was a result of jurisdiction of the Public Lands Committee. In 1849, the

Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal lands and natural resources. It also administers programs relatin ...

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 proclam ...

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 US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

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 ...

, 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 Native Americans and A ...

, 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.

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 * Rental utilization - economy * Capacity utilization - load on some process * Utilization management Utilization management (UM) or utilization review is the use of managed care techniques such as prior authorization that allow payers, particul ...

; #

Energy policy Energy policies are the government's strategies and decisions regarding the Energy production, production, Energy distribution, distribution, and World energy supply and consumption, consumption of energy within a specific jurisdiction. Energy ...

; #

Energy regulation Energy () 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 heat and light. Energy is a conserved quantity—the law of conservation of energy sta ...

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 manage ...

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

oceans The ocean is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of Earth. The ocean is conventionally divided into large bodies of water, which are also referred to as ''oceans'' (the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Antarctic/Southern, and ...

and

Outer Continental Shelf The Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) is a legally defined geographic feature 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 ind ...

lands; #

Hydroelectric power Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) 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 bee ...

, and reclamation; # Mining education and research; #

Mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

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

National parks A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

, recreation areas,

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

, wild and scenic rivers, 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 exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

, preservation of prehistoric ruins and objects of interest; # National Petroleum Reserve; # 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, the energy needed to fuse or split a nucleus of an atom *Nuclear potential energy, the pot ...

; # 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 (Commonwealth realms). The system of tenure of public land, and the terminology used, varies between countries. ...

and

forests A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense community of 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 functio ...

, including

farming Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and

grazing In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to free range (roam around) and consume wild vegetations in order to feed conversion ratio, convert the otherwise indigestible (by human diges ...

thereon, and

mineral extraction Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

therefrom; #

Solar energy Solar energy is the radiant energy from the Sun's sunlight, light and heat, which can be harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating) and solar architecture. It is a ...

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 Energy () is the physical quantity, quantitative physical property, property that is transferred to a physical body, body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of Work (thermodynamics), work and in the form of heat and l ...

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

Members, 119th Congress

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 (D-AL) 1831–1832 *

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

(D-IL) 1832–1833 *

George Poindexter George Poindexter (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 admitted sta ...

(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 and also served as the fourteenth secretary of the treasury and the first secretary of the interior. ...

(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 Senator from Indiana. Early life Born on Smith's Island, near Trenton, New Jersey, (is also believed to have been born at the Smith Family Farmstead ...

(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 Michi ...

(W-MI) 1843–1845 * Sidney Breese (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 (in modern-day Maine, then a part of Massachusetts). He was left an orphan at the age of th ...

(D-MI) 1849–1853 *

Solon Borland Solon Borland (September 21, 1808 – January 1, 1864) was an American politician, journalist, physician and military officer. He served as a United States Senator from Arkansas from 1848 to 1853. Later in life, he served as an officer of the Co ...

(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 adm ...

(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 House of ...

(R-KS) 1865–1873 * William Sprague (R-RI) 1873–1875 * Richard Oglesby (R-IL) 1875–1879 * Joseph E. McDonald (D-IN) 1879–1881 * Preston Plumb (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 (state), New York, he immigrated to Oregon over the Oregon Trail and settled in Portland, Oreg ...

(R-OR) 1891–1893 * James H. Berry (D-AR) 1893–1895 * Fred T. Dubois (R-ID) 1895–1897 * Henry C. Hansbrough (R-ND) 1897–1908 *

Knute Nelson Knute Nelson (born Knud Evanger; February 2, 1843 – April 28, 1923) was a Norway, Norwegian-born United States, American attorney and politician active in Wisconsin and Minnesota. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, he served in sta ...

(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). A Republican who was first elected to the U.S. Senate by the Utah State Legislat ...

(R-UT) 1912–1913 * George E. Chamberlain (D-OR) 1913–1915 * Henry L. Myers (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 an American attorney, jurist, and Republican Party (United States), Republican Party politician from Wisconsin. He served as Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly from 1903 to ...

(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 68th Congress ...

(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 (1912–1918) including as Speaker (1917–1918) and was late ...

(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. Nye rose to national fame in the 1930s as chair of the Special Committee on Investig ...

(R-ND) 1927–1933 * John B. Kendrick (D-WY) 1933 *

Robert F. Wagner Robert Ferdinand Wagner I (June 8, 1877May 4, 1953) was a German-born American attorney and Democratic Party politician who represented the state of New York in the United States Senate from 1927 to 1949. Born in Prussia, Wagner immigrated ...

(D-NY) 1933–1937 * Alva B. Adams (D-CO) 1937–1941 * Carl A. Hatch (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 (D-WY) 1949–1953 * Hugh Butler (R-NE) 1953–1954 * Guy Cordon (R-OR) 1954–1955 * James E. Murray (D-MT) 1955–1961 * Clinton P. Anderson (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. (June 10, 1932 – March 25, 2025) was an American attorney, politician, and later lobbyist from Louisiana who served as member of the United States Senate from 1972 to 1997. He had previously served in both chambers of ...

(D-LA) 1987–1995 *

Frank Murkowski Frank Hughes Murkowski (born March 28, 1933) is an American politician. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as a United States Senate, United States Senator representing Alaska from 1981 to 2002 and as t ...

(R-AK) 1995–2001 *

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

(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 ...

(R-NM) 2003–2007 *

(D-NM) 2007–2013 *

Ron Wyden Ronald Lee Wyden ( ; born May 3, 1949) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Oregon, a seat he has held since 1996 United States Senate special el ...

(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 Treasu ...

(D-LA) 2014–2015 *

Lisa Murkowski Lisa Ann Murkowski ( ; born May 22, 1957) is an American attorney and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from the state of Alaska, having held the seat since 2002. She is the first woman ...

(R-AK) 2015–2021 *

Joe Manchin Joseph Manchin III ( ; born August 24, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician who served as a United States senator from West Virginia from 2010 to 2025. He was West Virginia's only congressional Democrat until he registered as ...

(D-WV) 2021–2024 *

(I-WV)Joe Manchin is an Independent, but caucused with Democrats on the committee. 2024-2025 *

Mike Lee Michael Shumway Lee (born June 4, 1971) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Utah, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, Lee became Utah's senior senator in 2019, whe ...

(R-UT) 2025–present

Historical committee rosters

118th Congress

;Subcommittees

117th Congress

;Subcommittees

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 ...

{{United States congressional committees

Energy Energy () is the physical quantity, quantitative physical property, property that is transferred to a physical body, body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of Work (thermodynamics), work and in the form of heat and l ...

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

History

Jurisdiction

Members, 119th Congress

Subcommittees

Chairpersons

Committee on Public Lands, 1816–1921

Committee on Public Lands and Surveys, 1921–1947

Committee on Public Lands, 1947–1948

Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, 1948–1977

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 1977–present

Historical committee rosters

118th Congress

117th Congress

116th Congress

115th Congress

See also

References

External links