In the News
Energy, enviro agencies eager to resume layoffs
by Robin Bravender, Ellie Borst, Hannah Brownley, Jennifer Yachnin
Trump administration officials are anxious to resume sweeping layoffs inside energy and environmental agencies as they push the Supreme Court to green-light their plans. The administration’s push for large-scale layoffs are on hold across much of the government due to a lower court’s sweeping order. But the administration — arguing that it’s being forced to keep “large numbers of employees on the payroll without necessity” — is making a case to the Supreme Court that it ought to urgently … Continue Reading
June 09, 2025
Donald Trump’s plan for pirate mining
by David Helvarg
On April 24, President Trump issued another questionable executive order, this one calling for deep-sea mining in both federal and international waters. The former is within his control; the latter would be a violation of international law. Although the U.S. is not a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea - the 1982 treaty ratified by 169 other nations that regulates maritime activities, including deep-sea mining, on and in the high seas - the U.S. has always abided … Continue Reading
June 09, 2025
SUBSCRIBER ONLY ‘Safeguard our oceans’: Jared Huffman revives update to fisheries bill
by Robert Schaulis
Lawmakers from the House Natural Resources Committee last week announced that they were reintroducing the “Sustaining America’s Fisheries for the Future Act,” a reauthorization of and update to the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA), “the country’s primary statute governing fisheries management in federal waters.” The legislation, a bipartisan effort put forth by U.S. Representatives Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael), James Moylan (R-Guam), and Ed Case (D-Hawaii), represents “a culmination of a … Continue Reading
June 09, 2025
Natural Resources to mull wildfire, forestry bills
by Marc Heller
A House Natural Resources subcommittee will take testimony on four wildfire- and forestry-related bills Tuesday, including a measure to speed communications-related projects on land hit by natural disasters. The communications bill, called the “Wildfire Communications Resiliency Act,” H.R. 1655, would exempt certain infrastructure projects from reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act if they’re carried out within five years of a declared disaster such as wildfire. Rep. Cliff … Continue Reading
June 05, 2025
Lawmakers clash over NOAA fisheries rules
by Daniel Cusick
House lawmakers struggled Wednesday to reconcile President Donald Trump’s recent executive order to bolster the U.S. fishing industry while simultaneously gutting the nation’s fisheries agency. A hearing before the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries offered seesawing interpretations between Republicans and Democrats over how NOAA should regulate the fishing industry. Republican lawmakers, led by Rep. Harriet Hageman of Wyoming, focused on what critics … Continue Reading
June 05, 2025
Bills introduced in US House will end offshore drilling protections
by Mary Benjamin
A Federal Congressional bill targeting the reversal of offshore drilling protections, first introduced by U.S. Rep. Higgins (LA) on January 16, 2025, had its first hearing before the House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources on May 20. 2025. The bill was proposed on behalf of the U.S. Department of the Interior, which is interested in opening areas along the California coast to new offshore drilling. The bill includes the U.S. coastline areas and the Gulf of Mexico, which currently … Continue Reading
June 05, 2025
New bill seeks to strengthen U.S. fisheries with MSA updates
by Carli Stewart
Once again, the U.S. House of Representatives lawmakers have introduced legislation to reauthorize and update the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA). The MSA was last revised in 2006, and being the primary legislation governing U.S. fisheries, it is critical to ensure that federal law reflects today’s fisheries challenges across the country. Representatives Jared Huffman (D-CA), James Moylan (R-Guam), and Ed Case (D-HI) reintroduced the Sustaining America’s Fisheries for the Future Act. The bill … Continue Reading
June 03, 2025
Can a bipartisan offshore wind caucus survive Trump?
by Nico Portuondo
Republican support for offshore wind has flatlined across the federal government, but Capitol Hill's only bipartisan caucus dedicated to the energy source is hoping to reverse that trend. The House Offshore Wind Caucus, created in 2022, was pitched as a way to find bipartisan solutions to address the industry’s challenges and create policies to spur further growth of the renewable energy source. It's main leader, Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.), said in a recent interview that the caucus … Continue Reading
May 22, 2025
Bitterly divided House passes 'big, beautiful' tax bill. Here's what it means to California
by David Lightman
The winners from the tax and budget bill the House passed Thursday morning: Californians’ federal income tax rates and their state and local deduction. The losers: Consumers who buy electric vehicles and people who rely on Medi-Cal for health coverage. That’s a quick snapshot of who will benefit and who won’t from what President Donald Trump labeled the “Big, Beautiful” bill that squeezed through a bitterly divided House after an all-night session by a 215-214 vote. All 43 of California’s … Continue Reading
May 21, 2025
House Republicans strike bigger blow against Democrats’ clean energy tax credits
by Josh Siegel, James Bikales, Kelsey Tamborrino
House Republicans escalated their effort to gut Democrats’ clean energy tax credits, releasing updated text Wednesday night of their mega-reconciliation bill that would eviscerate former President Joe Biden’s trademark climate law despite resistance from moderates within their own party. The revised bill expected to receive a floor vote — likely Thursday — contains language pushed by hard-line conservatives speeding up the phaseout of tax credits after they protested the Ways and Means … Continue Reading
May 15, 2025
Staffing cuts to National Weather Service river forecast center could leave Sonoma, Napa counties ‘flying blind’ ahead of storms
by Austin Murphy
The closer you live to the Russian River, the likelier it is you’ve spent time on this no-frills website, whose wavy, colored lines alert users when the river is approaching flood levels, and when it will recede. The site is maintained by the California Nevada River Forecast Center, or CNRFC, under the umbrella of the National Weather Service. It’s one of 13 forecast centers preparing “timely river and flood forecasts” for some 4,000 river locations across the nation. The California Nevada … Continue Reading
May 14, 2025
Mike Thompson, Jared Huffman slam Republicans’ budget bill, impacts on health care, clean energy measures
by Phil Barber
It was 10 p.m. Eastern time Tuesday when Rep. Mike Thompson finally found a moment to chat. The House Ways and Means Committee had been marking up its portion of the Republicans’ budget bill for hours, and they weren’t anywhere close to resolution. As ranking member of Ways and Means’ Tax Subcommittee, Thompson, a St. Helena Democrat, has a huge stake in the debate over what President Donald Trump has been heralding as a “big, beautiful bill.” And he has opinions. ... For complete article, … Continue Reading
May 10, 2025
‘We Did It, Bolinas!!!’ Remote Northern California town gets its post office back
by Hailey Branson-Potts
For more than two years, a big wooden sign in west Marin County has displayed a set of hand-painted numbers, dutifully changed each morning. “Days Without a Bolinas Post Office,” the sign reads. The number Friday: 806. The sign has been a charming, if sad, reminder to the 1,200 or so residents of Bolinas of the loss of their beloved post office, which was booted from its downtown building amid a spat between the U.S. Postal Service and its longtime landlord. Late last month, though, Bolinas … Continue Reading
May 10, 2025
Forensic testing links skull remains to Northern California woman missing since 1987
by Andrew J. Campa
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office announced that a set of remains were identified through forensic DNA testing as belonging to Kay Josephine Medin, who had been missing since the summer of 1987. Othram, a Texas-based forensic laboratory that specializes in genome sequencing to help solve cold cases, used forensic-grade genome sequencing to construct a DNA profile of the sample that strongly suggests a link to Medin. A man was walking along a rocky, picturesque shoreline of Trinidad … Continue Reading
May 09, 2025
Dems rally around unlikely hero to kill public land sales
by Garrett Downs
House and Senate Democrats are desperate to kill a provision in the House GOP’s tax, energy and national security megabill ordering the sale of hundreds of thousands of acres of public lands. Now, their hopes may rest on the resolve of an unlikely ally: Rep. Ryan Zinke of Montana, Donald Trump’s first Interior Secretary. That their eyes have turned to the rock-ribbed conservative with a soft spot for federally owned lands is a remarkable turnaround. Democrats attacked Zinke with zeal before … Continue Reading
May 08, 2025
US House approves ‘dumb’ legislation renaming Gulf of Mexico ‘Gulf of America’
by Chris Stein
Republicans in the House of Representatives on Thursday approved legislation to codify Donald Trump’s policy of renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America”. The measure was sponsored by rightwing Georgia lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene and passed nearly along party lines, with all Democrats opposed and almost every Republican, with the exception of vulnerable Nebraska representative Don Bacon, voting in favor. Trump had announced in his inaugural speech that the US government would … Continue Reading
May 07, 2025
Natural Resources clears energy portion of reconciliation bill
by James Bikales, Josh Siegel
The House Natural Resources Committee approved its portion of Republicans’ reconciliation package early Wednesday after a marathon markup for the bill aimed at driving up energy and minerals output from federal land. Clearing the bill out of committee marks a win for GOP leadership, who were forced to punt three more contentious markups to next week, and a step toward enacting President Donald Trump’s domestic agenda. Committee Chair Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) said the bill will raise more … Continue Reading
May 07, 2025
House advances budget bill boosting fossil fuels, undercutting environmental reviews
by Rachel Frazin
House Republicans early Wednesday morning advanced a portion of their budget reconciliation bill that seeks to bolster fossil fuel production and mining on public lands while undercutting environmental reviews. The legislation passed through a House Natural Resources Committee markup in a mostly party-line vote of 26-17, with Rep. Adam Gray (D-Calif.) joining Republicans in favor. During the markup, which stretched to around 1 a.m., a contentious amendment was also added to the bill that … Continue Reading
May 06, 2025
Republicans mum as Dems target Natural Resources reconciliation bill, Westerman stock purchases
by James Bikales
Democrats launched a salvo of attacks against reconciliation legislation at a House Natural Resources bill markup Tuesday, saying the bill to boost energy leasing on federal land and cut royalty payments was a giveaway to big companies — and they criticized Chair Bruce Westerman for buying shares in several oil and mining companies in March. Republicans, however, largely declined to engage in the debate or the amendments Democrats offered, and they instead largely limited their remarks to … Continue Reading
May 06, 2025
What to expect during the big Natural Resources markup
by Garrett Downs, Kelsey Brugger
House Natural Resources Republicans are aiming to advance their part of the GOP’s tax, energy and national security megabill Tuesday. And while committee Democrats are powerless to stop it, they plan to make the process as painful as possible. The Democrats, led by ranking member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), plan to launch a bombardment of more than 100 amendments to the bill during the full committee markup, according to an aide granted anonymity to speak on the plans. Huffman has called the … Continue Reading