Committee approves coal mining, ocean mapping bills

The "Comprehensive Offshore Resource Enhancement Act" is meant to promote offshore energy development.

June 26, 2025

The House Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday approved several bills that provoked sharp disagreements over mining coal, mapping offshore resources and permitting undersea fiber cables.

While approving 16 noncontroversial and bipartisan measures, the Republican-led panel debated at length — and at times with some verve — before also approving several more controversial bills.

"When I hear this line about how we have the cleanest oil in the world, that is such a hollow argument, like having the prettiest horse at the glue factory," said ranking member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.).

Republicans cast the myriad bills as necessary for the nation's energy future.

"We have a comprehensive lineup of legislation that continues this committee's work to unleash American energy and address bureaucratic dysfunction," said Chair Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.).

The committee approved Rep. Wesley Hunt’s (R-Texas) H.R. 2556, the "Comprehensive Offshore Resource Enhancement Act," which would update mapping of offshore energy resources. It passed 25-18.

"The American people deserve an honest oil and gas assessment process that can help us regain energy independence and eventually become a net exporter to our allies," Hunt said.

Currently, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 mandates periodic inventories of offshore resources by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. Critics cite inconsistencies and possible understating of the results as reasons for reform.

The bill would mandate a comprehensive report within 18 months on boundary-crossing hydrocarbon reservoirs, assessing their economic, environmental and geopolitical implications.

The legislation would also update the 2005 law to require detailed economic and national security analyses of undiscovered offshore oil and gas resources.

Huffman said the legislation would tilt the outcome of BOEM's studies. He said it would impose changes that would "bias BOEM's previously scientific process for Big Oil billionaire polluters."

"The United States is already the world's leading producer of oil and gas, but it comes at a cost to the climate and the communities living next door to all this pollution," Huffman said.

Democrats offered six amendments to the bill, each of them rejected on party-line votes.

Montana coal mine

The committee approved the "Crow Revenue Act," H.R. 725, introduced by Rep. Troy Downing (R-Mont.), by a 27-16 vote. Democrats Jared Golden of Maine and Adam Gray of California sided with Republicans in supporting the bill.

The measure would transfer approximately 4,600 acres of private subsurface inholdings from the Hope Family Tracts on the Crow Reservation to the Crow Tribe of Montana. In turn, the Hope Family Trust would receive 4,530 acres of federal subsurface and 940 acres of federal surface interest.

This could allow expansion of Signal Peak Energy's underground Bull Mountain coal mine, which is currently constrained by the checkerboard federal land ownership on the area.

The bill would also require the Crow Tribe and the Hope Family Trust to enter into a revenue-sharing agreement. The Interior Department earlier this month said it would fast-track review for a pending expansion of the mine.

"This is smart policy. It's a tribal sovereignty win, an energy security win and a public access win," said Rep. Jeff Hurd (R-Colo.), adding that "it aligns with President Trump's energy agenda by unlocking coal reserves and streamlining better federal land transactions."

Huffman countered that the bill "doesn't actually guarantee revenue for the tribe" and said that "the impacts of this mine expansion are enormous."

Other bills

The committee approved by a 25-18 vote Rep. Buddy Carter’s (R-Ga.) H.R. 261, the “Undersea Cable Protection Act,” to ease permitting requirements for undersea fiber optic cables.

Currently the National Marine Sanctuaries Act requires developers to obtain a special use permit for installations in sanctuaries. The measure would eliminate this requirement and allow for the operation, maintenance, repair or recovery of undersea fiber cables without needing NOAA authorization. Other environmental law requirements would still apply.

"Undersea cables are extremely important," Westerman said. "Unfortunately, the current permitting structure makes it practically impossible for undersea cables to go through most federal waters on the West Coast. That's because many of these waters are designated national marine sanctuaries and require yet another burdensome permitting process."

The bill's supporters note that no new cables have been laid in existing national marine sanctuaries for over two decades.

Democratic Rep. Val Hoyle countered that the bill "undermines the very purpose" of the marine sanctuaries.

"I recognize the importance of the fiber optic infrastructure for economic growth and national security, but it needs to be done in a safe and transparent way," Hoyle said.

The package of 16 noncontroversial bills approved by the committee on a voice vote included H.R. 2316, the “Wetlands Conservation and Access Improvement Act,” to re-up a program that funds wetland conservation through hunting sales. The bill was offered by Hurd and Rep. Sarah Elfreth (D-Md.).

Another bill, H.R. 3168, was introduced by Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.) and would reauthorize the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program through fiscal 2030 at its current level of $83.4 million per year.


By:  Michael Doyle
Source: Politico Pro