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January 30, 2024
In 2023, the 118th United States Congress held a total of 156 hearings related to climate, environment, and energy topics. The House of Representatives, led by Republicans, held 92 of these hearings, and the Senate, led by Democrats, held 64. This marks an increase from 2022, when House committees held 80 relevant hearings and Senate committees held 58.
The House Committee on Natural Resources held 28 relevant hearings, the most of any committee. It is closely followed by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, which held 24 hearings, and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, which held 22—the highest number of climate, environmental, and energy hearings held by a Senate committee. Combined, the three committees held almost half of the overall relevant hearings. Committee members heard from experts on a wide range of topics, including critical minerals, grid reliability, and the impacts of plastic production and pollution on disadvantaged communities.
Committees held a total of 12 hearings to discuss the transportation sector, the largest contributor to U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing emissions by accelerating the use of clean energy vehicles and public transit was an extensively-covered topic, but the two chambers approached the topic from different perspectives. For example, in its hearing on Driving Affordability: Preserving People’s Freedom to Buy Affordable Vehicles and Fuel, the House Energy and Commerce Committee emphasized concerns over the transition’s expense. Meanwhile, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee focused on emission reductions in the Cleaner Trains: Opportunities for Reducing Emissions from America’s Rail Network hearing.
Disaster recovery and increasing climate resilience also emerged as key themes across the 2023 hearings. The Senate Appropriations Committee facilitated a conversation about disaster recovery funds, and the Senate Finance Committee discussed jobs and investments in energy communities. The Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, in its hearing Promoting a Resilient Economy for Hawaii Farm Businesses discussed possible solutions toward rebuilding the Maui communities hard hit by recent severe fires.
One of the most discussed topics was the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) (P.L.117-169), given its scale and scope. The IRA is designed to make renewable energy and other clean technologies more affordable at the individual and commercial levels. An analysis by the BlueGreen Alliance found that the IRA could create more than 9 million jobs over the next decade. A wide range of committees reviewed the IRA through eight different hearings. On the House side, the Agriculture; Oversight and Accountability; and Science, Space, and Technology committees discussed the implications of the law. The Senate Committees on Energy and Natural Resources; Environment and Public Works; Finance; and Indian Affairs focused their hearings on the benefits of the IRA.
To learn more about the IRA, watch EESI’s briefings:
The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) (P.L. 117-58) authorized $1.2 trillion toward transportation and infrastructure spending when it was signed into law in November 2021. IIJA continues to be a popular topic of discussion among the committees. The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works; the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources; the House Science, Space and Technology Committee; and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee held a total of eight hearings on the IIJA. The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works focused on clean water equity and ecosystem restoration, while both the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology discussed the Department of Energy’s overall role in the implementation of IIJA.
Congress also dived into agriculture-related issues in 2023, driven by the drafting of the next Farm Bill. Congress held a total of nine Farm Bill-centric hearings that relate to climate, environment, and energy, seven of which came from the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and the House Committee on Agriculture. The Indian Affairs Senate Committee held two hearings focused on the Farm Bill priorities of tribal communities, specifically concerning agricultural equity.
Twelve out of the 24 Senate Committees held at least one climate, environmental, or energy hearing. In the House, at least one relevant hearing was held by 10 of the 26 Committees. Overall, almost half the Congressional Committees discussed issues related to climate, environment, and energy. From the House Committee on Energy and Commerce discussing nuclear safety regulation to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation holding a hearing on sustainable tourism, a lot of ground was covered by the 118th United States Congress.
To keep up with all the hearings that the House and Senate have set out for the next session of Congress, be sure to bookmark EESI’s weekly Environmental and Energy Congressional Round-Up and biweekly newsletter, Climate Change Solutions.
Find a list of all of the climate, environmental, and energy Congressional hearings EESI tracked in 2023 here. Legislative, budget, and nomination hearings are not included in the hearing totals.
Author: Aaron Vincent Facundo
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