United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

Senate Energy Committee
Standing committee
Active United States Senate 117th Congress
History
Formed	February 4, 1977
Succeeded	Committee on Public Lands Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs
Leadership
Chair	Joe Manchin (D) Since February 3, 2021
Ranking member	John Barrasso (R) Since February 3, 2021
Structure
Seats	20 members^[a]
Political parties	Majority (10) Democratic (8) Independent (2) Minority (10) Republican (10)
Jurisdiction
Policy areas	Alaska Natives, Coal mining, Energy industry, Federal lands, Hydrocarbon exploration, Hydroelectricity, Irrigation, Insular areas, Mining, Natural resource management, Nuclear power, Native Americans, Native Hawaiians, Reclamation, Renewable energy, Territorial possessions, Water resources
Oversight authority	Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, Bonneville Power Administration, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Indian Education, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Bureau of Reclamation, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, Department of Energy, Department of the Interior, Energy Information Administration, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Office of Insular Affairs, National Nuclear Safety Administration, National Park Service, Southeastern Power Administration, Southwestern Power Administration, Western Area Power Administration, United States Forest Service, United States Geological Survey
House counterpart	House Committee on Energy and Commerce, House Committee on Natural Resources, House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
Subcommittees
Energy National Parks Public Lands, Forests, and Mining Water and Power
Meeting place
304 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, D.C.
Website
www.energy.senate.gov
Rules
Rules of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
^ Democrats are in the majority due to the tiebreaking power of Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, who serves ex officio as the president of the Senate.

The United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources is a standing committee of the United States Senate. 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.

History[edit]

The Committee on Public Lands was created in 1816 during the 14th Congress chaired by senator Jeremiah Morrow. In its early years, it managed the settlement of the recently purchased Missouri Territory. Over time, the committee oversaw the western expansion of the United States, including the Texas annexation, the Oregon Treaty, the Mexican Cession, and the Gadsden Purchase. The Homestead Act of 1860, 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 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 in 1906 and the establishment of the National Park Service 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, it became the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, absorbing the jurisdiction of the Indian Affairs, 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.^[1]

Jurisdiction[edit]

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 regulation and conservation;
Energy related aspects of deepwater ports;
Energy research and development;
Extraction of minerals from oceans and Outer Continental Shelf lands;
Hydroelectric power, irrigation, and reclamation;
Mining education and research;
Mining, mineral lands, mining claims, and mineral conservation;
National parks, recreation areas, wilderness areas, wild and scenic rivers, historical sites, military parks and battlefields, and on the public domain, preservation of prehistoric ruins and objects of interest;
Naval petroleum reserves in Alaska;
Nonmilitary development of nuclear energy;
Oil and gas production and distribution;
Public lands and forests, including farming and grazing thereon, and mineral extraction therefrom;
Solar energy systems; and,
Territorial possessions of the United States, including trusteeships.^[2]

The Committee is also charged to "study and review, on a comprehensive basis, matters relating to energy and resources development, and report thereon from time to time."^[2]

Members, 117th Congress[edit]

Majority	Minority
Joe Manchin, West Virginia, Chair Maria Cantwell, Washington Ron Wyden, Oregon Bernie Sanders, Vermont^[3] Martin Heinrich, New Mexico Mazie Hirono, Hawaii Angus King, Maine^[3] Catherine Cortez Masto, Nevada Mark Kelly, Arizona John Hickenlooper, Colorado	John Barrasso, Wyoming, Ranking Member Jim Risch, Idaho Mike Lee, Utah Steve Daines, Montana Lisa Murkowski, Alaska John Hoeven, North Dakota James Lankford, Oklahoma Bill Cassidy, Louisiana Cindy Hyde-Smith, Mississippi Roger Marshall, Kansas

Subcommittees[edit]

The Energy Committee has four subcommittees:

Subcommittee	Chair	Ranking Member
Energy	Mazie Hirono (D-HI)	John Hoeven (R-ND)
National Parks	Angus King (I-ME)	Steve Daines (R-MT)
Public Lands, Forests and Mining	Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV)	Mike Lee (R-UT)
Water and Power	Ron Wyden (D-OR)	Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS)

Chairpersons[edit]

Committee on Public Lands, 1816–1921[edit]

Jeremiah Morrow (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 (D-IL) 1832–1833
George Poindexter (W-MS) 1833–1835
Thomas Ewing (W-OH) 1835–1836
Robert Walker (D-MS) 1836–1841
Oliver Hampton Smith (W-IN) 1841–1843
William Woodbridge (W-MI) 1843–1845
Sidney Breese (D-IL) 1845–1849
Alpheus Felch (D-MI) 1849–1853
Solon Borland (D-AR) 1853
Augustus Dodge (D-IA) 1853–1855
Charles E. Stuart (D-MI) 1855–1859
Robert W. Johnson (D-AR) 1859–1861
James Harlan (R-IA) 1861–1865
Samuel Pomeroy (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 (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 (R-MN) 1908–1912
Reed Smoot (R-UT) 1912–1913
George E. Chamberlain (D-OR) 1913–1915
Henry L. Myers (D-MT) 1915–1919
Reed Smoot (R-UT) 1919–1921

Committee on Public Lands and Surveys, 1921–1947[edit]

Reed Smoot (R-UT) 1921–1923
Irvine L. Lenroot (R-WI) 1923–1924
Edwin F. Ladd (R-ND) 1924
Robert Nelson Stanfield (R-OR) 1924–1927
Gerald P. Nye (R-ND) 1927–1933
John B. Kendrick (D-WY) 1933
Robert F. Wagner (D-NY) 1933–1937
Alva B. Adams (D-CO) 1937–1941
Carl A. Hatch (D-NM) 1941–1947

Committee on Public Lands, 1947–1948[edit]

Hugh Butler (R-NE) 1947–1948

Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, 1948–1977[edit]

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[edit]

Scoop Jackson (D-WA) 1977–1981
James McClure (R-ID) 1981–1987
Bennett Johnston (D-LA) 1987–1995
Frank Murkowski (R-AK) 1995–2001
Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) 2001
Frank Murkowski (R-AK) 2001
Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) 2001–2003
Pete Domenici (R-NM) 2003–2007
Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) 2007–2013
Ron Wyden (D-OR) 2013–2014
Mary Landrieu (D-LA) 2014–2015
Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) 2015–2021
Joe Manchin (D-WV) 2021–present

Historical committee rosters[edit]

116th Congress[edit]

Majority	Minority
Lisa Murkowski, Alaska, Chairwoman John Barrasso, Wyoming Jim Risch, Idaho Mike Lee, Utah Steve Daines, Montana Cory Gardner, Colorado Lamar Alexander, Tennessee John Hoeven, North Dakota Bill Cassidy, Louisiana Cindy Hyde-Smith, Mississippi Martha McSally, Arizona (until December 2, 2020)	Joe Manchin, West Virginia, Ranking Member Maria Cantwell, Washington Ron Wyden, Oregon Bernie Sanders, Vermont^[3] Debbie Stabenow, Michigan Martin Heinrich, New Mexico Mazie Hirono, Hawaii Angus King, Maine^[3] Catherine Cortez Masto, Nevada

Subcommittees

Subcommittee	Chair	Ranking Member
Energy	Bill Cassidy (R-LA)	Martin Heinrich (D-NM)
National Parks	Steve Daines (R-MT)	Angus King (I-ME)
Public Lands, Forests and Mining	Mike Lee (R-UT)	Ron Wyden (D-OR)
Water and Power	Martha McSally (R-AZ) (until December 2, 2020)	Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV)

115th Congress[edit]

Majority	Minority
Lisa Murkowski, Alaska, Chair John Barrasso, Wyoming Jim Risch, Idaho Mike Lee, Utah Steve Daines, Montana Cory Gardner, Colorado Lamar Alexander, Tennessee John Hoeven, North Dakota Bill Cassidy, Louisiana Rob Portman, Ohio Shelley Moore Capito, West Virginia	Maria Cantwell, Washington, Ranking Member Ron Wyden, Oregon Bernie Sanders, Vermont^[3] Debbie Stabenow, Michigan Al Franken, Minnesota (until January 2, 2018) Joe Manchin, West Virginia Martin Heinrich, New Mexico Mazie Hirono, Hawaii Angus King, Maine^[3] Tammy Duckworth, Illinois Catherine Cortez Masto, Nevada Tina Smith, Minnesota (from January 9, 2018)

Subcommittees

Subcommittee	Chair	Ranking Member
Energy	Cory Gardner (R-CO)	Joe Manchin (D-WV)
National Parks	Steve Daines (R-MT)	Mazie Hirono (D-HI)
Public Lands, Forests and Mining	Mike Lee (R-UT)	Ron Wyden (D-OR)
Water and Power	Jeff Flake (R-AZ)	Angus King (I-ME)

Source ^[4]

References[edit]

^ "History". U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. 1986. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
^ a b "Rule XXV(g) of the United States Senate | U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration". United States Senate. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
^ a b c d e f Sens. Sanders and King are independent, but caucus with Democrats.
^ "U.S. Senate: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources". www.senate.gov. Retrieved January 8, 2017.

External links[edit]

Official Committee Website (Archive)
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee – Legislation activity and reports, Congress.gov

[tie-1] Democrats are in the majority due to the tiebreaking power of Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, who serves ex officio as the president of the Senate.

[2] "History". U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. 1986. Retrieved January 6, 2021.

[Energy-3] "Rule XXV(g) of the United States Senate | U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration". United States Senate. Retrieved March 14, 2021.

[Independent-4] Sens. Sanders and King are independent, but caucus with Democrats.

[5] "U.S. Senate: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources". www.senate.gov. Retrieved January 8, 2017.

[a]

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