Today, the House Committee on Natural Resources held a full committee markup and favorably reported nine bills. House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) issued the following statement in response:

"While Democrats tried to bog down today's markup with nonsense amendments, committee Republicans took decisive action to advance a slate of legislation. We codified President Trump's renaming of the Gulf of America to ensure consistency across the federal government. We followed the science to delist the gray wolf and bring the Endangered Species Act into the 21st Century. We streamlined burdensome regulatory processes and advanced legislation to support local broadband and energy development. These legislative solutions and others put Americans first and represent the diverse array of issues we champion here on committee every day."

Background

In total, the committee favorably reported nine bills:

H.R. 276, the Gulf of America Act of 2025, introduced by U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), renames the area formerly known as the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.

H.R. 677, the Expedited Appeals Review Act, introduced by U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.), streamlines the Interior Board of Land Appeals processes for resolving disputes involving public lands and natural resources.

H.R. 845, the Pet and Livestock Protection Act of 2025, introduced by U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), removes the gray wolf from the endangered species list, returning the species to state management and providing greater ability to resolve wolf conflicts.  

H.R. 1043, the La Paz County Solar Energy and Job Creation Act, introduced by U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), conveys 3,400 acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land to support the development of a large-scale solar farm. The project is one of the largest in the United States and is expected to produce 1,000 megawatts of solar power, hundreds of megawatts of battery storage capacity and numerous jobs for the local community.

H.R. 1665, the Deploying Infrastructure with Greater Internet Transactions And Legacy (DIGITAL) Applications Act, introduced by U.S. Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.), establishes requirements for the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to create online portals for submitting applications for communications use authorizations. This will bring important transparency and accountability to the application system and increase broadband access across federal lands.

H.R. 1681, the Expediting Federal Broadband Deployment Reviews Act, introduced by U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans (R-Colo.), fast-tracks broadband deployment on federal lands. The legislation would require the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information to create an interagency "strike force" to assist BLM and USFS in reviewing applications for the installation of broadband at federal facilities.

H.R. 900, the Sinkhole Mapping Act, introduced by U.S. Rep. Darren Soto (D-Fla.), examines short- and long-term causes of sinkholes and directs the U.S. Geological Survey to establish a program to map areas of high risk and revise them every five years.

H.R. 972, the Sloan Canyon Conservation and Lateral Pipeline Act, introduced by U.S. Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.),  grants the Southern Nevada Water Authority the power to construct a pipeline under the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area.

H.R. 1098, introduced by U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-Mich.), reauthorizes the Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Program through 2030. This program encourages children to learn about conservation practices and provides an opportunity for increased youth participation in outdoor activities.