# United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

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

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.

## Jurisdiction

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;
* National Petroleum Reserve;
* 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.
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."

## Members, 119th Congress

| Majority | Minority |
| Mike Lee, Utah, Chair John Barrasso, Wyoming Jim Risch, Idaho Steve Daines, Montana Tom Cotton, Arkansas Dave McCormick, Pennsylvania Jim Justice, West Virginia (from January 14, 2025) Bill Cassidy, Louisiana Cindy Hyde-Smith, Mississippi Lisa Murkowski, Alaska John Hoeven, North Dakota | Martin Heinrich, New Mexico, Ranking Member Ron Wyden, Oregon Maria Cantwell, Washington Mazie Hirono, Hawaii Angus King, Maine Catherine Cortez Masto, Nevada John Hickenlooper, Colorado Alex Padilla, California Ruben Gallego, Arizona |

## Subcommittees

| Subcommittee | Chair | Ranking Member |
| Energy | Dave McCormick (R-PA) | Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) |
| National Parks | Steve Daines (R-MT) | Angus King (I-ME) |
| Public Lands, Forests and Mining | John Barrasso (R-WY) | Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) |
| Water and Power | John Hoeven (R-ND) | Ron Wyden (D-OR) |

## Chairpersons
### Committee on Public Lands, 1816–1921

* 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

* 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

* Hugh Butler (R-NE) 1947–1948

### Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, 1948–1977

* 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

* 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) 2021–2024
* Joe Manchin (I-WV) 2024-2025
* Mike Lee (R-UT) 2025–present

## Historical committee rosters
### 118th Congress

| Majority | Minority |
| Joe Manchin, West Virginia, Chair Ron Wyden, Oregon Maria Cantwell, Washington Bernie Sanders, Vermont Martin Heinrich, New Mexico Mazie Hirono, Hawaii Angus King, Maine Catherine Cortez Masto, Nevada Mark Kelly, Arizona (until October 17, 2023) John Hickenlooper, Colorado Alex Padilla, California (from October 17, 2023) | John Barrasso, Wyoming, Ranking Member Jim Risch, Idaho Mike Lee, Utah Steve Daines, Montana Lisa Murkowski, Alaska John Hoeven, North Dakota Bill Cassidy, Louisiana Cindy Hyde-Smith, Mississippi Josh Hawley, Missouri |

#### Subcommittees

| Subcommittee | Chair | Ranking Member |
| Energy | Bernie Sanders (I-VT) | Josh Hawley (R-MO) |
| 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) | Jim Risch (R-ID) |

### 117th Congress

| Majority | Minority |
| Joe Manchin, West Virginia, Chairman Maria Cantwell, Washington Ron Wyden, Oregon Bernie Sanders, Vermont Martin Heinrich, New Mexico Mazie Hirono, Hawaii Angus King, Maine 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

| 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) |

### 116th Congress

| 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 Debbie Stabenow, Michigan Martin Heinrich, New Mexico Mazie Hirono, Hawaii Angus King, Maine 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

| 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 Debbie Stabenow, Michigan Al Franken, Minnesota (until January 2, 2018) Joe Manchin, West Virginia Martin Heinrich, New Mexico Mazie Hirono, Hawaii Angus King, Maine 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) |
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