The Department of the Interior announced on May 20 that $50 million from the Bureau of Reclamation’s WaterSMART grants will be sent to 12 drought-stricken states for water reclamation and reuse facilities, recycling and desalination programs, and water and energy infrastructure and efficiency initiatives.

On May 20, the House passed the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act (H.R.1561) which would fund the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) research on storm forecasting and early warning systems.

A Senate bill (S. 1398) introduced on May 20 would provide an alternative to the energy research funding levels proposed in the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015, which passed the House on May 19.

On May 19, the House voted to approve the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015 (H.R. 1806).

One week after introducing the Energy Supply and Distribution Act of 2015 (S. 1312), which would lift the US ban on exporting its crude oil to other nations, Senators Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) have introduced a second, more focused bill on the issue.

The House passed the Spurring Private Aerospace Competitiveness and Entrepreneurship Act (SPACE) of 2015 on May 21, which is designed to facilitate exploration and exploitation of space resources by American businesses.

Members of the House and Senate have introduced bills that would give the Department of the Interior (DOI) authority over natural gas pipeline permitting on federal lands in lieu of congressional oversight.

The Senate Appropriations Committee met on May 21 to mark up the fiscal year (FY) 2016 energy and water development funding bill. The bill that passed the committee totals $35.4 billion, $1.2 billion above the FY 2015 enacted level and $668 million below the President’s request.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) regulations regarding royalty payments and measurement standards for onshore oil and gas production.

On May 20, the House Appropriations Committee passed the fiscal year (FY) 2016 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies spending bill with language setting directorate-level funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF), a change from current agency-level funding.