The House Subcommittee on Water Resources and the Environment held a hearing to gather information on abandoned mine sites in the United States and the opportunities for Good Samaritan cleanups.

The House passed the National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act of 2015 (H.R. 1937) on October 22.

Congressman Mike Honda (D-CA) introduced a resolution designating October 11-17, 2015 as Earth Science Week.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee announced that it will hold a hearing on October 20 to consider the nomination of Dr. Suzette Kimball to be Director of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

The Land Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), a conservation program annually funded by royalties from offshore oil and gas production, expired on September 30, 2015.

Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) has introduced a bill that would authorize and promote federal agencies to use citizen science and crowdsourcing to help solve problems within the federal government.

The Senate confirmed Monica Regalbuto as Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management and Jonathan Elkind as Assistant Secretary for International Affairs at the Department of Energy (DOE) on August 5.

Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) introduced the Scientific Research in the National Interest Act (H.R. ___) on July 30. The bill would require all National Science Foundation (NSF) grants to provide a non-technical explanation of the purpose of their research and explain how it serves the national interest.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation held a hearing on July 27 on the National Icebreaker Fund Act (H.R. 3214), which would fund construction and renovation of icebreakers as well as government leases on privately owned vessels.

Following the House’s move in May to reauthorize the America COMPETES Act, the Senate has announced their intention to draft a version of the bill by this fall.