The U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources or Natural Resources Committee (often referred to as simply Resources) is a Congressional committee of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

. Originally called the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs (1951), the name was changed to the Committee on Natural Resources in 1991. The name was shortened to the Committee on Resources in 1995 by the new chairman,

Don Young Donald Edwin Young (June 9, 1933 – March 18, 2022) was an American politician from Alaska. He is the List of members of the United States Congress by longevity of service, longest-serving Republican Party (United States), Republican in House ...

(at the same time, the committee took over the duties of the now-defunct Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee). Following the Democratic takeover of the House of Representatives in 2006, the name of the committee was changed back to its title used between 1991 and 1995.

Jurisdiction

Fisheries Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life or, more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a., fishing grounds). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farm ...

and

wildlife Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animals and uncultivated plant species which can exist in their natural habitat, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introdu ...

, including research, restoration, refuges, and conservation. # Forest reserves and national parks created from the public domain. # Forfeiture of land grants and alien ownership, including alien ownership of mineral lands. # Geological Survey. # International fishing agreements. #

Interstate compact In the United States, an interstate compact is a pact or agreement between two or more states, or between states and any foreign sub-national government. Description Most early interstate compacts resolved boundary disputes, but since the earl ...

s relating to apportionment of waters for irrigation purposes. #

Irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...

and reclamation, including water supply for reclamation projects and easements of public lands for irrigation projects; and acquisition of private lands when necessary to complete irrigation projects. # Native Americans generally, including the care and allotment of Native American lands and general and special measures relating to claims that are paid out of Native American funds. # Insular areas of the United States generally (except those affecting the revenue and appropriations). # Military parks and battlefields,

national cemeteries The following is a partial list of prominent National Cemeteries: Africa Algeria * El Alia Cemetery, Algiers Burundi * Mausolée des Martyrs de la Démocratie, Bujumbura Ghana * Asomdwee Park, Accra * Burma Camp Military Cemetery, Accra L ...

administered by the Secretary of the Interior, parks within the

District of Columbia Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

, and the erection of monuments to the memory of individuals. # Mineral land laws and claims and entries thereunder. #

Mineral resources Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest, and cultural value. ...

of public lands. # Mining interests generally. # Mining schools and experimental stations. # Marine affairs, including coastal zone management (except for measures relating to oil and other pollution of navigable waters). # Oceanography. #

Petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring un ...

conservation on public lands and conservation of the radium supply in the United States. # Preservation of prehistoric ruins and objects of interest on the public domain. #

Public land In all modern states, a portion of land is held by central or local governments. This is called public land, state land, or Crown land (Commonwealth realms). The system of tenure of public land, and the terminology used, varies between countries. ...

s generally, including entry,

easement An easement is a Nonpossessory interest in land, nonpossessory right to use or enter onto the real property of another without possessing it. It is "best typified in the right of way which one landowner, A, may enjoy over the land of another, B" ...

s, and grazing thereon. # Relations of the United States with Native Americans and Native American tribes. # Trans-Alaska Oil Pipeline (except ratemaking).

Members, 119th Congress

Resolutions electing members: (Chair), (Ranking Member), (R), (D), (D), (Lee)

Subcommittees

In the

111th Congress The 111th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government from January 3, 2009, until January 3, 2011. It began during the last weeks of the George W. Bush administration, with t ...

, the number of subcommittees was reduced from 5 to 4. The Subcommittees on Insular Affairs and Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans were merged into the Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife. In the 112th Congress, the number was again increased to 5, adding the Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs. During the committee's official reorganization for the 113th Congress, the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands was renamed the Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation When former Chairman Doc Hastings of Washington retired from Congress,

Rob Bishop Robert William Bishop (born July 13, 1951) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2003 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he became the dean of Utah's congressional delegation after the retirement of ...

of Utah took over as the committee's new chairman at the beginning of the 114th Congress. Congressman Bishop began the process of hiring new staff and reorganized the committee's structure as his predecessors had done. The chairman eliminated the Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs subcommittee and split its duties between the renamed Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs and Water, Power and Oceans subcommittees. The chairman also created a new Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, keeping the total number of subcommittees at five The chairman also transferred jurisdiction over the

National Environmental Policy Act The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is a United States environmental law designed to promote the enhancement of the environment. It created new laws requiring U.S. federal government agencies to evaluate the environmental impacts of ...

and the

Endangered Species Act The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA; 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.) is the primary law in the United States for protecting and conserving imperiled species. Designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of e ...

from the former Public Lands and Environmental Regulation and established a renamed the Subcommittee on Federal Lands.

Current subcommittees

Chairs

Historical membership rosters

118th Congress

Resolutions electing members: (Chair), (Ranking Member), (D), (R), (D) ;Subcommittees

117th Congress

Resolutions electing members: (Chair), (Ranking Member), (D), (R), (D), (D), (D), (Removing Gosar), (R), (D) ;Subcommittees

116th Congress

Sources: (Chair), (Ranking Member), (D), (R), (D), (D), (D), (R), (D) ;Subcommittees

115th Congress

Notes

References

External links

Committee on Natural Resources
U.S. House of Representatives
Archive

House Natural Resources Committee
Legislation activity and reports, Congress.gov. {{United States congressional committees

Natural Resources Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest, and cultural value. ...