The Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, chaired by Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), held a business meeting in Washington, D.C., where it advanced several nominations, committee resolutions, and bipartisan legislation.
During the meeting, the committee approved seven nominees for key federal positions. Jeffrey Hall was recommended as Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with a 10-9 vote. Ho Nieh was endorsed to join the Nuclear Regulatory Commission by a 13-6 vote. Douglas Troutman was also approved as Assistant Administrator for Toxic Substances at the EPA by a 10-9 margin. The committee supported Mitch Graves, Jeff Hagood, Randall Jones, and Arthur Graham to serve on the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority, each receiving a 10-9 vote.
The committee passed several pieces of legislation with bipartisan support. These included S.2082 – Nuclear REFUEL Act of 2025 (16-3), S.2235 – Diesel Emissions Reduction Act of 2025 (voice vote), S.2741 – Legacy Mine Cleanup Act of 2025 (voice vote), S.3022 – Save Our Seas 2.0 Marine Debris Infrastructure Programs Reauthorization Act (voice vote), S.2110 – REUSE Act of 2025 (voice vote), S.2878 – Great Lakes Fishery Research Reauthorization Act (voice vote), S.287 – Marcella LeBeau Recognition Act (voice vote), and S.2319 to designate a federal building in Tucson, Arizona as the "Raul M. Grijalva Federal Building" (voice vote).
Three committee resolutions were also approved regarding repairs and alterations at the Ronald Reagan Building complex in Washington, D.C., including full replacement of the fire alarm system and targeted safety upgrades (voice vote). Another resolution addressed repairs to curtain wall systems and skylight over the atrium at the Ronald Reagan Federal Office Building (10-9). The final resolution concerned consolidating FBI headquarters at this location following renovations (10-9).
In her opening statement, Chairman Capito said: “I want to thank my colleagues for attending today’s business meeting to vote on seven nominations, three committee resolutions, and eight pieces of legislation.
“First, we will consider the nominations pending before the Committee of Jeffrey Hall and Doug Troutman to be assistant administrators at the Environmental Protection Agency; Ho Neih to be a member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; and four nominees to the Tennessee Valley Authority Board of Directors, which will return the board to a working quorum. Each of these nominees is well qualified and I urge my colleagues to support their nominations.
“We will also consider three committee resolutions related to the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C., and eight pieces of legislation. The three committee resolutions approve prospectuses from the General Services Administration for repairs and alterations at the Ronald Reagan Building. Two of these prospectuses address important repairs immediately needed at the building. The final prospectus is the GSA’s proposed plan to replace the current FBI Headquarters at the J. Edgar Hoover Building with a renovated space at the Ronald Reagan Building.
“This approach addresses the needs and mission of the FBI and utilizes an existing federal building with a reasonable investment and renovation, instead of significant expense and time waiting for new construction. I believe the GSA’s plan is a responsible and efficient way to address this year’s long problem.
“Finally, the bills we will consider today are largely bipartisan measures drafted by a variety of members of the committee…I want to thank all our members for their work on these bills, and I am proud that this Committee can continue its bipartisan work on passing legislation.”
