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Senate Confirms Energy Secretary, Stalls on EPA and Labor Nominees

Amy Harder | May 16, 2013

The Senate unanimously confirmed Obama’s choice for Energy but nominees for EPA administrator and Labor secretary are still on hold.

$hydraulic fracturing$

Proposed 'Fracking' Rules Anger Environmentalists, Annoy Industry

Coral Davenport | May 16, 2013

The Obama administration on Thursday unveiled a new proposal for its first major regulation of hydraulic fracturing on public lands, attempting to address at least a portion of the controversial drilling practice that’s unlocked vast new supplies of U.S. oil and gas but has also raised fears about its environmental impact, particularly on local water supplies.

New Fracking Rules Have Environmental Groups Worried

Coral Davenport | May 12, 2013

The energy industry is optimistic about new regulations for hydraulic fracturing expected to be issued as soon as Tuesday.

Play of the Day: Golfing With Obama

Ross Gianfortune and Government Executive | May 8, 2013

Fast forward to 2:15 to see Fallon show off new ad slogans for the National Park Service.

Battle of the Religious Stars!

Matt Vasilogambros | May 2, 2013

Two of Washington's best-known houses of worship and George Washington's estate are competing–nicely!–for coveted building-preservation grants.

Connecticut Lawmakers Back 'Coltsville' Park at Firearms Site Near Newtown

Billy House | April 28, 2013

Members of Connecticut’s congressional delegation are supporting a plan to create a national park out of the historic Colt firearms manufacturing plant in Hartford, just 50 miles from the site of the Newtown shooting.

Immigration Debate May Grow More Complicated

Billy House and George E. Condon Jr. and Nancy Cook and Coral Davenport and Fawn Johnson and Margot Sanger-Katz and and Sara Sorcher | April 21, 2013

With Congress focused on immigration reform this week, the national security aspects of the issue are moving to the forefront amid efforts by some conservatives to inject the Boston Marathon bombing suspects into that debate.

David McCarthy, Majority Chief Counsel, Environment and Economy Subcommittee

Amy Harder | April 17, 2013

David McCarthy is chief counsel for the majority on the Energy and Commerce Environment and Economy Subcommittee.

Hunters, Guns, and Money: Firearms Boom Sparks a Boon for Wildlife

Ben Schreckinger | March 20, 2013

What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. And, it seems, what’s good for the gun industry is good for the goose. Through a federal excise tax on guns and ammunition, the booming industry is providing a nine-figure windfall to state conservation programs, according to a Congressional Research Service report issued this month.

Berman Joins Covington; Ambassador Returns

Mike Magner | March 18, 2013

Four new members have been appointed to the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, which provides grants to projects that increase public access to historical records.

Approving the Keystone Pipeline Won't Bring Obama Bipartisan Goodwill

Amy Harder | March 17, 2013

If President Obama wants to approve the Keystone XL pipeline as a way of extending an olive branch to congressional Republicans, they are likely to see it as one riddled with thorns.

Pope Francis, Need Some Public-Relations Help? Here's Advice from America’s Political Consultants

Brian Resnick and Elahe Izadi | March 13, 2013

American political consultants have advice for the new pope.

Five Staff Positions to Watch During Senate Confirmation Hearings on Energy Nominees

Amy Harder | March 10, 2013

Here are some key staffers involved in the vetting of Obama's nominees for his second-term energy and environment team.

Four Things to Know About Penny Pritzker, a Billionaire and Obama's Commerce Secretary Pick

Matt Vasilogambros | March 6, 2013

President Obama nominated Chicago mogul and longtime friend Penny Pritzker for Commerce secretary. Here’s what you need to know about her.

What's On the Chopping Block in Energy & Environment Policy?

Amy Harder | March 4, 2013

As the sequester's across-the-board cuts go into effect and Washington stares down a month's end deadline to pass legislation to keep the government running, what's at stake for energy and environment policy?

Risk Is the Sequester's Only Certainty

Jill Lawrence | February 27, 2013

You might have to wait longer in an airport line if the guillotine falls as scheduled Friday on $85 billion in federal spending. Your nearby national park might close earlier, and your schools might lose teachers.

What Is Sequestration and What Does It Mean for Me?

Niraj Chokshi | February 26, 2013

The massive spending cuts are broad, bad for states, bad for business, bad for the economy, and bad for a lot of people.

What Does the Keystone XL Pipeline Represent?

Amy Harder | February 25, 2013

What does the controversial Keystone XL pipeline stand for? And what is at stake when President Obama decides its fate?

'Most Liberal' Label Probably Won't Hurt Sen. Tom Udall

Scott Bland | February 19, 2013

With New Mexico voters shifting to the left, his 90.7 percent composite liberal score for 2012 will likely have little effect on his reelection bid next year.

Key Votes Used to Calculate the Ratings

February 19, 2013

The 116 Senate votes and 116 House votes on which National Journal’s 2012 vote ratings are based.

Who's In and Who's Out in Obama's Cabinet

Catherine Hollander | February 15, 2013

President Obama has chosen many of the candidates for his second-term Cabinet, but he still has eight positions left to fill. Here's a look at which positions are open, the leading contenders to fill them, and the Cabinet choices he has already made.

Are Environmentalists Getting It Wrong on the Keystone XL Pipeline?

Elana Schor - The Atlantic | February 15, 2013

Focusing on how it would contribute to emissions overshadows the large risk of spills -- and diverts attention from more effective ways to cut down on carbon.

Who Is Sally Jewell, Obama's Choice for Interior Secretary?

Catherine Hollander and Coral Davenport contributed | February 6, 2013

Here's what you need to know about the REI president and CEO, whom the president has picked to replace Ken Salazar.

Is the U.S. Government Complicit in the Killing of Over a Thousand Wild Horses?

Billy House | January 29, 2013

A bipartisan pair of lawmakers is urging Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to disclose whether as many as 1,700 federally protected wild horses now unaccounted for were sold to a middleman who illegally transported them to Mexico for slaughter.

Washington Parties, K Street Pays

Chris Frates | January 21, 2013

Inauguration Day in Washington is really just one big party, college graduation, and New Year’s Eve all rolled into one. And as anyone who’s ever picked up the tab knows, an open bar ain’t cheap.

Are Arctic Oil-Drilling Challenges Too Great?

Amy Harder | January 21, 2013

Should the United States think twice before allowing oil and gas drilling in the Arctic Ocean? In response to Shell's drilling rig running aground in a storm there earlier this month, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced an internal 60-day review of the department's plans to allow drilling in t...

Obama Could Look West to Fill Interior Job

Coral Davenport | January 16, 2013

President Obama could look west to fill the job of Interior secretary that will become vacant in March with the departure of Ken Salazar. Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire, who supports the president’s progressive clean-energy and climate-change agenda, is one possible candidate.

Obama Reshapes Cabinet For a Second Term

Catherine Hollander | January 15, 2013

With Inauguration Day approaching, President Obama is reshaping his Cabinet and White House staff for his second term. In the latest change, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has said he will leave his job at the end of March, creating an opening at the helm of the agency that oversees public lands.

The Republican Plan to Build That Keystone XL Pipeline

Amy Harder | January 14, 2013

Congressional Republicans have fewer avenues to approve the Keystone XL pipeline than they did when the election was hanging over President Obama’s head. But that doesn’t mean they have no avenues.

Vitter Purges Environment Committee Staff

Amy Harder | January 9, 2013

The new top Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Sen. David Vitter, R-La., has laid off almost all the professional staff—about a dozen—who worked under his predecessor, Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., National Journal has learned.

Against the Tide

Olga Belogolova | July 26, 2012

Republicans are almost always in tune with the oil and gas industry, but they’re singing a different song on the drydocked Law of the Sea Treaty.

Obama Threads the Needle With Drilling Plan

Olga Belogolova | November 9, 2011

Nobody is really happy with the Obama administration’s new five-year oil-and-gas drilling plan, which took a few steps back from the president’s pre-BP-spill drilling proposal of 2010 but also a few steps forward from what environmentalists wanted by allowing more exploration off the coast of Alaska. But neither is anyone really all that angry about the new proposal, which Interior Secretary Ken Salazar unveiled on Tuesday.

Hot Ticket

Michelle Bloom | April 10, 2011

Foodies—brace yourselves. On Tuesday, the annual Embassy Chef Challenge brings together cuisines from around the world into one hunger-satisfying tasting sure to make your stomach happy.

NJ Topics Natural Resources