STEAM Act
Latest action · May 20, 2026 Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 570.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedFeb 6, 2025
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Streamlining Thermal Energy through Advanced Mechanisms Act or the STEAM Act
This bill expedites the environmental review of certain geothermal energy activities under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). Specifically, the bill expands the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to include certain geothermal exploration or development activities in an existing categorical exclusion from NEPA for certain oil or gas activities.
A categorical exclusion applies to a class of actions that do not require an environmental assessment nor an environmental impact statement under NEPA.
The categorical exclusion established by the bill applies to drilling a geothermal well (1) in an area where drilling has occurred previously within the five years prior to the date when drilling begins; or (2) within a developed field for which an approved land use plan or environmental document prepared under NEPA determined drilling to be a reasonably foreseeable activity, so long as the plan or document was approved within the five years prior to the date when drilling begins.
Cosponsors 5
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Feb 6, 2025 to Jan 21, 2026; 1 is an original cosponsor, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-UT | Celeste Maloy | Original | Feb 6, 2025 |
| R-PA | Brian K. Fitzpatrick | Mar 14, 2025 | |
| D-WA | Marie Gluesenkamp Perez | Mar 31, 2025 | |
| D-CA | Adam Gray | Sep 15, 2025 | |
| D-NY | Thomas R. Suozzi | Jan 21, 2026 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Natural Resources Committee | Referred Feb 6, 2025Markup Mar 5, 2026Reported May 20, 2026 |
| Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee | Referred Dec 9, 2025Hearings Dec 16, 2025Discharged Mar 5, 2026 |
Actions 9
Everything that happened, newest first.
- May 20, 2026Reported by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. 119-656.
- May 20, 2026Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 570.
- Mar 5, 2026Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources Discharged
- Mar 5, 2026Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
- Mar 5, 2026Ordered to be Reported by Unanimous Consent.
- Dec 16, 2025Subcommittee Hearings Held
- Dec 9, 2025Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.
- Feb 6, 2025Introduced in House
- Feb 6, 2025Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
In the Congressional Record 1
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| House | Debate and remarks H3762, H3763 | Bruce Westerman R-AR, Susie Lee D-NV | Jun 2, 2026 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Committee report
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 171, no. 25, February 6, 2025, page H557.
CRS reports 1
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 1
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R48064 | Considerations for Federal Leasing of Onshore Energy: Oil and Gas and Geothermal Power | Report | Sep 14, 2026 |
Related bills 2
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
Titles 5
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to expedite geothermal exploration and development in previously studied or developed areas.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- STEAM Act
- Streamlining Thermal Energy through Advanced Mechanisms Act
- Short Title(s) as Reported to House
- STEAM Act
- Streamlining Thermal Energy through Advanced Mechanisms Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Energy.
Text 2
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- May 20, 2026Reported in House
- Feb 6, 2025Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
