Enhancing Geothermal Production on Federal Lands Act
Latest action. Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 674.
Enhancing Geothermal Production on Federal Lands Act
This bill exempts certain projects and activities related to geothermal development on federal land from environmental review requirements.
Specifically, the bill exempts certain geothermal exploration projects with limited impact on federal land from environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). Geothermal exploration projects are those that involve the drilling of geothermal exploratory wells, such as temperature gradient wells, monitoring wells, or calibration wells, and that are limited in size, duration, and other aspects in accordance with specified criteria.
The bill also exempts from NEPA the following activities related to the exploration, development, or production of geothermal resources: (1) geotechnical investigations; (2) off-road travel in certain existing rights-of-way; and (3) the construction, maintenance, realignment, and repair of access roads within such rights-of-way.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to House" stage on August 27, 2026. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on August 27, 2026: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 674.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 118th Congress (2023-24), 274 of the 16,565 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 1.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Russ Fulcher (R-ID) introduced it on September 26, 2025, and 3 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 3 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on September 26, 2025, 395 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 60 days ago, on August 27, 2026.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 119th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2027 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers