House Energy & Commerce Committee — Energy Subcommittee
Chair: Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH)
THIS WEEK AT A GLANCE
COMMITTEE ACTIVITY
District Work Period — Members Engaged in Home Districts
Both the House and Senate are in District Work Period through April 13. Members are conducting constituent meetings, field visits, and local engagements rather than formal committee proceedings. No energy-related hearings, markups, or floor votes took place in either chamber during the week of April 6.
The return to Washington the week of April 14 brings a concentrated burst of energy-related activity. The House Energy Subcommittee will hold a hearing on the DOE FY2027 budget on April 16, with Secretary Chris Wright expected to testify. The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development will hold a parallel DOE budget hearing the same day. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy has a hearing scheduled for April 15 on pending legislation, including a bill to reform FERC's interconnection queue process for priority projects. Members returning from the district period will have had two weeks to hear directly from energy stakeholders, utilities, and constituents — input that often shapes hearing lines of questioning and member positioning on pending legislation.
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
Six Federal Agencies Warn of Iran-Linked Attacks on U.S. Energy and Water Infrastructure
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Security Agency, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, and U.S. Cyber Command's Cyber National Mission Force issued a joint advisory on April 7 warning that hackers linked to Iran are actively targeting U.S. critical infrastructure, including energy and water systems. The advisory identifies the threat actor as consistent with past operations by CyberAv3ngers, an Iran-affiliated group linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Cyber Electronic Command and previously connected to intrusions into water and industrial control systems across multiple countries.
The attacks focus on programmable logic controllers — the hardware that manages physical operations in energy facilities, water treatment plants, and industrial systems. The advisory warns that in some cases attackers have succeeded in manipulating system displays and disrupting operations, causing service disruptions and financial losses. The activity is assessed as ongoing and has escalated in the context of the U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran.
The advisory is significant not only as a threat warning but as a signal to Congress. Cyber threats to energy critical infrastructure are squarely within the House Energy Subcommittee's jurisdiction, and a joint interagency advisory of this scope is precisely the kind of event that generates oversight hearings and accelerates pending legislation on grid cybersecurity. Several bills in that space — including the Pipeline Cybersecurity Preparedness Act and the Energy Threat Analysis Center Act, both advanced by the committee in March — are awaiting floor action.
Senate Democrats Demand IRS Answers on $370 Million Tax Credit Paid to Cheniere Energy
Seven Democratic senators, including Energy and Natural Resources Ranking Member Jeff Merkley and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, sent a formal letter to the IRS demanding answers on a $370 million Alternative Fuel Excise Tax credit paid to Cheniere Energy, the largest U.S. LNG exporter. As minority members, the senators do not hold the committee authority to compel documents or open a formal investigation — but their letter puts the issue on the public record and signals intent to press the matter through available oversight channels. The senators question whether LNG qualifies as an alternative fuel for purposes of the credit, arguing that LNG is the standard operational fuel for the vessels Cheniere uses and that those vessels may not meet the statutory definition of eligible motorboats under the excise tax code.
Cheniere maintains the credit was approved following a multi-year IRS review that spanned multiple administrations and that it applied for the credit in good faith based on that guidance. Watchdog groups are separately seeking additional records on how the determination was made. The senators requested an IRS response within 45 days.
The letter raises two distinct issues. The first is whether the credit was legally proper — a question of statutory interpretation that could affect how the IRS treats similar claims going forward. The second is political: the effort signals that Democratic members intend to use LNG tax treatment as an oversight target, particularly in the context of the administration's broader energy posture. Whether the Republican majority takes up the issue is the key variable.
DOE Issues $263 Million Conditional Loan to Establish Domestic Molybdenum-99 Supply
The Department of Energy issued a conditional loan commitment of up to $263 million to SHINE Chrysalis LLC to complete a medical isotope production facility in Janesville, Wisconsin. The facility would become the only domestic commercial source of molybdenum-99, the isotope used to produce technetium-99m, which supports more than 40,000 U.S. medical procedures daily — including cardiac stress tests and cancer imaging. The U.S. currently relies on foreign producers for its entire commercial supply of Mo-99, a dependency that has created supply disruptions during past facility outages abroad.
The facility is already approximately 75% complete and has received long-term backing from the National Nuclear Security Administration. Final loan approval is conditioned on SHINE meeting technical, legal, and financial requirements. DOE framed the investment as part of its domestic supply chain security agenda, consistent with broader administration efforts to reduce reliance on foreign sources for critical materials.
OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
Iran / Strait of Hormuz — Diplomatic Pause Extended
President Trump's pause on U.S. strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure ran through April 6. The status of negotiations as of publication is fluid. Brent crude and global LNG spot prices remain elevated. Puerto Rico's natural gas generation costs under the NFE Gas Supply Agreement remain priced at the Henry Hub benchmark and are not exposed to Hormuz-driven spot price volatility. Diesel and fuel oil costs across the island continue to reflect global oil price increases tied to the conflict.
LOOKING AHEAD
Upcoming Hearings — Active Return Week
Congress returns the week of April 14. The Energy Subcommittee will hold a hearing on the DOE FY2027 budget on April 16, with Secretary Chris Wright expected to testify. The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development will hold a parallel DOE budget hearing the same day. The Senate ENR Energy Subcommittee has a hearing on April 15 covering pending legislation, including a bill to reform FERC's interconnection queue process. Clients with interests in DOE funding priorities, grid permitting, or energy infrastructure policy should monitor testimony and member exchanges closely — budget hearings are among the most direct windows into how committee members intend to exercise oversight.
On Our Radar
Threads we are monitoring for Puerto Rico impact:
CONTACT
Anthony Maceira, Esq.
Managing Member
amaceira@mzls.com
Maceira Zayas Law
