House Natural Resources Committee advances CORE Act to change BOEM assessments amid debate over seismic testing and offshore wind

The House Natural Resources Committee voted to report H.R. 2,556, the Comprehensive Offshore Resource Enhancement Act (CORE Act), after adopting an amendment in the nature of a substitute offered by the bill's sponsor.

The CORE Act, described by supporters as a modernization of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's (BOEM) resource‑assessment methods, would require updated tools such as seismic surveys, artificial intelligence and advanced computing and establish a five‑year reporting cycle for BOEM on resources, jobs and the consequences of not developing those resources.

Supporters said more accurate mapping will improve energy planning. Representative Hunt, sponsor of the bill, said the measure creates "an honest oil and gas assessment process" and urged colleagues to support it. Chair Westerman said, "you can't manage what you can't measure," and endorsed the bill's use of modern tools to assess offshore resources and to cooperate with allies on transboundary reservoirs.

Ranking Member Huffman and other Democrats repeatedly objected to provisions they said bias BOEM's long‑running scientific processes toward fossil‑fuel development while excluding offshore renewable resources. Huffman said the bill "co‑opts these studies, making them biased and very political" and noted the bill directs Interior to consult fossil‑fuel advocates including the National Petroleum Council without explicitly requiring consultation with other stakeholders.

Multiple Democratic amendments were offered to add analysis of offshore wind, require BOEM to assess greenhouse‑gas and public‑health impacts, and to condition any expanded BOEM workload on sufficient staffing and resources. Representative Huffman's amendment to include offshore wind in BOEM's evaluations was defeated on a recorded vote. Representative Brownlee's amendment to require a full evaluation of climate and public health impacts also failed by voice vote after extensive debate. Representative Ansari's amendment to tie additional studies to BOEM funding and staffing likewise failed on a recorded vote; proponents said BOEM has lost capacity under recent personnel changes and budget cuts.

Democrats and some coastal Republicans raised particular concern about mandated seismic surveys and their impacts on marine mammals and fishing economies. The record shows specific references to sensitive habitat, including North Atlantic right whale and southern resident orca habitat, and to taxpayer‑funded seismic prospecting. Supporters said seismic and modern data will reduce uncertainty in resource estimates and improve defense planning for shared reservoirs.

On the floor of the committee, the amendment in the nature of a substitute offered by Mr. Hunt was adopted. The committee ordered the bill reported to the House with a recorded vote tally of 25 yeas and 18 nays.

The committee debate entwined technical questions about BOEM's methodologies with broader policy disagreements over the role of fossil fuels versus renewables in U.S. energy policy. Democrats repeatedly framed the measure as insufficiently comprehensive, pointing to what they characterized as an explicit omission of offshore wind, limited consideration of climate impacts, and prioritization of seismic data acquisition. Republicans emphasized the need for better measurements to inform energy and national security decisions.

Committee action now moves the amended bill to the House floor for consideration; no floor schedule was announced during the markup.