New Federal draft rules governing hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” on public and tribal lands are drawing sharp criticisms from both industry and environmental groups. The proposed regulations, released on May 16, include changes designed to alleviate opponents’ objections to an earlier version. Fracking is an extraction process that involves pumping water, chemicals, and sand deep into hard-to-reach rock formations at high pressure to force cracks and release natural gas, allowing it to flow freely to the production well. Now used in over 90 percent of vertical and horizontal oil and gas wells in the United States, the technique is enabling…

The natural gas drilling method called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, was a topic of discussion at recent hearings on the President’s proposed energy budget for Fiscal Year 2013. (For background on this issue, see the March 2012 Congressional Digest, titled “Fracking and Drinking Water Safety.”) On February 15, at a hearing of the House Natural Resources Committee, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar noted that the President has requested $45 million for a research and development initiative by the U.S. Geological Survey, the Department of Energy, and the Environmental Protection Agency “aimed at understanding and minimizing potential environmental, health, and safety impacts…

On January 18, President Obama announced the Administration’s decision to deny the application for construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. (For background, see the December 2011 Congressional Digest titled “Keystone Pipeline.”) Republicans in Congress had forced the President’s hand on the issue last year by attaching a provision to the shot-term payroll tax cut extension legislation that required the Administration to make a decision on the pipeline within two months. In a statement released by the White House, the President said: “This announcement is not a judgment on the merits of the pipeline, but the arbitrary nature of a deadline…

Despite the Obama Administration’s earlier assertion that it would either approve or disapprove the  Keystone XL Pipeline project by the end of this year,  the State Department, on November 10, announced a delay in the final decision. The proposed $7 billion, 1700-mile pipeline would connect the oil sands region of Alberta to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast.  (See the December 2011 Congressional Digest titled “Keystone Pipeline.”) Under the original proposal, the pipeline would pass through the Sand Hills of Nebraska, which includes the Ogalla Aquifer, a major fresh water resource for eight states. Critics were concerned that oil spills…

Congressional Digest covered 10 important domestic issues in 2010, from consumer financial protection to child nutrition. Some of those topics – such as Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and the DREAM Act immigration bill – are still being hotly debated during the final days of the session. Here’s an update on all these issues as the 111th Conngress winds down.

Congress has a full plate of unfinished business to consider during the lame duck session, which begins November 15, continues for a week, and then resumes after Thanksgiving. Congressional Digest and International Debates have covered many of the issues on this agenda.