The House’s prolonged recess during the government shutdown is paralyzing legislative action on Congress’ biggest energy and environment priorities.
For 48 days, House lawmakers have been mostly absent from Washington — not voting, not holding committee hearings and not marking up any legislation. Bicameral negotiations on everything from fiscal 2026 appropriations to permitting reform and the highway bill have slowed down, and proposals around major reauthorizations and disaster recovery have gone untouched.
House Republican leaders’ decision to keep the House out of session after Republicans passed a government funding bill Sept. 19 has created a logjam of bipartisan bills and effectively immobilized a Congress that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) had previously hailed as the “most productive in history.”
“I’ve never seen a group of congressional members that just refuse to do their job,” said Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), ranking member on the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy.
