The House Natural Resources Committee approved three bills to expand American onshore energy production: H.R. 1965, the Federal Lands Jobs and Energy Security Act, which would reform the leasing process for onshore oil and natural gas projects on federal lands; H.R. 1394, the Planning for American Energy Act, which backers say would create an “all-of-the-above” American energy plan; and H.R. 555, the BLM Live Internet Auctions Act, which would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct Internet-based auctions for onshore leases.

President Obama will nominate Robert Simon to be associate director for energy and environment at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Hill reports. Simon was Democratic staff director at the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee from 1999 to 2012.