"We simply must balance our demand for energy with our rapidly shrinking resources. By acting now, we can control our future instead of letting the future control us." Jimmy Carter

Ensuring that America has access to sufficient energy sources is essential to our national defense and continued economic security. Under the leadership of Chairman Jim Costa (D-CA), the Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee oversees the production of energy and mineral resources located on lands owned or managed by the federal government. Today, our nation's public lands are providing nearly one-third of total U.S. energy production - up from just 10 percent in 1970. This Subcommittee strives to maintain a healthy balance between providing for energy needs and conserving our nation's precious natural resources.

In keeping with ongoing efforts to discover and develop innovative ways to meet America's pressing energy requirements, Committee Members are working together to expand and diversify our nation's energy portfolio. The Committee will continue to explore a host of traditional, renewable, and alternative energy sources that can be provided by and developed on our nation's public lands and waters - including geothermal, wind, solar, biomass, wave, and ocean current technologies. In doing so, it is also essential to ensure that any exploration and development is carried out in a responsible manner that accounts for the health and safety of our environment.

Equally important is the Subcommittee's duty to oversee the government's collection of royalties - or a share of the proceeds - that energy companies are required to pay in return for the right to drill on federal lands and in federal waters. The American people are owed a fair value for the resources they own. When the Department of the Interior fails to ensure this happens, this Committee has a duty to step in to correct negligence and secure accurate levels of payment to the people and their Treasury.

America's economic and environmental future depends on finding 21st century solutions to our 21st century energy challenges. This requires the use of advanced technology to further the development of clean, reliable, and efficient energy - in turn helping to lead our nation toward a fully diversified energy portfolio that will provide new job opportunities, a cleaner environment, and a reduced dependency on foreign oil.

Congressman Jim Costa was sworn in as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives in January 2005, following a distinguished 24-year career as a member of the California state legislature.

After serving as an active member of what is now the House Natural Resources Committee during his first session in Congress, Costa, a California native who represents his state's 20th congressional district, became Chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources at the start of the 110th Congress.

As Chairman, Costa is committed to promoting effective solutions to meet our nation's energy challenges while also ensuring a responsible balance between production and conservation. Under his leadership, the subcommittee has remained dedicated to safeguarding America's national defense and economic security while heralding new uses of traditional, renewable and alternative energy sources.

A longtime advocate of responsible water management and restoration, Costa is also an active member of the Subcommittee on Water and Power and is a co-founder of the Congressional Water Caucus. During his first term in office, Congressman Costa put together a broad-based bipartisan coalition aimed at developing a Regional Water Plan for Central California. Costa's legislative initiatives have also included helping draft legislation based on the Friant Water Settlement.

In addition to Natural Resources, Costa serves on the House Agriculture and House Foreign Affairs committees. His efforts during the 109th Congress earned him recognition as the recipient of the Donald E. Santarelli Public Policy Award for demonstrating outstanding public policy leadership that has national impact. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has also honored him with its 'Spirit of Enterprise' award.

The grandson of Portuguese immigrants who settled in the fertile San Joaquin Valley near the turn of the 20th century, Costa is a third-generation family farmer, raised on a dairy farm in Fresno, California. Costa holds a bachelor's degree in political science from California State University, Fresno.