Hill Heat

Full Committee on Agriculture – Business Meeting to consider:

• The Budget Views and Estimates Letter of the Committee on Agriculture for the agencies and programs under the jurisdiction of the Committee for Fiscal Year 2023;
• H.R. 7764, A bill to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to provide additional payments under the environmental quality incentives program for implementation of a nutrient management practice, and for other purposes. ;
• H.R. 2518, “Producing Responsible Energy and Conservation Incentives and Solutions for the Environment Act or the PRECISE Act”;
• H.R. 2606, “Sponsoring USDA Sustainability Targets in Agriculture to Incentivize Natural Solutions Act of 2021, or the ‘SUSTAINS’ Act”;
• H.R. 4140, “Butcher Block Act”;
• H.R. 7675, To amend the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to establish an Agricultural and Food System Supply Chain Resilience and Crisis Response Task Force, and for other purposes.;
• H.R. 7606, “Meat and Poultry Special Investigator Act of 2022”;
• H.R. 7763, To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to support and incentivize domestic activities to address fertilizer shortages and deficiencies, diversity fertilizer sources, and reduce depending on foreign sources for fertilizer, and other purposes;
• H.R. 7765, “American Food Supply Chain Resiliency Act of 2022”

Hearing page

Witness:

• Marty Walsh, Secretary, Department of Labor

The FY 2023 request for the Department of Labor (DOL or Department) is $14.6 billion in discretionary budget authority and 16,922 full-time equivalent employees (FTE), with additional mandatory funding and FTE.

The Budget requests a $100 million investment for DOL’s role in the new multi-agency POWER+ Initiative, which aims to assist displaced workers and transform communities transitioning away from fossil fuel production to new, sustainable industries. Furthering the Administration’s emphasis on addressing climate change by creating opportunities for workers in America, the Budget requests $20 million to pilot the Civilian Climate Corps, in partnership other Federal agencies, which will fund paid work experiences, preapprenticeship programs, and RA programs for youth in industries and jobs related to climate resilience and mitigation.

The request also provides the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) $10 million for a new program, developed in collaboration with VETS and the Department of Veterans Affairs, focused on helping veterans shift to careers in clean energy, which would help combat climate change while preparing veterans for good-paying jobs.

The request also includes an increase of nearly $44 million for the Mine Safety and Health Administration focused on restoring its capabilities in enforcement and mine plan and equipment reviews. This increased funding will help ensure miners’ health and safety amid a projected increase in workload stemming from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).

Make no mistake, now is NOT the time to give up on climate action in Congress. In fact, there has never been a more critical time to be fighting for climate action in our nation’s capital. Join us on this webinar to hear what is happening and why – and what we can accomplish together.

Join the Chesapeake Climate Action Network Action Fund, West Virginia Rivers and Evergreen Action for a webinar delivering insight on the state of play of climate legislation in Congress, Sen. Manchin, and what justice demands legislators do.

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Hearing page

FTX US is requesting the ability to use a new kind of ‘non-intermediated’ model of crypto derivatives trading, meaning there is no intermediary used to hold customer’s funds. FTX intends to offer its products to retail participants, and its financial and operational requirements for participants only require that the participant be able to post the margin required for a given position.

The proposal was a topic of discussion at the March 31st CFTC hearing.

Witnesses

• Terrence A. Duffy, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Chicago, IL
• Sam Bankman-Fried, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, FTX US Derivatives, Chicago, IL
• Walt Lukken, President and Chief Executive Officer, Futures Industry Association, Washington, D.C.
• Christopher Edmonds, Chief Development Officer, Intercontinental Exchange, Atlanta, GA
• Christopher Perkins, President, CoinFund, New York, NY

Hearing page

Chair Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio)

Witnesses

• Dr. Marvin Adams, Deputy Administrator for Defense Programs, National Nuclear Security Administration, U.S. Department of Energy
• Admiral James “Frank” Caldwell, Deputy Administrator for Naval Reactors, National Nuclear Security Administration, U.S. Department of Energy
• Corey Hinderstein, Deputy Administrator for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation, National Nuclear Security Administration, U.S. Department of Energy
• Jill Hruby, Under Secretary for Nuclear Security and Administrator, National Nuclear Security Administration, U.S. Department of Energy
• William “Ike” White, Senior Advisor, Office of Environmental Management, U.S. Department of Energy

The FY2023 DOE budget request includes $21.4 billion for the Under Secretary for Nuclear Security and Administrator, National Nuclear Security Administration to pursue five major national security endeavors: maintain a safe, secure, and effective nuclear weapons stockpile; reduce global nuclear threats and keep materials out of the hands of terrorists; strengthen key science, technology and engineering capabilities in support of certification, assessment, and current and weapon modernization programs; provide safe and effective integrated nuclear propulsion systems for the U.S. Navy; and modernize the Nuclear Security infrastructure. The request also includes $7.6 billion for the Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management to continue cleanup of sites resulting from six decades of nuclear weapons development and production and Government-sponsored nuclear energy research. This sustains our investment in the EM mission to clean up World War II and Cold War nuclear sites.

Hearing page

Chair David Price (D-N.C.)

Witness

• Marcia L. Fudge, Secretary, Department of Housing and Urban Development

The 2023 President’s Budget requests $71.9 billion for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), approximately $11.6 billion more than the 2022 annualized continuing resolution (CR) level, to support underserved communities and equitable community development, increase access to and production of affordable housing, promote homeownership and wealth-building, advance sustainable communities, climate resilience, and environmental justice, and strengthen HUD’s internal capacity.

The budget includes:

• $1.1 billion in targeted climate resilience and energy efficiency improvements in public housing, tribal housing, and other assisted housing;
• $400 million to remove dangerous health hazards from homes, including mitigating threats from fire, lead, carbon monoxide, and radon
• The President’s 2023 Budget supports authorizing the Community Development Block Grant—Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program. For more than twenty years, the Congress has appropriated emergency supplemental funds to HUD in response to major disasters to address the unmet long term disaster recovery needs of States, territories, local governments, and Tribes. Authorization would improve the transparency and predictability of CDBG-DR funds for impacted communities.

On Wednesday, May 11, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. ET, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, the Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, will hold a business meeting to consider legislation to ensure the Postal Service has an accurate environmental impact statement to inform its acquisition of Next Generation Delivery Vehicles, address data gaps in national sexual orientation and gender identification information, and make other good government reforms.

The Committee will consider the following legislation:

• H.R. 7683, the Artificial Intelligence Training for Acquisition Personnel Act;
• H.R. 4176, the LGBTQ Data Inclusion Act;
• H.R. 7331, the Improving Government for America’s Taxpayers Act;
• H.R. 7535, the Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness Act;
• H.R. 521, the First Responder Fair Return for Employees on Their Initial Retirement Earned Act;
• H.R. 7686, the District of Columbia Code Returning Citizens Coordination Act;
• H.R. 7674, the Ensuring Oversight Access at the Postal Service Act;
• H.R. 6104, the Building the Next Generation of Federal Employees Act; and
• H.R. 7682, the Ensuring an Accurate Postal Fleet Electrification Act. This bill would invalidate the environmental impact statement (EIS) that the Postal Service filed as part of its contract with Oshkosh Defense to produce the Next Generation Delivery Vehicle and require the Postal Service to produce a new EIS.

Hearing page. Chair David Price (D-N.C.)

Witness:

• Pete Buttigieg, Secretary, Department of Transportation

In Fiscal Year 2023, we are now poised to build on early progress with a President’s budget for the Department of Transportation that totals $142 billion, including $36.8 billion in advance appropriations provided by BIL in that year.

• Safety remains our top priority, and the budget includes funding to help address the crisis of deaths on America’s roadways, as outlined in our National Roadway Safety Strategy. That includes $3 billion for the Highway Safety Improvement Program.
• With $4 billion for RAISE and the new Mega program, we will rebuild century old infrastructure and lay the groundwork for America to compete and win in decades ahead.
• With $23.6 billion for the Federal Aviation Administration, we will further enhance aviation safety, combat the effects of aviation on the climate, and improve airport infrastructure.
• With $4.45 billion in Capital Investment Grants, we will advance 15 major transit projects that shorten commutes, increase access to jobs, and reduce congestion on the road for millions of Americans.
• We will invest $17.9 billion to reverse decades of underinvestment in intercity passenger rail and make fast, reliable train service available to more people.
• We will provide $1 billion to build out a nationwide network of electric vehicle chargers, so that Americans in every part of the country have access to the lower monthly costs of electric vehicles. We will also begin implementing our ambitious new fuel efficiency standards, which are projected to save the typical household hundreds of dollars in gas costs and prevent 2.5 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide from reaching our atmosphere.
• And to keep making progress on supply chains to help move goods faster and fight inflation, we will invest a total of $680 million to modernize ports, $3 billion to improve the roadways that carry the majority of America’s freight, and a total of $1.5 billion for CRISI grants to improve freight rail.

Hearing page

Witness

• Brian McKeon, Deputy Undersecretary for Management and Resources

The FY 2023 budget request has $2.3 billion to support U.S. leadership in addressing the existential climate crisis through diplomacy; scaled-up international climate programs that accelerate the global energy transition to net zero by 2050; support to developing countries to enhance climate resilience; and the prioritization of climate adaptation and sustainability principles in Department and USAID domestic and overseas facilities. This total includes over $1.6 billion for direct programming for climate mitigation and adaptation and over $650 million for the mainstreaming of climate considerations across development programs. Our goal is to deliver climate co-benefits and outcomes in sectors such as agriculture and food security, water and sanitation, and global health.

Hearing page

• Sylvia R. Garcia (D-Texas), in support of the Environmental Protection Agency’s State and Tribal Assistance Grants Programs
• H. Morgan Griffith (R-W.V.), in support of the Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization (AMLER) Program
• Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen (D-American Samoa) in support of an increase for the American Samoan operations account at the Department of Interior Office of Insular Affairs
• Kim Schrier (D-Wash.) in support of the State and Volunteer Fire Capacity Programs