Hill Heat

The Energy Subcommittee will hold a legislative hearing on the Blue Collar to Green Collar Jobs Development Act of 2019, on Wednesday, February 27, at 10:30 am in room 2322 of the Rayburn House Office Building.

Witness: Secretary Sonny Perdue, U.S. Department of Agriculture

Witnesses

• Dr. Sarah Cooley, Director, Ocean Acidification Program, Ocean Conservancy
• Dr. Radley Horton, Lamont Associate Research Professor, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University Earth Institute
• Dr. Thomas K. Frazer, Professor and Director, School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Florida
• Margaret A. Pilaro, Executive Director, Pacific Coast Shellfish Growers Association

• Paul Sukut, General Manager & CEO, Basin Electric Power Cooperative
• Steve Oldham, CEO, Carbon Engineering
• Kurt Waltzer, Managing Director, Clean Air Task Force

The Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee planned to hold a Feb. 26 hearing titled The Denial Playbook: How Industries Manipulate Science and Policy from Climate Change to Public Health. Witnesses at the hearing – part of the Natural Resources Committee’s historic month-long series of hearings on climate change – will speak to the tactics used by various industries to mislead the public about health and environmental risks and explain how to recognize the signs of a denialist misinformation campaign in any field.

However, as the hearing began with two Democrats and four Republicans present, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) was able to call the hearing out of order. The testimony continued as a forum.

Majority Witnesses

• Chris Borland, Retired NFL player. Chris Borland is a former linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. He retired early from a successful career because of concerns about chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a neurological condition caused by repeated blows to the head and body experienced by professional, college, and early age football players.
• Mr. Ryan Hampton, Founder, Voices Project. Ryan Hampton is a national addiction recovery advocate and person in sustained recovery from 10 years of active opioid use. He has worked with multiple non-profits and community organizing campaigns—including the nation’s top addiction recovery advocacy organizations.
• Ms. Alexandra Precup. Ms. Precup is a native of Puerto Rico who was displaced by Hurricane Maria. She will speak to the effects of climate change on her and her family.
• Dr. David Michaels, Professor, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, George Washington University. Dr. Michaels is the former Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health. He is among the nation’s top experts in disinformation campaigns, including climate denial, and will speak to the ways in which denial campaigns across industries share similar recognizable traits.

Witnesses

Panel I

• The Honorable Raul Ruiz, Member of Congress (D-CA)

Panel II

• The Honorable Eric Schwartz, President, Refugees International, Former Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration

• Mr. Ryan Mace, Grassroots Advocacy and Refugee Specialist, Amnesty International

Background Information

Witnesses

Panel I

• Susan Bodine, Assistant Administrator, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Panel II

• Bruce Buckheit, JD, MS, Analyst and Consultant, Former Director, Air Enforcement Division, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

• Bakeyah Nelson, PhD, Executive Director, Air Alliance Houston

• Eric Schaeffer, JD, Executive Director, Environmental Integrity Project

• Chris Sellers, PhD, MD, Professor of History, Director, Center for the Study of Inequality and Social Justice, Stony Brook University

• Jay Shimshak, PhD, Associate Professor of Public Policy and Economics, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, University of Virginia

• Ronald J. Tenpas, JD, Partner, Vinson & Elkins LLP, Former Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, U.S. Department of Justice

Witnesses

• Dr. Michael Freilich, Director of NASA’s Earth Science Division
• Dr. Neil Jacobs, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Environmental Observation and Prediction