Examining the Use and Regulation of Chemicals

Subcommittee hearing.

Witnesses:

  • Peter Huntsman, President and CEO, Huntsman Corporation
  • Dr. Gwen Gross, Senior Technical Fellow, The Boeing Company
  • Dr. Tracey Woodruff, Professor and Director, Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, University of California, San Francisco

Peter’s father, Jon Huntsman Sr., founded the Huntsman Corporation, an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of chemical products for consumers and industrial customers. His brother, Jon Huntsman Jr., is a former United States ambassador and former Republican governor of Utah.

Dr. Woodruff studies toxic microplastics.

Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
   Chemical Safety, Waste Management, Environmental Justice, and Regulatory Oversight Subcommittee
562 Dirksen

10/23/2025 at 10:30AM

Nominations of Edward Forst, Charles Arrington, Paul Ingrassia, John Truong, Elana Suttenberg, Stephen Rickard, Bill Kirk, Anthony D'Esposito, and Platte Moring

Full committee hearing to examine multiple nominations.

Nominees:

  • Edward Forst, of Florida, to be Administrator of General Services
  • Charles Arrington, of Illinois, to be a Member of the Federal Labor Relations Authority for a term expiring July 1, 2030
  • Paul Ingrassia, of New York, to be Special Counsel, Office of Special Counsel, for the term of five years
  • John Cuong Truong, Elana S. Suttenberg, and Stephen F. Rickard, each to be an Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia for the term of fifteen years
  • William “Bill” Kirk, of Maryland, to be Inspector General, Small Business Administration
  • Anthony D’Esposito, of New York, to be Inspector General, Department of Labor
  • Platte Moring, of South Carolina, to be Inspector General, Department of Defense

Charles Arrington is the Chief Human Resources Officer at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Forst began working for Bankers Trust in 1982 as a managing director. In 1994, Forst joined Goldman Sachs, becoming a managing director in 1996 and a partner in 1998. In 2004, he was appointed as the company’s chief administrative officer, and in 2007, he became the co-head of Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Forst temporarily left Goldman Sachs in 2008 to serve as Harvard’s executive vice president and to advise secretary of the treasury Henry Paulson amid a financial crisis. Forst returned to Goldman Sachs in September 2009 as the firm’s senior strategy officer. In February 2010, he was appointed head of Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Amid complications involving his leadership style and weeks after he did not appear at a critical meeting in Europe, Forst was removed from Goldman Sachs in December 2010. Forst began serving as Cushman & Wakefield’s president and chief executive in January 2014. He led a strategy to return Cushman & Wakefield to New York City’s real estate market, but was forced to leave the company after its acquisition by DTZ in May 2015.

Ingrassia has publicly associated with white supremacist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes, as well as Andrew Tate, the conservative social media influencer who is wanted in multiple countries on rape and sex trafficking charges. And he has written extensively of his disdain for federal workers, describing them as “parasites” and “bugmen” who “leech of the diminishing lifeblood of the dying republic.”

Truong, Suttenberg, and Rickard are federal prosecutors in D.C..

Kirk, who studied accounting at the University of Notre Dame and law at Notre Dame Law School, most recently worked at the Department of Education, serving as acting chief of staff for the Office of General Counsel. Kirk is on detail from the Environmental Protection Agency’s IG office, where he most recently served as acting counsel to the IG. He served at the EPA IG from 2022 to 2024. A devout Catholic, Kirk was general counsel for the Catholic Ave Maria University, the executive director of the Catholic Education Foundation, and a partner in a Catholic wealth management firm before joining the first Trump administration as deputy general counsel in the Department of Education.

Anthony P. D’Esposito is a retired New York City Police Department detective. A Republican, he represented New York’s 4th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2023 to 2025.

Platte Moring joined The Citadel as an adjunct professor in the fall of 2021 and is also an adjunct professor for The College of Charleston School of Law. Moring is a retired Lieutenant Colonel from the Pennsylvania Army National Guard.

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee

10/23/2025 at 10:00AM

Nominations of Mitch Graves, Jeff Hagood, Randall Jones, and Arthur Graham to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority

Full committee hearing.

The Tennessee Valley Authority board has been reduced to three members, less than the quorum of five, following crippling firings by Trump. Trump fired board member Michelle Moore on March 27. Trump fired chair Joe Ritsch on April 1. On June 10, Trump fired Beth Geer, chief of staff to former Vice President Al Gore. No public explanation of the firings has been offered.

Nominees to be Members of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority.

  • Mitch Graves of Tennessee, to replace Brian Noland
  • Jeff Hagood of Tennessee, to replace Beth Harwell
  • Arthur Graham, of Florida, to replace Michelle Moore

Graves currently serves on Memphis Light, Gas & Water’s board of commissioners and as the CEO of West Cancer Center & Research Institute. Prior to joining WCCRI, he was the CEO of HealthChoice, LLC. Graves has previously served on the boards of Christian Brothers University (Chairman), United Methodist Neighborhood Centers (Chairman), Revenue Assurance, Precision Infusion, Alliance Health Service, Community Care Associates, First Eight Memphis, and Methodist Federal Credit Union. On a national level, he previously served as a member of United Healthcare’s Executive Advisory Council and Cigna’s National Health Care Advisory Council.

Jeff Hagood is a Knoxville lawyer, a former fundraiser for Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs’ Big Red PAC and a member of the Knoxville Sports Authority Board.

Arthur Graham has since 2010 served on the Florida Public Service Commission, which regulates utilities in the state. Graham is the only one of Trump’s current nominees to live outside of TVA’s service region.

Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
562 Dirksen

10/22/2025 at 10:00AM

Markup of Fix Our Forests Act and other Federal Lands legislation

Full committee business meeting.

Legislation:

  • HR. 4550, United States Grain Standards Reauthorization Act of 2025 (HR4550 Substitute Amendment)
  • S. 1462, Fix Our Forests Act (S1462 Substitute Amendment)
  • S. 277, A bill to release a Federal reversionary interest and convey mineral interests in Chester County, Tennessee, and for other purposes.
  • S. 1680, Virginia Wilderness Additions Act of 2025
  • S. 2440, A bill to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey certain National Forest System land located in Franklin County, Mississippi, and for other purposes.
  • HR. 197, Lake Winnibigoshish Land Exchange Act of 2025
  • S. 1262, A bill to require the Secretary of Agriculture to release a reversionary interest in certain land in the Black River State Forest in Millston, Wisconsin, and for other purposes.
  • S. 2548, Shawnee National Forest Conservation Act of 2025
  • S. 1681, Shenandoah Mountain Act
  • HR. 1612, Flatside Wilderness Additions Act
  • S. 1350, A bill to modify the boundaries of the Talladega National Forest, and for other purposes.
  • S. 1376, Benton MacKaye National Scenic Trail Feasibility Study Act of 2025
  • S. 1876, Stratton Ridge Air Force Memorial Act
  • S. 638, A bill to amend the Act of June 22, 1948.
  • S. ______, To require the Secretary of Agriculture to convey a parcel of property of the Forest Service to Perry County, Arkansas, and for other purposes.
Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee
328A Dirksen

10/21/2025 at 09:15AM

Thea Riofrancos Book Event — Extraction: The Frontiers of Green Capitalism

Lithium, a crucial input in the batteries powering electric vehicles, has the potential to save the world from climate change. But even green solutions come at a cost. Mining lithium is environmentally destructive. We therefore confront a dilemma: Is it possible to save the world by harming it in the process?

Having spent over a decade researching mining and oil sectors in Latin America, Thea Riofrancos is a leading voice on resource extraction. In Extraction, she draws on groundbreaking fieldwork on the global race for lithium. Taking readers from the breathtaking salt flats of Chile’s Atacama Desert, to Nevada’s glorious Silver Peak Range, to the rolling hills of the Barroso Region of Portugal, she reveals the social and environmental costs of “critical minerals.” In Washington, DC, and Brussels, she tracks the escalating geopolitics of green technology supply chains. And she takes stock of new policy paradigms in the Global South, where governments seek to leverage mineral assets to jumpstart green development. In the process, Riofrancos uncovers surprising links across history, from colonial conquest to the 1970s energy crisis, to our still uncertain green future.

While unregulated mining could inflict irreversible harm, Riofrancos offers optimistic proposals to transform the governance of mining while also reducing the sheer volume of global extraction. A rigorous and hopeful call to action, Extraction shares how we can harmonize climate goals with social justice–and set the planet on a course to ecological flourishing.

Thea Riofrancos is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Providence College, a Strategic Co-Director of the Climate and Community Institute, and a fellow at the Transnational Institute. Previously, she has been an Andrew Carnegie Fellow, a Radcliffe Fellow at Harvard, and a Visiting Fellow at the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at Notre Dame, as well as holding research positions at institutions in Santiago, Chile and Quito, Ecuador. The author of Resource Radicals and coauthor of A Planet to Win, her articles have appeared in Perspectives on Politics, Cultural Studies, World Politics, and Global Environmental Politics, and her essays in the New York Times, Washington Post, Financial Times, Foreign Policy, The Guardian, n+1, and Jacobin, among other outlets.

Riofrancos will be in conversation with Dharna Noor. Noor is the fossil fuels and climate reporter at the Guardian US. Before joining the Guardian, she helped launch the Boston Globe’s climate team as a writer and producer. Previously, she was a staff writer at Earther, Gizmodo’s climate vertical, where she also co-produced a season of the podcast Drilled on the fossil fuel industry’s influence on education. Dharna began her career in media at the Real News Network, where she launched and led the climate team. Her multimedia reporting has also appeared in various publications and was also featured in the 2021 book The World We Need and the intro for the 2022 book Future on Fire. She has been interviewed on an array of shows such as PBS News Hour, Democracy Now, and NPR’s Living on Earth. She lives in Baltimore.

This event is free with first come, first serve seating.

At Politics & Prose at the Wharf, 610 Water St SW, Washington DC

Politics & Prose
District of Columbia
10/10/2025 at 07:00PM

Votes on Nominations of Harry Kumar, Joyce Meyer, and Seval Oz, and on STEM, Oceans, and Other Legislation

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, will convene a full committee executive session on Wednesday, October 8, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. ET to consider the following nominations and legislation:

Agenda:

  • Nomination of Harry Kumar, of New York, to be an Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs
  • Nomination of Joyce Meyer, of Virginia, to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs
  • Nomination of Seval Oz, of California, to be the Assistant Secretary of Transportation for Research and Technology
  • S. 1070, National STEM Week Act (Ernst)
  • S. 2126, Integrated Ocean Observation System Reauthorization Act of 2025 (Wicker)
  • S. 2245, Digital Coast Act (Baldwin)
  • S. 2357, Young Fishermen’s Development Extension Act (Sullivan)
  • S. 2563, Global Investment in American Jobs Act of 2025 (Young)
  • S. 2666, Foreign Robocall Elimination Act (Budd)
  • S. XXXX, PIPELINE Safety Act of 2025 (Cruz, Cantwell)

Kumar’s nomination hearing took place on July 9th. He is a former Trump Department of Commerce official, oil industry lobbyist, and chief lobbyist for battery-recycling startup Li-Cycle, which recently filed for bankruptcy. He is currently Senior Advisor in the Office of the Secretary at the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Oz’s nomination hearing took place on July 23rd. Oz was Head of Global Strategic Partnerships for Google [X]’s Self-Driving Car Program from 2011 to 2014, where she supported business and marketing efforts for the initiative that later became Waymo. Oz recently served on the board of directors of MicroVision Inc., an advanced driver-assistance systems software company. She is Mehmet Oz’s sister.

Meyer’s nomination hearing took place on September 17th. She served as the White House’s deputy director of legislative affairs during Trump’s first term, and was a long-time staffer of the former Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.). She would oversee the U.S. Census Bureau.

Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
253 Russell

10/08/2025 at 10:00AM

Nominations of Ho Nieh to be a Member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Douglas Troutman to be Assistant Administrator for Toxic Substances of the Environmental Protection Agency

Full committee hearing.

Nominees:

  • Ho Nieh, of Alabama, to be a Member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
  • Douglas Troutman, of Maryland, to be Assistant Administrator for Toxic Substances of the Environmental Protection Agency

Ho Nieh, an officer of Southern Nuclear, is on loan to the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations, where he is fully dedicated to supporting the Continuous Monitoring organization. He joined Southern Nuclear in September 2021 as Vice President of Regulatory Affairs. Nieh has more than 20 years of experience with the NRC, most recently serving as Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, where he was responsible for NRC reactor safety licensing and oversight programs for operating and new reactors. In addition to serving as Resident Inspector and in various roles impacting policy, operations, licensing and incident response, Nieh served as Director of Division Reactor Projects in Region 1, Director of Division Inspection and Regional Support at NRC Headquarters and as Chief of Staff for Commissioner William Ostendorff. Beyond the NRC, Nieh served the Nuclear Energy Agency as Director of the Division of Nuclear Safety Technology and Regulation, where he enhanced international cooperation for nuclear safety regulatory authorities and research institutes. He served as Communications Advisor to the International Atomic Energy Agency and worked in many capacities at Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory, including as a Civilian Instructor for the Navy’s Nuclear Power Program.

Doug Troutman is a chemical industry lobbyist, currently the Co-Interim CEO, General Counsel and Senior Vice President, Government Affairs for the American Cleaning Institute. Troutman joined ACI (then the Soap and Detergent Association) in 2007. He previously held senior positions at Underwriters Laboratories (UL), and the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA). He was on the legislative staff to U.S. Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) from 1992 to 1996.

Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
562 Dirksen

10/08/2025 at 10:00AM

Votes on Treasury Nominations of Jonathan Greenstein to be Deputy Under Secretary for International Finance, Donald Korb to be IRS Chief Counsel, and Derek Theurer to be Deputy Under Secretary for Legislative Affairs

Business meeting to consider the nominations of

  • Jonathan Greenstein, of New York, to be Deputy Under Secretary for International Finance
  • Donald Korb, of Ohio, to be Chief Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service and an Assistant General Counsel
  • Derek Theurer, of Virginia, to be a Deputy Under Secretary for Legislative Affairs, all of the Department of Treasury

Jonathan Greenstein served as Senator Bill Hagerty’s (R-Tenn.) Senior Policy Advisor. Greenstein is a graduate of Harvard Business School and Yale Law School.

Derek Theurer is a Counselor to the Secretary and advises the Secretary on domestic and international tax policy. Mr. Theurer joins the Treasury Department after four years in the House of Representatives, serving as Chief Tax Counsel at the Committee on Ways and Means and most recently as Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of the Speaker. Mr. Theurer previously served as Senior Tax Counsel in the Senate, contributing to the design and passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. His private sector tax experience includes senior roles at Exxon Mobil Corporation and the Business Roundtable. Mr. Theurer hold a BS from Utah State University, a JD from UCLA, and an LLM in Tax from New York University.

Senate Finance Committee
215 Dirksen

10/08/2025 at 10:00AM

All Hands On Deck: Building a Disaster-Resilient and Prepared City

Southwest Neighborhood Assembly in collaboration with DC Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster invite you to “All Hands on Deck: Building a Disaster-Resilient and Prepared City,” an open house on Monday, September 29, 7 pm - 9 pm.

Speakers from:

  • United Way National Capital Area
  • Department of Energy and the Environment
  • DC Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency
  • Up to 40 nonprofit disaster and environmental groups and local government agencies showcasing their work in environmental protection, disaster preparedness, and disaster response

Location:
Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater
1101 Sixth St SW, Washington, DC 20024

For more information and/or to help volunteer, contact Ben Curran (202) 294-7043 [email protected]

DC Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster
Southwest Neighborhood Assembly
District of Columbia
09/29/2025 at 07:00PM

Healthy Building Policy Summit

The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), in partnership with Georgetown University’s Global Cities Initiative, is proud to host its second annual Healthy Building Policy Summit in Washington, D.C., on September 29. This landmark, full-day event is dedicated to exploring the critical role of policy at all levels of government in transforming workplaces, buildings and cities to improve health, build resilience and foster thriving communities.

The Summit will focus on critical topics and timely issues impacting the built environment including indoor air quality, the evidence-based return on investment (ROI) of healthy buildings, as well as the influence of legislation on market transformation. Other key topics include access to healthy environments, the leadership role of cities and states, and the contribution of professional organizations and technical standards in advancing healthy building initiatives.

Join us at our annual policy summit, exploring opportunities to advance healthy buildings.

Location:
McCourt School of Public Policy
125 E Street NW Washington, DC 20001

9:00 AM - 9:45 AM

Registration + Coffee

9:45 AM - 9:55 AM

Opening Remarks

  • Jason Hartke, IWBI
  • Dr. Christopher King, Dean, School of Health, Georgetown

9:55 AM - 10:10 AM

Opening Plenary

  • Dr. Richard Carmona, 17th U.S. Surgeon General

10:10 AM - 10:55 AM

Panel: Unlocking Policy Solutions to Accelerate Healthy Indoor Air

  • Nora Wang Esram, CEO, New Building Institute
  • Sean McCrady, Vice President of Software & Advisory, UL
  • Dr. Georgia Lagoudas, Brown University School of Public
  • Jonathan Gritz, SVP of Energy Solutions, WellStat

Poor indoor air quality represents a pervasive public health crisis–one that demands urgent, coordinated global action. With Americans spending 90% of their time indoors–often breathing air more polluted than outside–the need for bold, coordinated policy has never been more urgent.

10:55 AM - 11:10 AM

Movement Break

11:15 AM - 12:05 PM

Panel: Investing in Health Pays Back: Lessons from the Field

  • Whitney Austin Gray, SVP of Research,IWBI
  • Denise Hauck, President, Department of Defense, Corvias
  • Susan Chung, Associate Director,HKS
  • Serene Almomen, Co-Founder and CEO, Attune

While the benefits of people-centric practices have long been established in public health and building science research, recent studies outline a clear connection between these investments and enhanced business performance, increased asset value and higher financial returns. Discover how research-backed strategies strengthen the business case for health investments.

12:05 PM - 12:15 PM

Georgetown’s Commitment to Health and Sustainability: A Campus Perspective

  • Rachel Kohli, Director of Campus Planning, Georgetown

12:15 PM - 1:15 PM

Networking Lunch

1:15 PM - 2:05 PM

Fireside Chat: Built for Health: The Path to Scale

  • Erin Billups, National Health Reporter, Spectrum News
  • Rachel Hodgdon, President and CEO, IWBI
  • U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko (D, NY)

From cutting-edge technology to legislative momentum, this conversation explores how buildings have become a defining opportunity to transform how we live, work and thrive.

2:05 PM - 2:50 PM

Panel: How the Private Sector is Raising the Bar on Healthy Buildings

  • Chris Pyke, GRESB
  • Tanya Eagle, Director of Sustainable Buildings, JLL
  • Wendy Feldman Block, Savills

Across industries, pioneering companies are turning buildings into engines of health, productivity and business performance. By showcasing what’s possible–and profitable–the private sector is setting a new standard. This panel dives into how policy can accelerate adoption and bring these benefits to communities everywhere.

2:50 PM - 3:10 PM

A Special Conversation with ASHRAE President William McQuade

  • Erika Heet, Editor-In-Chief, BuildingGreen
  • William McQuade, President, ASHRAE

3:10 PM - 3:40 PM

Movement Break

3:40 PM - 4:30 PM

Panel: Unleashing innovation to propel the healthy buildings movement

  • Cameron Oskvig, NAS
  • Trisha Miller, VP and Market Dev., Aeroseal

Cities and states are proving that big change starts at home. From bold building codes to public-private partnerships, local leaders are advancing health-first policies that are reshaping neighborhoods and inspiring national action. This panel highlights the power of place-based leadership to drive scalable impact.

4:30 PM - 5:20 PM

Panel: The role of states and cities in pioneering healthy building policy

  • Uwe Brandes, Georgetown
  • Kazukiyo Kumagai, California Department of Public Health
  • Elizabeth Beardsley, Senior Policy Counsel, USGBC
  • Seydina Fall, Senior Lecturer, Johns Hopkins University

Technology is reshaping the way we think about our spaces: enabling healthier, more responsive buildings at a pace once thought impossible. From real-time air quality monitoring to AI-driven design, innovation is fueling a healthier built environment.

5:20 PM - 5:30 PM

Closing Remarks

6:00 PM - 7:30 PM

Networking Reception + Tour

Hosted at the Daikin Sustainability & Innovation Center

The International WELL Building Institute
District of Columbia
09/29/2025 at 09:00AM