Hill Heat

There will be a hearing of the Senate Committee on the Budget on Wednesday, April 26, 2023, 10:15 AM in Room SD-608 to consider: “Under the Weather: Diagnosing the Health Costs of Climate Change.”

Witnesses:

• Stephanie Smith, Esq., Member Of The House Of Delegates, District 45, Baltimore City, Maryland
• Dr. Katelyn Moretti, Assistant Professor Of Emergency Medicine, Brown Emergency Medicine
• Dr. Michael Greenstone, Milton Friedman Distinguished Service Professor In Economics & Director, Becker Friedman Institute & the Energy Policy Institute, University of Chicago
• Dr. Carl J. Schramm, University Professor, School of Information Studies, Syracuse University
• Michael Shellenberger, Founder & President, Environmental Progress (GOP witness)

Full committee hearing to review the FY2024 United States Agency for International Development Budget.

Witness:

• Samantha Power, Administrator, United States Agency for International Development

Budget request for USAID: $2.3 billion

• $1.9 billion for operating expenses, including $183 million for the Global Development Partnership Initiative
• $0.3 billion for the USAID Capital Investment Fund

Business meeting to consider

• S.1189, to establish a pilot grant program to improve recycling accessibility
• S.1194, to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to carry out certain activities to improve recycling and composting programs in the United States, and the nominations of
• David M. Uhlmann, of Michigan, to be an Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance
• Joseph Goffman, of Pennsylvania, to be an Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency for the Office of Air and Radiation

Followed by a hearing on project permitting.

Witnesses:

• Christy Goldfuss, Chief Policy Impact Officer, National Resources Defense Council
• Dana Johnson, Senior Director of Strategy and Federal Policy, WE ACT for Environmental Justice
• Christina Hayes, Executive Director, Americans for a Clean Energy Grid
• Jay Timmons, President & CEO, National Association of Manufacturers
• Marty Durbin, Senior Vice President of Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Executive session to consider the nomination of

• Julie Su, to be U.S. Secretary of Labor

Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities, Risk Management, and Credit hearing on Producer Perspectives on the 2023 Farm Bill.

This will be a two panel hearing. The second panel is expected to begin at 2:00 PM ET.

Our energy system is broken, and investor-owned monopoly utilities don’t want us to fix it. In fact, they’re entrenching our dependence on toxic and volatile fossil fuels, sending us further toward complete climate catastrophe. And communities — disproportionately those of color and lower wealth — are left to bear the costs, from skyrocketing utility prices and more frequent shutoffs to hazardous pollution and higher rates of asthma and cancer. On top of all that, intensifying climate disasters leave millions without essential utilities.

Clearly, to solve this crisis we must immediately transition to renewable energy. But that’s not enough on its own. The profit-driven utility model is incompatible with a resilient, affordable, just energy future. So activists, communities and organizations across the country are reclaiming their power — of all kinds — to move beyond that model with community-controlled renewable energy systems.

Want to help? Join our webinar.

We’ll discuss the groundbreaking work to break free from the harmful old utility model and what it will take to transition to the renewable energy future we all need and deserve.

Panelists:

• Johanna Bozuwa, executive director at Climate and Community Project
• Arturo Massol-Deyá, executive director at Casa Pueblo
• Patrick Robbins, coordinator at New York Energy Democracy Alliance
• Seth Berry, former Maine House representative

RSVP to join

On Earth Day 2023, we declare the era of fossil fuels OVER.

Humanity is at a crossroads. Now is when we decide how we want to go on as a civilization. Will we create a livable, just, equitable future for everyone? Or will we let present and future generations live with chaos and destruction? The planet’s life supporting systems are disintegrating, and our environment needs to be restored.

Our biggest challenge is ending our reliance on fossil fuels and transitioning to renewable energy. To secure a livable future, we cannot afford new fossil fuel projects. We need the U.S. government in particular to say NO to fossil fuels. Our planet is on fire, and we can’t feed this fire any longer.

We come from all different backgrounds, fighting for a huge variety of intersecting causes. From plastics and biodiversity, to housing, anti-war, immigrant rights and gender and racial equality—our crises are interconnected, and our movement is stronger together.

To make the biggest difference, we need not just individual actions, but system change like we’ve never seen before.

This April we come together, fighting for climate justice and real change from decision-makers. We are demanding the federal government and other decision-makers end the era of fossil fuels to protect people and the planet.

2023 will be the most critical year yet for action on climate. It will be one of our last chances to mitigate the interlocking crises we face. We are fighting for a systemic change—and it can begin with you. There’s no time to waste.

12 noon – Youth-led rally in Freedom Plaza

Join us at 12 noon for a youth-led (but everybody included!) rally in Freedom Plaza. This one-hour rally will feature voices of young people from around DC and across the country, front line leaders fighting the worst impacts of climate change, and music from the Too Much Talent Band.

1pm – March to the White House

At 1pm we’re taking to the streets and marching to the White House to demand that President Biden take bold action to follow through with his promises to End the Era of Fossil Fuels! The full march is about 1 mile and we will be stopping to make some noise and hold a brief program on Pennsylvania Ave. in front of the White House

3pm – Earth Day Organizing Fair

This year’s Earth Day mobilization will be a powerful moment, we know that this is only the beginning. Join us for an organizing fair in Freedom Plaza, from 3-5pm on April 22nd to get connected and make plans to continue the work going forward. Organizational partners are making plans to hold climate cafe’s, participatory art projects, teach-ins, dance parties and other activities.

RSVP

During Earth Week and on the four-year anniversary of the Green New Deal Resolution, Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) will reintroduce the resolution at a press conference at the Senate Swamp on THURSDAY, April 20th at 12:00 PM. Senator Markey will also join Representative Ro Khanna (CA-17) to announce new legislation focused on tackling the intersecting climate and public health crises.

The lawmakers will be joined by Green New Deal members of Congress and labor, health, climate, and justice advocates to celebrate the intersectional coalition’s achievement in getting the Inflation Reduction Act passed—the federal government’s largest-ever investment in climate and clean energy—while outlining the fight ahead to deliver a just, Green New Deal future that upholds the promise of the resolution and the movement that it inspired.

Participants:

• Senator Edward J. Markey
• Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
• Representative Ro Khanna
• Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07)
• Representative Greg Casar (TX-35)
• Representative Jamaal Bowman (NY-16)
• Representative Maxwell Frost (FL-10)
• Representative Delia Ramirez (IL-03)
• Representative Robert Garcia (CA-42)
• Representative Becca Balint (VT)
• Kaniela Ing, National Director of the Green New Deal Network
• Sara Nelson, President of Association of Flight Attendants-CWA
• Dr. Colleen Achong, SEIU Healthcare, Committee of Interns and Residents
• Jacqui Patterson, Executive Director of the Chisholm Legacy Project and Climate Justice Alliance member

WHEN: THURSDAY, April 20th at 12:00 PM

WHERE: Senate Swamp, U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C.

The purpose of this hearing is to examine the President’s budget request for the U.S. Department of Energy for Fiscal Year 2024.

2024 Department of Energy Budget Justification: $52 billion ($32.5 military)

Hearing to examine the Farm Bill, focusing on making conservation programs work for farmers and ranchers.

Witnesses:

• Joseluis Ortiz y Muniz, Vice President, La Merced de San Antonio del Embudo Land Grant, Mayordomo, Acequia del Llano del Embudo, Dixon, NM
• Jeff Rutledge, Partner, Rutledge Farms, Newport, AR
• Dr. Sara Porterfield, Western Water Policy Advisor, Government Affairs, Trout Unlimited