Hill Heat

On Wednesday, April 26, 2023, at 2:00 p.m., in Room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources will hold an oversight hearing titled “Examining the President’s FY 2024 Budget Request for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, and the U.S. Geological Survey.”

Hearing memo

Witnesses and Testimony

• Liz Klein, Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
• Paul Huang, Deputy Director, Bureau of Safety and Environment
• Dr. David Applegate, Director, U.S. Geological Survey

The 2024 budget for the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement includes $217.1 million for conventional energy programs to support OCS permit application reviews, regulation and standard development for offshore activities, verification and enforcement of operator compliance with all applicable environmental laws and regulations, technical reviews of planned operations and emerging technologies to properly identify and mitigate risks, a robust inspection program employing an annual inspection strategy that includes risk-based inspections, and incident investigations. BSEE’s budget also includes $30.0 million to fund the decommissioning of orphaned offshore oil and gas infrastructure. The 2024 BSEE budget includes $1.5 million to prepare for regulating and overseeing safe and effective offshore carbon sequestration activities.

The budget for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management provides $72.3 million for conventional energy programs to support OCS planning, leasing, and oversight. The 2024 BOEM budget also includes $6.6 million in Conventional Energy and $2.3 million in Environmental Programs to establish a dedicated team, train existing staff, hire additional specialized experts, and fund environmental studies, scientific research, data collection, and other activities critical to the establishment and implementation of the new program.

The FY2024 budget request for the U.S. Geological Survey is $1.8 billion, including $395 million for ecosystems, $369 million for core science services, $313 million for water resources, $226 million for natural hazards, $151 million for energy and mineral resources, and $134 million for science support. Top priorities include wildfire and drought tools and an investment in the future of the Landsat program.

Critical Materials Subcommittee Chair Bill Johnson (R-Ohio) will hold a hearing in 2322 Rayburn House Office Building entitled, “Exposing the Environmental, Human Rights, and National Security Risks of the Biden Administration’s Rush to Green Policies.”

Hearing memo

Witnesses:

• Mark Mills, Senior Fellow, Manhattan Institute
• Ashley Nunes, Director of Federal Policy, Climate, and Energy, Breakthrough Institute
• Daniel Simmons, Principal, Simmons Energy and Environmental Strategies
• Trevor Higgins, Senior Vice President, Energy and Environment, Center for American Progress

Full committee markup of:

• H.R. 1690, To authorize Secretary of State to negotiate regional immigration agreements, and for other purposes.
• H.R. 589, To impose sanctions on the Supreme Leader of Iran and the President of Iran and their respective offices for human rights abuses and support for terrorism.
• H.Res. 300, Requesting the President and directing the Secretary of Defense to transmit, respectively, to the House of Representatives copies of all documents indicating any plans for current or future military assistance to Ukraine and documents indicating whether any United States Armed Forces, including special operations forces, are currently deployed in Ukraine; and
• H.R. 2789, To direct the Secretary of State to develop a strategy on efforts to strengthen subnational cooperation between the United States and Mexico, and for other purposes.

On Wednesday, April 26, 2023, at 10:15 a.m., in Room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Federal Lands will hold an oversight hearing titled “Examining the President’s FY 2024 Budget Request for the U.S. Forest Service.”

Hearing memo

Witness:

• Chief Randy Moore, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture

US Forest Service Congressional Budget Justification: $9.7 billion. The 2024 Budget dedicates $323 million toward management for “hazardous fuels reduction”, an increase of $116 million from the 2023 enacted level. The 2024 Budget request for workforce salaries and expenses is $1.42 billion, a $509 million increase above the 2023 enacted level to fund the costs of pay reforms for Federal wildland firefighters and increase Federal firefighting capacity.

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.

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