Business
meeting,
following the caucus lunches, to consider the nominations of
Career diplomat Stephanie Sanders Sullivan, of Maryland, to be
Representative to the African Union, with the rank and status of
Ambassador
Career diplomat Michael Alan Ratney, of Massachusetts, to be
Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Geeta Rao Gupta, of Virginia, to be Ambassador at Large for Global
Women’s Issues
Former Los Angeles mayor Eric M. Garcetti, of California, to be
Ambassador to the Republic of India
Former ambassador to India and current Mastercard lawyer Richard R.
Verma, of Maryland, to be Deputy Secretary for Management and
Resources, Department of State
Cuban-American technologist, political operative, and venture
capitalist L. Felice Gorordo, of Florida, to be Alternate Executive
Director of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
ExxonMobil lawyer Richard L.A. Weiner, of the District of Columbia, to
be Director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Venezuelan-American politician and law professor Leopoldo Martinez
Nucete, of Virginia, to be Executive Director of the Inter-American
Development Bank
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) has placed
holds
on most of the nominees.
On Tuesday, February 28, 2023, at 2:00 p.m., in Room 1324 Longworth
House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources will hold a
legislative
hearing
on H.R.
___
(Graves of Louisiana), “Building United States Infrastructure through
Limited Delays and Efficient Reviews Act of 2023”.
On Tuesday, February 28, at 1:00 p.m. (or 30 minutes after the
Subcommittee on Energy, Climate, and Grid Security markup concludes),
the Subcommittee on Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials
will meet in open markup
session
in 2123 Rayburn House Office Building to consider the following.
Legislation to be considered includes:
H.R.
1070,
a bill to amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA) to treat the owner
or operator of a critical energy resource facility as having been
issued an interim permit for the treatment, storage, and disposal, of
hazardous waste, and for other purposes. This legislation, which was
included in Title VI of H.R. 8981 of the 117th Congress, is patterned
after a previous SWDA practice. It would
address delays for SWDA-regulated waste
permitting that is a condition of operation, but only for facilities
that deal with critical energy resources. Specifically, the permitting
involved would relate to on-site storage of more than 90 days, onsite
waste treatment, or on-site waste disposal. The legislation would
provide a facility, that files a Part A permit application, “interim
status” until EPA or the State requires the
facility to submit its Part B permit application for a long-term
permit. (Rep. Carter introduced this legislation.)
H.R.
1131,
a bill to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency to authorize the use of flexible air permitting with respect to
certain critical energy resource facilities, and for other purposes.
This legislation would authorize EPA to
issue flexible air permits and facilitate flexible, market-responsive
operations for critical energy resource facilities. Flexible air
permitting is a procedure that has been promoted by
EPA to allow industrial facilities to obtain
advance approval for changes to an emissions source without requiring
the change to be reviewed and approved individually. Flexible air
permitting ensures equal or greater environmental protection than
conventional air permits. (Rep. Joyce introduced this legislation.)
H.R.
1140,
a bill to authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency to waive application of certain requirements with respect to
processing and refining of a critical energy resource at a critical
energy resource facility, and for other purposes. This legislation
would authorize the EPA Administrator, under
certain conditions, to waive temporarily any Clean Air Act (CAA) or
Solid Waste Disposal Act requirement the Administrator determines is
necessary to allow for the processing or refining of a critical energy
resource to meet national security or energy security needs and to
serve the public interest. The introduced bill includes new language
that establishes requirements, timeframes, and a public interest
protection by which the Administrator must act to avoid or minimize
any adverse environmental impacts of a temporary waiver. (Rep. Pence
introduced this legislation.)
H.R.
1158,
the Elimination of Future Technology Delays Act. This legislation
would address repeated, documented delays with
EPA reviewing and making legally mandated,
timely determinations of pre-manufacturing notices for new critical
energy resources and new uses of existing critical energy resources.
The legislation would prevent EPA from
withholding judgment on a notice and preventing commercialization –
without justification – of a substance beyond the Toxic Substances
Control Act’s (TSCA’s) statutory deadlines. This legislation would
also prevent EPA from proactively
encouraging manufacturers to exercise their right to suspend or end
the legal clock on EPA action if
EPA has not made an initial review of the
new critical energy resource and communicated the noted risks to the
applicant. Finally, this legislation would require
EPA to consider economic, societal, and
environmental costs and benefits when determining whether an
“unreasonable risk” exists from the manufacturing, processing,
commercial transportation, use or disposal of the critical energy
resource. (Rep. Curtis introduced this legislation.)
H.R.
1141,
Natural Gas Tax Repeal Act. This legislation would repeal the natural
gas tax contained in Sec. 136 of the CAA.
The natural gas tax was established through amendments to the
CAA contained in the Inflation Reduction Act
(IRA), which was signed into law on August 16, 2022. Sec. 136 of the
CAA authorizes the
EPA to impose or collect a “charge on
methane emissions,” also referred to as a tax on natural gas. H.R.
1141 also would rescind the unobligated balance of any amounts made
available under Sec. 136. The IRA authorized
and appropriated over $1.5 billion under Sec. 136 of the
CAA. (Rep. Pfluger introduced this
legislation.)
H.R.
1023,
a bill to repeal section 134 of the Clean Air Act, relating to the
greenhouse gas reduction fund. This legislation would repeal the
program established under section 134 of the
CAA and would rescind any unobligated
balance of any funds made available under this section. Section 60103
of P.L. 117-169, the IRA, added this new
section to the CAA to establish a Greenhouse
Gas Reduction Fund and appropriated $27 billion for
EPA to award grants under the program until
September 2024. (Rep. Palmer introduced this legislation.)
H.R.
1155,
Keeping America’s Refineries Act. This legislation responds to a
regulatory proposal in the Biden administration’s Risk Management Rule
(RMP) expansion (proposed on August 18, 2022). The regulatory proposal
would make petroleum refineries using hydrofluoric acid alkylation
units conduct technology and alternatives analyses of their existing
plant’s chemical usage and manufacturing practices to identify changes
that could be made. This bill would prevent this operations assessment
requirement from applying to refineries with active construction or
operating permits. A new refinery or refinery without its permits
could choose to follow the RMP assessment
requirement (if finalized) or demonstrate it conforms or will conform
to American Petroleum Institute Recommended Practice 751. Of note,
section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer Act of 1995,
requires the Federal government to defer to industry consensus
standards when those standards intersect with agency goals. (Rep.
Crenshaw introduced this legislation.)
House Energy and Commerce Committee
Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials Subcommittee
On Tuesday, February 28, 2023, at 10:15 a.m., in Room 1324 Longworth
House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee
on Energy and Mineral Resources will hold a legislative
hearing
on the following bills:
H.R.
___
(Westerman), “‘Transparency and Production of American Energy Act of
2023”
H.R.
209
(Stauber), “Permitting for Mining Needs Act of 2023”
On Tuesday, February 28, 2023, the Science, Space, and Technology
Committee will hold a
hearing
to examine the current state of the United States’ science and
technology enterprise and how it is impacting our global leadership, as
well as threats to that leadership from the Chinese Communist Party
(CCP). This hearing will examine the CCP’s
attempts to surpass U.S. scientific leadership and the economic and
national security implications that it has for America. It will also
serve as an opportunity to discuss and identify key objectives for a
U.S. National Science and Technology Strategy and quadrennial review to
ensure the United States’ continued growth and competitiveness.
Witnesses:
Dr. Kelvin Droegemeier, Regents’ Professor of Meteorology and
Weathernews, Chair Emeritus Roger and Sherry Teigen Presidential
Professor, University of Oklahoma and Former Director, White House
Office of Science and Technology Policy
Deborah Wince-Smith, President and CEO,
Council on Competitiveness
Dr. Kim Budil, Director, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Klon Kitchen, Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
What is the current state of U.S. leadership in science and technology
(S&T), and what is the outlook for continued leadership, particularly
in areas of S&T that will help drive economic competitiveness and
national security in the coming decade? Why is it important for the
U.S. to maintain leading capabilities in both fundamental research and
technology development, and what are the consequences of loss of
leadership, especially to China?
What makes the U.S. S&T ecosystem of government, academia and industry
unique in the world, and how can we continue to use that system to our
competitive advantage?
What are the benefits to having a National Science and Technology
Strategy? What are the key characteristics of a National Science and
Technology Strategy that will ensure it is adopted and utilized by the
U.S. S&T ecosystem and leads to the public and private sectors working
together to ensure America’s S&T dominance?
On Tuesday, February 28, 2023. at 10:00 a.m., the Subcommittee on
Energy, Climate, and Grid Security will meet in open markup
session
in 2123 Rayburn House Office Building to consider the following.
Legislation to be considered includes:
H.R.
1068,
Securing America’s Critical Minerals Supply Act. This legislation
would amend the Department of Energy (DOE) Organization Act to require
the Secretary of Energy to conduct an ongoing assessment of the
nation’s supply of critical energy resources, the vulnerability of the
critical energy resource supply chain, and the criticality of critical
energy resources in the development of energy technologies. It would
also direct the Secretary to strengthen critical energy resource
supply chains by diversifying sourcing and increasing domestic
production, refining, and processing of resources. Under this
legislation, the term “critical energy resource” means any energy
resource that is essential to the energy sector and energy systems of
the United States and the supply chain of which is vulnerable to
disruption. (Rep. Bucshon introduced this legislation.)
H.R.
1121,
Protecting American Energy Production Act. This legislation would
prohibit a moratorium on the use of hydraulic fracturing unless such
moratorium is authorized by an Act of Congress. The legislation also
establishes the sense of Congress that States should maintain primacy
for the regulation of hydraulic fracturing for oil and natural gas
production on state and private lands. (Rep. Duncan introduced this
legislation.)
H.R.
1085,
Researching Efficient Federal Improvements for Necessary Energy
Refining (REFINER) Act. This legislation would require the Secretary
of Energy to direct the National Petroleum Council to issue a report
examining the importance of petrochemical refineries to energy
security. The report must also contain an analysis of the capacity of
such refineries and opportunities to expand capacity, as well as
analyze risks to refineries. (Rep. Latta introduced this legislation.)
H.R.
1058,
Promoting Cross-border Energy Infrastructure Act. This legislation
would establish a more uniform, transparent, and modern process to
authorize the construction, connection, operation, and maintenance of
international border-crossing facilities for the import and export of
oil and natural gas and the transmission of electricity. The
legislation would replace the existing Presidential Permit process
that has been established through Executive Order with a statutorily
directed process. Under the legislation, the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission (FERC) would be authorized to review applications for
cross-border oil and natural gas pipelines, and
DOE would be authorized to review
applications for cross-border electric transmission facilities.
Substantially similar legislation passed the House in the 115th
Congress with a bipartisan vote. (Rep. Armstrong introduced this
legislation.)
H. Con. Res.
14,
a resolution expressing disapproval of the revocation by President
Biden of the Presidential permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. (Rep.
Lesko introduced this legislation.)
H. Con. Res.
17,
a resolution expressing the sense of Congress that the Federal
Government should not impose any restrictions on the export of crude
oil or other petroleum products. (Rep. Guthrie introduced this
legislation.)
H.R.
1130,
Unlocking Our Domestic LNG Potential Act.
This legislation would amend the Natural Gas Act (NGA) to repeal all
restrictions on the import and export of natural gas. Under current
law, the NGA prohibits the import or export
of natural gas, including liquefied natural gas (LNG), without
completing a lengthy approval process conducted by
DOE. The legislation would align the
NGA with the existing national policy on the
import and export of other fossil fuels, including crude oil and
petroleum products. (Rep. Johnson introduced this legislation.)
H.R.
1115,
Promoting Interagency Coordination for Review of Natural Gas Pipelines
Act. This legislation would improve coordination among Federal and
State agencies reviewing applications for the construction of
interstate natural gas pipelines. The legislation would strengthen
FERC’s lead agency role under the
NGA by requiring schedules, concurrent
reviews, and provisions to resolve disputes among permitting agencies.
Substantially similar legislation passed the House in the 115th
Congress with a bipartisan vote. (Rep. Burgess introduced this
legislation.)
H.R.
1160,
Critical Electric Infrastructure Cybersecurity Incident Reporting Act.
This legislation would amend the Federal Power Act (FPA) to authorize
DOE to promulgate regulations to require
critical electric infrastructure owners and operators to share
information regarding cybersecurity incidents with
DOE. The provisions within the
FPA that would be amended by this
legislation originated from authority DOE
was granted in the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST
Act) that was signed into law in 2015. The
FAST Act designated
DOE as the “Sector-specific agency” for
energy sector cybersecurity, granted DOE
authority to address grid security emergencies, and granted
FERC, in consultation with
DOE, authority to protect, share, and
designate critical electric infrastructure information. (Rep. Walberg
introduced this legislation.)
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO)
announced that the full Committee will hold a
markup
at 10:00 a.m. EST on Tuesday, February 28,
2023, in 2167 Rayburn House Office Building. The Committee will consider
a joint resolution to overturn the Biden Administration’s new waters of
the United States (WOTUS) rule, a bill to promote the development of
energy infrastructure and ensure water quality under Clean Water Act
Section 401, and several public buildings and General Services
Administration (GSA) resolutions. The Committee will also consider its
budget views and estimates and its authorization and oversight plan.
The Committee is scheduled to consider the following:
H. Res.
152,
Supporting the goals and ideals of “move over” laws
H. Con. Res.
15,
Authorizing the use of the Capitol Grounds for the National Peace
Officers Memorial Service and the National Honor Guard and Pipe Band
Exhibition
H.R.
783,
To designate the Department of Energy Integrated Engineering Research
Center Federal Building located at the Fermi National Accelerator
Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois, as the “Helen Edwards Engineering
Research Center”
H.J. Res.
27,
Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5,
United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of the
Army, Corps of Engineers, Department of Defense and the Environmental
Protection Agency relating to “Revised Definition of ‘Waters of the
United States’”. Support from industry
lobbyists
H.R.
1152,
Water Quality Certification and Energy Projects Improvement Act
of 2023. Press
release