On Tuesday, May 16, 2023, at 2:00 p.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 Challenges Facing Forest Management, Wildfire
Suppression, and Wildland Firefighters Ahead of the 2023 Wildfire Year.”
A
hearing
to examine the nominations of the following ambassadorial nominees.
Nominees:
Ana A. Escrogima, of New York, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign
Service, Class of Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Sultanate of
Oman
Lisa A. Johnson, of Virginia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign
Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary
and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Lebanese
Republic
Ervin Jose Massinga, of Washington, a Career Member of the Senior
Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to
the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Bryan David Hunt, of Virginia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign
Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary
and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of
Sierra Leone
William W. Popp, of Missouri, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign
Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary
and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of
Uganda
On Tuesday, May 16, 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 an oversight
hearing
titled “Examining the President’s FY 2024
Budget for the Bureau of Land Management and the Office of Surface
Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement.”
Witnesses:
Tracy Stone-Manning, Director, Bureau of Land Management
Glenda Owens, Deputy Director, Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation
and Enforcement, Washington, DC
The fiscal year (FY) 2024 President’s Budget requested $1.7 billion for
the BLM to promote its multiple use and
sustained yield mandate. The proposed budget is an increase of $140.5
million above FY 2023 enacted funding. The
budget requests $304 million for the Land Resources account, which
provides for integrated management of public land resources, including
forestry, range, and cultural resources, as well as wild horses and
burro management. The budget requests $230 million for Energy and
Minerals Management ($4 million less than FY
2023 enacted funding) which provides for oil and gas management
and inspection activities, coal management, other mineral resource
management and renewable energy.
The BLM’s budget request includes $72.5
million for the Renewable Energy Management program and an increase of
almost $32 million from FY 2023 enacted.
According to the BLM’s budget justification,
the increase will support siting, leasing, processing rights-ofway
applications, and oversight of renewable energy projects and
transmission lines connecting to renewable energy projects. The money
would also be used to hire 81 full time employees in
BLM headquarters, state and field offices, and
the Renewable Energy Coordination Offices.
The DOI budget requests $1.93 billion for the
Wildland Fire Management Program, a 9.5 percent increase compared to
FY 2023 enacted levels of $1.86 billion. The
majority of this funding is for Preparedness and Suppression Operations
(including the Wildfire Suppression Operations Reserve Fund), which
totals $1.33 billion. Of this, $72 million is identified for a
legislative proposal to provide a permanent increase in pay for wildland
firefighters.
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA)
and Energy, Climate, & Grid Security Subcommittee Chair Jeff Duncan
(R-SC) announced a subcommittee
markup
of 3 bills.
H.R.
1042,
The Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act
“America produces some of the cleanest, most affordable, and most
efficient energy in the world. We’ve led the world in emissions
reductions while upholding some of the highest labor and environmental
standards. This Committee is at the forefront of improving people’s
lives by unleashing American energy and improving our energy security.
We look forward to considering several bills that build on these efforts
by preserving people’s access to natural gas stoves, strengthening
American leadership in clean nuclear energy, and protecting our electric
grid from cyber threats.”
Rep. McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) introduced H.R. 1042 on February 14, 2023.
This legislation would amend the relevant sections of the
USEC Privatization Act to prohibit the
importation of unirradiated, low-enriched uranium that is produced in
the Russian Federation. It would provide waiver authority until January
2028 to the Secretary of Energy to authorize the importation of such
uranium, subject to certain limits, if no alternative, viable source of
lowenriched uranium is available to sustain U.S. nuclear reactor or U.S.
nuclear company operations or is determined to be in the national
interest. This prohibition would not apply to imports of non-uranium
isotopes or certain imports for national security or nonproliferation
purposes. The legislation also would authorize the Department of Energy
(DOE) to use funds available in the Department’s nuclear credit program,
up to no more than $1.5 billion, for its American Assured Fuel Supply,
to address potential low-enriched uranium supply disruptions.
Rep. Lesko (R-AZ) introduced H.R. 1640 on March 17, 2023. This
legislation would amend Section 325(h) of the Energy Policy and
Conservation Act so that an energy conservation standard under this
section for kitchen ranges or ovens cannot be “economically justified”
if it likely will result in the unavailability in the United States of a
type (or class) of product based on what type of fuel the product
consumes. H.R. 1640 also would prohibit the Secretary of Energy from
finalizing, implementing, or enforcing the proposed energy conservation
standard for consumer conventional cooking products, or any
substantially similar rule.
Reps. Walberg (R-MI) and Blunt-Rochester (D-DE) introduced H.R. 3277 on
May 11, 2023. H.R. 3277, the “Energy Emergency Leadership Act”, would
amend the Department of Energy Organization Act to include energy
emergency and energy security among the functions that the Secretary of
Energy shall assign to an Assistant Secretary. The legislation would
provide that the functions to be assigned to an Assistant Secretary
include responsibilities with respect to infrastructure, cybersecurity,
emerging threats, supply and emergency planning, coordination, response,
and restoration. It would also provide that these functions include the
provision of technical assistance, support, and response capabilities
with respect to energy sector threats, risks, and incidents to State,
local, and Tribal governments, and the energy sector. Finally, H.R. 3277
would require the Secretary of Energy to ensure that the departmental
functions added by this legislation are performed in coordination with
relevant Federal agencies.
U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chair of the Senate Committee on
Commerce, Science and Transportation, will convene a full committee
hearing
titled “Examining NASA’s
FY24 Budget and Priorities” at 10:00 a.m. ET
on Tuesday, May 16, 2023.
Witness:
Bill Nelson, Administrator, National Aeronautics and Space
Administration
Following the successful 2022 Artemis I and Double Asteroid Redirect
Test missions, and looking ahead to the 2023 flying of X-59 Quiet
Supersonic Transport, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA) remains the world’s preeminent aeronautical and space research
agency. This oversight hearing will examine the activities and funding
levels required to maintain U.S. leadership in these science and
technology areas. Topics such as achieving Artemis mission goals with
commercial and international partners, future of the International Space
Station, Earth observation data sharing, workforce development and
meeting the requirements of the CHIPS and
Science Act of 2022 will be considered. The hearing will also inform
committee efforts to develop a multi-year NASA
authorization that will help ensure NASA’s
continued success.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration
FY2024 budget request is $27.2
billion,
including $2.5 billion for earth science.
Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
Chairs Rodgers and Duncan released the following
statement:
“The Department of Energy (DOE) has long served America’s critical
national and energy security interests. It maintains the nation’s
nuclear stockpile, advances world class national security and
engineering goals through the national laboratories, and nurtures the
supply of American energy. The Democrats’ reckless spending spree has
allocated billions of taxpayer dollars for DOE
to implement President Biden’s rush-to-green agenda, which is forcing
higher energy costs on Americans, making the U.S. more reliant on China,
and distracting from the agency’s congressionally-mandated mission of
advancing our nation’s energy security and leadership. Secretary
Granholm, who has been at the helm of implementing this radical agenda,
needs to answer to Americans whose lives have been made worse while
she’s praising China—a country with some of the worst environmental and
labor standards in the world. We’ll demand answers from her on how we
can reverse this damage and flip the switch on domestic production of
cleaner oil, natural gas, nuclear, hydropower, and other sources, which
is the best way to bring down costs and reduce emissions.”
The purpose of the
hearing
is to review the effectiveness and priorities of the United States Fire
Administration and the Assistance to Firefighters (FIRE) and Staffing
for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant programs. The
hearing will help inform legislation to address current program
authorizations that expire on September 30, 2023.
Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell, U.S. Fire Administrator, U.S. Fire
Administration
Chief Donna Black, President, International Association of Fire Chiefs
Kevin B. O’Connor, Assistant to the General President, International
Association of Fire Fighters
David Bullard, Volunteer Firefighter and Past President, Georgia State
Firefighters Association
Kevin Reardon, State Fire Marshall, State of Ohio
Overarching Questions
What are the priority needs for the fire safety of the nation?
What emerging fire safety issues should Congress be aware of and is
the Fire Administration taking steps to address them?
What is the proper role of the federal government, working with state
and local governments, in addressing fire safety?
How effective and efficient are the merit-reviewed
FIRE and SAFER
grant programs?
How can the USFA and the fire grants
programs be improved?
How can the USFA facilitate information and
data sharing regarding best practices and fire incidents?
The United States Fire Administration (USFA) is an entity within the
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) of the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS). Its mission is to provide leadership, coordination, and
support for the nation’s fire prevention and control, fire training and
education, and emergency medical services activities, and to prepare
first responders to react to all hazard and terrorism emergencies.
USFA is located on the grounds of the National
Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, MD.
The genesis of USFA and
FEMA’s fire prevention and control activities
(and the House Science Committee’s jurisdiction) was a 1973 report of
the National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control, entitled America
Burning. The commission recommended the creation of a federal fire
agency to provide support to state and local governments and private
fire organizations in their efforts to reduce fire deaths, injuries, and
property loss. In legislation developed by the Science Committee,
Congress placed the agency in the Department of Commerce and with the
passage of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (P.L.
93-498), the National Fire Prevention and Control Administration (NFPCA)
was established. In 1978, Congress changed the name of
NFPCA to USFA (P.L.
95-422), and in 1979, President Carter’s Reorganization Plan placed the
USFA within the newly created
FEMA.