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
The purpose of this
hearing
is to examine the impact of the Russian Federation’s war in Ukraine on
European and global energy security one year after the invasion.
Witnesses:
Dr. Andrew E. Light, Assistant Secretary, Office of International
Affairs, U.S. Department of Energy
Ditte Juul Jørgensen, Director-General, Directorate-General for
Energy, European Commission
Dr. Anna Mikulska, Fellow in Energy Studies, Baker Institute for
Public Policy, Rice University
What does the future of electricity look like in the wake of major
climate policy packages including the Inflation Reduction Act and the
Infrastructure, Investment, and Jobs Act? EPRI
and Resources for the Future (RFF) will explore recent
findings
and the latest power sector modeling.
Join us on Wednesday, February 15 for this
RFF Live virtual
event
featuring opening remarks by EPA Principal
Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Air and Radiation, Joseph
Goffman, followed by a panel of energy sector modelers from
RFF, EPRI, EPA, and
the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Panelists will present recent
findings on how the electricity sector is expected to transform in the
coming decades as a result of the IRA,
illuminating a new baseline for the sector.