When Banks Leave: The Impacts of De-Risking on the Caribbean and Strategies for Ensuring Financial Access

The Full Committee will hold a hearing entitled, “When Banks Leave: The Impacts of DeRisking on the Caribbean and Strategies for Ensuring Financial Access.” on Wednesday, September 14, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. in room 2128 of the Rayburn House Office Building/ Cisco Webex.

Memorandum

Legislation

  • H.R. 8535, the “Shirley Chisholm Congressional Gold Medal Act” (Rep. Lee)
  • H.R. 8797, the “Caribbean Stakeholders Engagement Act” (Rep. Waters)
  • H.R. 8798, the “The INCSR Improvement Act” (Rep. Waters)
  • H.R. ___, the “AML Examiners Academy Act”

Witnesses

Panel I

  • Mia Amor Mottley, K.C., M.P., Prime Minister of Barbados; Minister of Finance, Economic Affairs and Investment; Minister of National Security and the Public Service (with responsibility for Culture and CARICOM Matters)

Panel II

  • Wendy Delmar, CEO, Caribbean Association of Banks
  • Wazim Mohamed Mowla, Assistant Director and Lead of the Caribbean Initiative, Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center, Atlantic Council
  • I. Wayne Shah, Senior Vice President, Financial Institutions – Head of Caribbean Region, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., and Executive Director, Financial & International Business Association (FIBA)
  • Amit Sharma, CEO, Founder, and Director, FinClusive
  • Liat Shetret, Director of Global Policy and Regulation, Elliptic
House Financial Services Committee
2128 Rayburn

09/14/2022 at 10:00AM

Pathways toward Grid Decarbonization

The power sector is the second-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States—accounting for a quarter of total emissions. Experts have noted that decarbonizing this sector and electrifying other sectors is crucial for achieving economy-wide emissions reductions. A new report from Resources for the Future (RFF) and the Clean Energy Buyers Institute examines five pathways toward decarbonization of the power sector. The report finds that three of them would reduce costs and inflation: a national transmission macrogrid, further competition among electricity generators, and expansion of retail supply choice among buyers. The other two are candidates for going beyond the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act: a national clean electricity standard and utility-led decarbonization.

Join us on Tuesday, September 13, for an RFF Live webinar exploring the report’s key findings and examining the likely impacts of the five pathways. A panel of experts—including lead author Daniel Shawhan and other major contributors to the report—will discuss the emissions reductions and health benefits from each pathway, the monetary benefits and costs for the power sector and energy consumers, and the effects on company purchases of green power.

Speakers

  • James Elsworth, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
  • Caroline Golin, Google
  • Michael O’Boyle, Energy Innovation
  • Daniel Shawhan, Resources for the Future
  • Bryn Baker, Clean Energy Buyers Association (Moderator)

RSVP

Resources for the Future
09/13/2022 at 02:00PM

2023-2028 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil & Gas Leasing Program Virtual Public Comment Meeting

You are invited to attend a virtual public comment meeting hosted by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) as part of the National Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed Program and Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement.

Please note that registration to provide an oral comment is strongly recommended as those who register will receive preference. Oral public comments will be limited to two-minutes.

We look forward to hearing your comments on the Proposed Program and Draft Programmatic EIS.

Additional meeting and public comment information can be found here.

To sign up for the mailing list and receive future news and updates, go to the BOEM website.

Register for the webinar and for public comment.

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
09/12/2022 at 05:00PM

Appalachian Resistance Comes to DC!

Frontline communities in Appalachia – and across the country – are being used as bargaining chips in a Manchin/Schumer side deal aimed at ramping up fossil fuel projects. This is unacceptable. But let it be known, the resistance is organized and ready to bring the fight to DC!

Join frontline leaders in a rally on Sept 8th outside the Capitol to demand that U.S. Senators and Representatives stop Manchin’s dirty deal. If you are an Appalachian impacted by the climate crisis or a member of a frontline community impacted by fossil fuels please indicate your interest to attend meetings with Congress in the RSVP form.

If passed, this would gut bedrock environmental protections, threaten tribal authority, endanger public health, fast-track fossil fuel projects, cut public input and push approval for Manchin’s pet project, the Mountain Valley Pipeline. We can’t allow communities to be sacrificed to more oil and gas drilling, pipelines, petrochemical buildout and climate disasters! Join us on Sept 8th by making our voices clear: ‘We are not your sacrifice zones! #StopMVP and Manchin’s dirty deal!’

  • note: ASL and Spanish translation will be made available, the location will be ADA accessible
  • buses are available from Durham, NC, Christiansburg, VA, Morgantown, WV, and New York City. More info here.
People vs. Fossil Fuels
Capitol
09/08/2022 at 05:00PM

Power in the Pacific: Unlocking Offshore Wind Energy for the American West

On Thursday, September 8, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. PT, at the Morro Bay Community Center, the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources will hold a field hearing in Morro Bay, Calif., titled, “Power in the Pacific: Unlocking Offshore Wind Energy for the American West.”

Presiding: The Honorable Alan Lowenthal, Chair

Following dedicated efforts of the Biden administration and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to promote offshore wind leasing off the Atlantic coast, the administration is now taking significant steps to launch the next generation of wind energy in the Pacific. With BOEM expected to announce the first offshore wind lease sale in the Pacific soon, the hearing will give stakeholders an opportunity to provide input on the lease sale and discuss emerging opportunities and challenges for the growing industry. This first lease sale will set the tone for future offshore wind development in the Pacific, making stakeholder input particularly salient.

Witnesses:

Panel I

  • Doug Boren, Pacific Regional Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, U.S. Department of the Interior
  • Ronald Tickle, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Real Property, U.S. Department of Defense

Panel II

  • Kourtney Vaccaro, Lead Commissioner for Offshore Wind, California Energy Commission
  • Dawn Ortiz-Legg, Supervisor, San Luis Obispo County
  • Violet Sage, Chairwoman, Northern Chumash Tribal Council
  • Debbie Arnold, Supervisor, San Luis Obispo County

Panel III

  • Matthew Arms, Director of Environmental Planning, Port of Long Beach
  • Josh Boswell, Vice President, Policy and Economic Development, REACH Central Coast
  • Jeremiah O’Brien, Vice President, Morro Bay Commercial Fisherman’s Organization
  • Minority Witness TBD

Panel IV

  • Adam Stern, Executive Director, Offshore Wind California
  • Mark Simonin, Business Manager, IBEW Local 639
  • Eddie Ahn, Executive Director, Brightline Defense
  • Minority Witness TBD

Following the hearing, Chair Lowenthal will be joined by Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.) and others for a tour of the Vistra Energy Corp battery project site, colloquially known as the “Stacks.” During the tour, the members will learn about shore-side energy infrastructure related to the future offshore wind development. The tour is not open to press.

Morro Bay Community Center
1001 Kennedy Way
Morro Bay, CA 93442

House Natural Resources Committee
   Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee

09/08/2022 at 01:00PM

DNC Summer Meeting

The Democratic National Committee will be holding its Summer Meeting on September 8-10 in Maryland. At the Summer Meeting, we will be discussing, among other things: the 2024 Call to Convention, the 2024 Delegate Selection Rules and amendments to the Charter & Bylaws, as well as proposed nominations for DNC members to fill current vacancies. You can find the draft Call to Convention (marked from 2020) and the 2024 Delegate Selection rules (marked from 2020) as well as proposed amendments to the Charter and Bylaws.

Resolution 15, introduced by DNC Chair Jaime Harrison, praises the Inflation Reduction Act.

Resolution 16, introduced by Nebraska chair Jane Kleeb, Nevada chair Judith Whitmer, California delegates RL Miller, David Atkins, Michael Kapp, and Sean Dugar, Maryland’s Larry Cohen, and Nadia Ahmad and Thomas Kennedy of Florida, praises the Inflation Reduction Act and opposes the pipeline permitting and fast-tracking bill supported by Sen. Joe Manchin and drafted by the American Petroleum Institute.

Democratic National Committee
Maryland
09/08/2022 at 10:00AM

Nominations of William J. Renick, Adam Wade White, and Joe H. Ritch to be Members of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority

Witnesses:

  • Willliam J. Renick, Nominee to be Member of the Board of Directors, Tennessee Valley Authority
  • Adam Wade White, Nominee to be Member of the Board of Directors, Tennessee Valley Authority
  • Joe H. Ritch, Nominee to be Member of the Board of Directors, Tennessee Valley Authority

Bill Renick is serving as the chair of the Commission on the Future of Northeast Mississippi. Until last summer, the 68-year-old Renick served as director of the workforce division for the Northeast Mississippi-based Three Rivers Planning and Development District. Renick was elected to the Ashland Board of Aldermen at age 18 and later served as mayor. He also served on the Benton County Board of Supervisors and in the state Senate. Renick was chief of staff to Lt. Gov. Eddie Briggs in the 1990s and later as chief of staff for Gov. Ronnie Musgrove. Renick also was a hospital administrator.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., recommended Kentucky’s Lyon County Judge-Executive Adam Wade White. In 2013, White helped rally support for the Freedom to Fish Act, which was renewed in 2018 and signed by both Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump. This came about as a response to learning about the proposed closing of fishing below 10 dams on the Cumberland River, which White knew would devastate the local economy. In 2018, White began what many refer to as the “War on Carp,” when he focused his efforts on removing Asian Carp that were having a negative impact on Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley, both natural resources and tourist draws.

Previously nominated by former President Barack Obama, Huntsville lawyer Joe Ritch served on the TVA board from 2013 to 2017, including a four-year tenure as board chair. He was the first Alabamian to serve as TVA board chair.

Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
406 Dirksen

09/07/2022 at 02:30PM

Buying Power: How Federal Procurement Can Drive Clean Energy Innovation

Use of federal procurement to advance national clean energy goals and accelerate innovation has had limited success in the past. The Biden administration seeks to break this pattern with an ambitious “buy clean” program. For its effort to succeed, the plan must be well-aligned with agency missions, funded adequately, and fix perverse budget and procurement rules.

Join ITIF for an expert panel discussion about a new report by ITIF board member and former DOD and GSA sustainability leader Dorothy Robyn.

Questions for the speakers? Ask on Slido.

Keynote Speaker

  • Andrew Mayock, Federal Chief Sustainability Officer, White House Council on Environmental Quality

Presenter

  • Dorothy Robyn, Senior Fellow, ITIF Center for Clean Energy Innovation and Boston University Institute for Sustainable Energy

Moderator

  • David M. Hart, Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Clean Energy Innovation

Panelists

  • Jim Connaughton, CEO, Nautilus Data Technologies, former George W. Bush CEQ chair
  • Xavier de Souza Briggs, Senior Fellow, Brookings Metro
Information Technology & Innovation Foundation
09/07/2022 at 12:00PM