Water Scarcity in a Changing Climate
Full committee hearing entitled “Droughts, Dollars, and Decisions: Water Scarcity in a Changing Climate”.
Witnesses:- Tanya Trujillo, Water Policy Advisor To The Governor, And Deputy State Engineer, New Mexico
- Adel Hagekhalil, General Manager And Chief Executive Officer, The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
- Kevin Richards, Farmer And Managing Partner, RB Ag
- Dr. Michael Castellano, William T. Frankenberger Professorship In Soil Science, Iowa State University
- Dr. Roger Pielke, Jr., Professor, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Republican witness
Western Hydropower and River Management Bills
On Wednesday, May 22, 2024, at 10:15 a.m. in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries will hold a legislative hearing on the following bills:
- H.R. 7776 (Rep. Lee of NV), “Help Hoover Dam Act”, authorizes the Bureau of Reclamation to access $45 million in ratepayer funds to make upgrades to the Hoover Dam;
- H.R. 7872 (Rep. Curtis), “Colorado River Salinity Control Fix Act”, modifies the cost share of salinity control units along the Colorado River;
- H.R. 7938 (Rep. Bentz), “Klamath Basin Water Agreement Support Act of 2024”, gives the Secretary of the Interior the authority to enter into additional agreements to improve access to water resources in the Klamath River Basin; and
- H.R. 8263 (Rep. Boebert), “Rural Jobs and Hydropower Expansion Act”, clarifies that Reclamation has the sole jurisdiction over non-federal hydropower development within Reclamation projects.
- David Palumbo, Deputy Commissioner of Operations, Bureau of Reclamation [All bills]
- Tracey Liskey, President, Klamath Water Users Association, Klamath Falls, OR [H.R. 7938]
- Don Barnett, Executive Director, Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Forum, Farmington, UT [H.R. 7872]
- Craig Horrell, President, Deschutes Basin Board of Control, Redmond, OR [H.R. 8263]
- Eric Witkoski, Executive Director, Colorado River Commission of Nevada [H.R. 7776; Minority witness]
A Review of the President’s Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Request for the U.S. Department of Energy, including the National Nuclear Security Administration
Subcommittee hearing. The request is for $51.42 billion, including $25 billion for maintenance of the nuclear arsenal, $8.23 billion for cleanup of DOE environmental pollution, and $8.58 billion for the Office of Science.
Witnesses:- Jennifer Granholm, Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy
- Jill Hruby, Under Secretary, National Nuclear Security Administration
The Budget includes $8.5 billion across DOE to support researchers and entrepreneurs transforming innovations into commercial clean energy products, including in areas such as: offshore wind; industrial heat; sustainable aviation fuel; and grid infrastructure.
The Budget invests $1.6 billion to support clean energy workforce and infrastructure projects across the Nation, including: $385 million to weatherize and retrofit homes of low-income Americans; $95 million to electrify Tribal homes, provide technical assistance to advance Tribal energy projects, and transition Tribal colleges and universities to renewable energy; $113 million for the Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains to strengthen domestic clean energy supply chains, and $102 million to support utilities and State and local governments in building a grid that is more secure, reliable, resilient, and able to integrate electricity from clean energy sources.
The Office of State and Community Energy Programs includes $385 million for the Weatherization Assistance Program to weatherize low-income homes.
The Budget supports $76 million to advance technologies that can enable earlier detection of methane leaks and integrate across a network of methane monitoring sensors for more reliable measurement and mitigation and $150 million to make small quantities of high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU) available for ongoing advanced nuclear reactor demonstrations.
Federal programs for the circular economy, focusing on state and local perspectives on efforts to improve reuse and recycling
Full commmittee hearing.
Witnesses:- Elizabeth Biser, Secretary, North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality
- Susan Fife-Ferris, Director, Solid Waste Planning & Program Management, Seattle Public Utilities
- Cody Marshall, Chief System Optimization Officer, The Recycling Partnership
Markup of Water Resources Development Act and other legislation
Full committee business meeting to consider:
- S. ___, the Water Resources Development Act of 2024
- S. 4359, a bill to reauthorize the National Dam Safety Program
- S. 3564, the GSA Disposal Process Tribal Parity Act of 2024
- S. 3880, the FASTA Reform Act of 2024
- S. 4293, a bill to designate the United States courthouse annex located at 310 South Main Street in London, Kentucky, as the “Eugene E. Siler, Jr. United States Courthouse Annex”
- H.R. 4688, a bill to direct the Administrator of General Services to sell the property known as the Webster School
A Review of the President’s Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Request for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and for the National Science Foundation
Subcommittee hearing.
Chair: Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.)
Witnesses:- Bill Nelson, Administrator, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Sethuraman Panchanathan, Director, National Science Foundation
The $10.2 billion NSF budget request includes $897.18 million for the U.S. Global Change Research Program, $500.52 million for clean energy technologies, $69.50 million for greenhouse gas tracking research, $30.0 million for the National Discovery Cloud (NDC) for Climate, and $15.0 million for the the Focus On Recruiting Emerging Climate and Adaptation Scientists and Transformers (FORECAST) program.
The $25.38 billion NASA budget request proposes $2.4 billion to fund Earth science and observations that enhance our understanding of the Earth system and continues efforts to make data more accessible and useful to a wide range of stakeholders, including scientists and policymakers. This request also includes over $500 million in Aeronautics to improve aircraft efficiency and reduce the climate impact of aviation.
A Review of the President’s Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Request for the U.S. Department of State
Subcommittee hearing.
Chair: Chris Coons (D-Del.)
Witness: Antony J. Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State
The $58.8 billion budget request for the Department of State and USAID includes $99 million in cross-cutting climate change initiatives.
American Diplomacy and Global Leadership: Review of the FY25 State Department Budget Request
Full committee hearing.
Witness:- Antony J. Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State
The $58.8 billion budget request for the Department of State and USAID includes $99 million in cross-cutting climate change initiatives.
Opportunities, Risks, and Challenges Associated with Growth in Demand for Electric Power in the United States
The purpose of this hearing is to examine the opportunities, risks, and challenges associated with growth in demand for electric power in the United States.
Witnesses:- Benjamin G.S. Fowke III, Interim CEO and President, American Electric Power Company
- Karen Onaran, President and CEO, Electricity Consumers Resource Council
- Scott Gatzemeier, Corporate Vice President, Front End US Expansion, Micron Technology
- Mark Mills, Executive Director, National Center for Energy Analytics
Examining the President’s FY 2025 Budget Proposal for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Power Marketing Administrations
On Thursday, May 16, 2024, at 2:30 p.m., in Room 1334 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries will hold an oversight budget hearing titled “Examining the President’s FY 2025 Budget Proposal for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Power Marketing Administrations”.
Witnesses:- Camille Touton, Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation, Department of the Interior
- Martha Williams, Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior
- Richard Spinrad, Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere & National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Administrator, Department of Commerce
- John Hairston, Administrator and CEO, Bonneville Power Administration, Department of Energy
- Tracey LeBeau, Administrator and CEO, Western Area Power Administration, Department of Energy
- Mike Wech, Administrator, Southwestern Power Administration, Department of Energy
- Virgil Hobbs, Administrator and CEO, Southeastern Power Administration, Department of Energy