Hill Heat

The House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis will hold a hybrid hearing titled “Turning the Tide for Ocean Climate Action: Unleashing the Climate Benefits of Our Blue Planet” on Thursday, June 9, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. ET. The hearing will take place in Room 210 Cannon House Office Building and via Zoom video conferencing.

This hearing will examine the role the ocean plays in the climate crisis and the need to develop and invest in ocean-based climate solutions, both at home and abroad, to build resilient ecosystems and communities.

Witnesses:

• Dr. Richard W. Spinrad, Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Administrator, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Since June 2021, Dr. Spinrad has been responsible for the strategic direction and oversight of NOAA, including its mission to understand and predict changes in climate, weather, ocean, and coasts, as well as helping conserve and manage coastal and marine ecosystems and resources. He previously served as NOAA’s Chief Scientist under President Obama and led NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and National Ocean Service.
• Monica Medina, Assistant Secretary for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, U.S. Department of State. Medina and her team provide leadership to conserve and protect the global environment and ocean. Prior to this role, Assistant Secretary Medina was an adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service; a former Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere; General Counsel of NOAA; and a Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense.

Hearing page

Placeholder text with proposed budget:

• H.R. 7900

The $773 billion budget request includes $56.5 billion for air power platforms and systems; more than $40.8 billion for sea power, to include nine more battle force ships, and nearly $12.6 billion to modernize Army and Marine Corps fighting vehicles; more than $130.1 billion for research and development; and more than $3 billion to address the effects of climate change, bolstering our installation resiliency and adaptation to climate challenges.

The FY 2023 DoD Budget request of $773.0 billion is a $30.7 billion, or 4.1% increase, from the FY 2022 enacted amount.

Hearing page

Opening statement by John Garamendi

Continuing the work we began in previous years, the Readiness mark addresses vulnerabilities in installation resiliency and energy resiliency, both in response to climate change and in ensuring that our forces can accomplish their missions even in the event of power disruption, either natural or man-made.

Committee mark

The committee commends the Department of Defense for pursuing policies to increase energy resilience, and to reduce the carbon emissions of installation and operational energy to reduce climate risks. However, the committee is concerned that the Department may not be fully considering all carbon-free energy technologies, nor is it fully assessing the ability of carbon-free emitting energy technologies to meet the reliability, resilience, and performance requirements for installations and operations, especially for action strategies that do not maximize the achievement of both mission objectives and climate goals.

Accordingly, the committee directs the Secretary of Defense to submit a report to the House Committee on Armed Services not later than June 1, 2023. The report shall include at a minimum the following:

(1) an evaluation of the reliability, resilience, and performance characteristics of all existing and emerging carbon-free energy technologies, including grid-scale and micro-advanced nuclear energy;

(2) assesses whether carbon-free energy technologies are currently capable, if deployed, of meeting the reliability, resilience, and performance requirements for all agency energy uses at domestic installations for critical missions; and

(3) an assessment of emerging carbon-free energy technologies in research and development that could enhance energy resilience at domestic installations.

The committee commends the military departments on the use of energy savings performance contracts to improve energy resilience, decrease energy costs, and increase readiness at military installations. The committee notes that installation commanders and base personnel identify energy saving initiatives on their energy conservation measures list and that these projects could in turn become part of an energy savings performance contract. The committee is concerned that without a mechanism for sharing the contents of the energy conservation measures list with energy service companies, the Department of Defense is not able to utilize energy savings performance contracts to the fullest extent possible.

Therefore, the committee directs the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment to initiate a study and submit a report to the House Committee on Armed Services by January 1, 2023, on potential methods of securely sharing installation energy conservation measures requirements lists with existing Department energy services companies.

The Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs will meet in Executive Session to vote on the following nominations:

• Michael S. Barr, of Michigan, to be a Member and Vice Chairman for Supervision of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
• Jaime E. Lizárraga, of Virginia, to be a Member of the Securities and Exchange Commission
• Mark Toshiro Uyeda, of California, to be a Member of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Hearing page

Witness:

• Michele J. Sison, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of International Organization Affairs, U.S. Department of State

The President’s Fiscal Year 2023 Budget Request includes $60.4 billion for the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), $1.9 billion or 3 percent above the Fiscal Year 2022 Request, and $7.4 billion or 14 percent above FY 2021 enacted levels.

The Request has $2.3 billion to support U.S. leadership in addressing the existential climate crisis through diplomacy; scaled-up international climate programs that accelerate the global energy transition to net zero by 2050; support to developing countries to enhance climate resilience; and the prioritization of climate adaptation and sustainability principles in Department and USAID domestic and overseas facilities. This total includes over $1.6 billion for direct programming for climate mitigation and adaptation and over $650 million for the mainstreaming of climate considerations across development programs.

Hearing page

Placeholder text with proposed budget:

• H.R. 7900

The Department of Defense $773 billion budget request includes $56.5 billion for air power platforms and systems; more than $40.8 billion for sea power, to include nine more battle force ships, and nearly $12.6 billion to modernize Army and Marine Corps fighting vehicles; more than $130.1 billion for research and development; and more than $3 billion to address the effects of climate change, bolstering our installation resiliency and adaptation to climate challenges.

The FY 2023 DoD Budget request of $773.0 billion is a $30.7 billion, or 4.1% increase, from the FY 2022 enacted amount.

Hearing page

Placeholder text with proposed budget:

• H.R. 7900

The Department of Defense $773 billion budget request includes $56.5 billion for air power platforms and systems; more than $40.8 billion for sea power, to include nine more battle force ships, and nearly $12.6 billion to modernize Army and Marine Corps fighting vehicles; more than $130.1 billion for research and development; and more than $3 billion to address the effects of climate change, bolstering our installation resiliency and adaptation to climate challenges.

The FY 2023 DoD Budget request of $773.0 billion is a $30.7 billion, or 4.1% increase, from the FY 2022 enacted amount.

Hearing page

Hearing page

Witnesses:

• Donald Lu, Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, U.S. Department of State
• Camille Dawson, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Asia, U.S. Department of State
• Craig Hart, Deputy Assistant Administrator, Bureau of Asia, U.S. Agency for International Development

The FY 2023 Pacific Deterrence Initiative is a $6.1 billion subset of the Department of Defense’s FY 2023 budget.

The Budget also in­cludes nearly $1.8 billion to support a free and open, connected, secure, and resilient Indo- Pacific Region and the Indo-Pacific Strategy, and $400 million for the Countering the People’s Republic of China Malign Influence Fund.

Hearing page

Placeholder text with proposed budget:

• H.R. 7900

The Department of Defense $773 billion budget request includes $56.5 billion for air power platforms and systems; more than $40.8 billion for sea power, to include nine more battle force ships, and nearly $12.6 billion to modernize Army and Marine Corps fighting vehicles; more than $130.1 billion for research and development; and more than $3 billion to address the effects of climate change, bolstering our installation resiliency and adaptation to climate challenges.

The FY 2023 DoD Budget request of $773.0 billion is a $30.7 billion, or 4.1% increase, from the FY 2022 enacted amount.