Hill Heat

During this hearing, members will receive testimony from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the administration’s priorities for a new water resources development act for 2022. This hearing is also intended to provide members with an opportunity to review the 2021 Report to Congress on Future Water Resources Development and several reports of the Chief of Engineers on individual water resources projects that have been submitted to Congress for authorization. These reports and administration priorities will inform the committee in its development of a new WRDA, which the committee expects to develop and approve in 2022.

Witnesses

• Michael L. Connor, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works
• Lieutenant General Scott A. Spellmon, Chief of Engineers and Commanding General, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Hearing page

Witnesses

• David Strickland, Vice President, Global Regulatory Affairs, General Motors, Washington, D.C.
• Lincoln Wood, Electrification Policy Manager, Southern Company, Atlanta, GA
• Matthew Laughridge, President and Managing Partner, Terry Reid Automotive Group, Cartersville, GA on behalf of the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA)
• Trevor Walter, Vice President of Petroleum Supply Management, Sheetz, Inc., on behalf of National Association of Convenience Stores, Altoona, PA
• Geoff Cooper, President & Chief Executive Officer, Renewable Fuels Association, Ellisville, MO
• Josh Nassar, Legislative Director, International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW), Washington, D.C. Republican witness:
• Mark Mills, Senior Fellow, Manhattan Institute, Chevy Chase, MD

The purpose of the hearing is to examine the opportunities and challenges for maintaining existing hydropower capacity, expanding hydropower at non-powered dams, and increasing pumped storage hydropower.

Witnesses:

• Jennifer Garson, Acting Director of the Water Power Technologies Office, U.S. Department of Energy
• Camille Touton, Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation
• Scott Corwin, Executive Director, Northwest Public Power Association
• Malcolm Woolf, President and CEO, National Hydropower Association

Hearing page

Coverage of the issue:

• “Saving History With Sandbags: Climate Change Threatens the Smithsonian” – New York Times
• “Smithsonian says its treasures are threatened by floods, storms, and climate change – as Congress hears more alarms” – WUSA9

Witnesses

• Nancy J. Bechtol, Facilities Director, The Smithsonian Institution
• Cathy Helm, Inspector General, The Smithsonian Institution
• Phetmano Phannavong, Senior Project Manager, Atkins North America

THE COMMITTEE ON BANKING, HOUSING, AND URBAN AFFAIRS will meet in OPEN SESSION, HYBRID FORMAT to conduct a hearing entitled, “Disaster Recovery Assistance – Authorization of the Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery Program.”

Rescheduled from December 9th.

Witnesses:

• Michael A. Sprayberry, Senior Advisor For Emergency Management, Hagerty Consulting
• Matt Mayer, President, Opportunity Ohio

U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), the Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, will convene an executive session at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, December 15, 2021, to consider the following measures and nominations:

• S.__, Omnibus Tourism Act of 2021
• S.46, Restoring Resilient Reefs Act of 2021
• S.3196, Improving Protections for Midshipmen Act
• S.3309, Securing Semiconductor Supply Chains
• Nomination of Alan Davidson, to be Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information, Department of Commerce (PN1321)
• Nomination of Jed David Kolko, to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs, Department of Commerce (PN1221)
• Nomination of Viquar Ahmad, to be Assistant Secretary for Administration and Chief Financial Officer, Department of Commerce (PN1048 and PN1049)
• Nomination of Mary T. Boyle, to be a Commissioner of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (PN770)

Business meeting to vote on various nominations, most of which are from a October 26 hearing.

The World Bank has not committed to aligning its financing with limiting warming to 1.5C. And the Financial Times reports that the Trump-appointed president of the World Bank, David Malpass, pushed for the joint statement by development banks at the UN COP26 climate summit to be shortened and weakened. The Bank is governed by a 25-member Board of Directors, of which Dr. Kugler is nominated to be the U.S. member, replacing the acting U.S. director Lea Bouzis.

The State Department’s Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs includes the Division for International Finance and Development.

Nominations:

• Dr. Adriana Debora Kugler, of Maryland, to be United States Executive Director of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the lending arm of the World Bank, for a term of two years
• Ramin Toloui, of Iowa, to be an Assistant Secretary of State (Economic and Business Affairs)
• Marc R. Stanley, of Texas, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Argentine Republic
• Rashad Hussain, of Virginia, to be Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom
• Thomas Barrett, of Wisconsin, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
• Erik D. Ramanathan, of Massachusetts, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Kingdom of Sweden
• Scott Miller, of Colorado, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Swiss Confederation, and to serve concurrently and without additional compensation as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Principality of Liechtenstein

8. Ms. Jamie L. Harpootlian, of South Carolina, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Slovenia

The fight continues to Stop Line 3! As part of the national Stop Line 3 day of action, on December 14th, the anniversary of large-scale direct action to Stop Line 3, we are renewing our calls to the US Army Corps of Engineers to order a federal Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) with a Vigil for Water at the US Army Corps of Engineers HQ, 441 G St NW.

The need for a federal EIS has reached an emergency level. Why an EIS?. Frac-out. Artesian aquifer breach, 28 frac-outs. Rushed construction caused severe, permanent, ongoing environmental damage.

Enbridge has already been fined 50 new coal-fired plants in a time of “code red” climate emergency.

Moreover, Enbridge cannot obtain the required $200 million in “environmental impairment liability” insurance. This is the Canadian pipeline company responsible for the largest inland oil spill in US history. Enbridge pipelines had more than 800 spills in the US and Canada between 1999 and 2010, leaking 6.8 million gallons of oil.

Before the Line 3 emergency becomes catastrophic, we come together on December 14th to call on the Army Corps to order a federal EIS. Please join us.

Hearing to consider the nominations of

• Enoh T. Ebong, of the District of Columbia, to be Director of the Trade and Development Agency
• Oren E. Whyche-Shaw, of Maryland, to be United States Director of the African Development Bank
• Leopoldo Martinez Nucete, of Virginia, to be United States Executive Director of the Inter-American Development Bank for a term of three years
• Maria Fabiana Jorge, of the District of Columbia, to be United States Alternate Executive Director of the Inter-American Development Bank
• Alice P. Albright, of the District of Columbia, to be Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium Challenge Corporation
• Michele Taylor, of Georgia, for the rank of Ambassador during her tenure of service as United States Representative to the UN Human Rights Council
• Christopher R. Hill, of Rhode Island, to be Ambassador to Serbia
• Joe Donnelly, of Indiana, to be Ambassador to the Vatican

The USTDA runs the Global Partnership for Climate-Smart Infrastructure. USTDA also supports international fossil-fuel projects.

The African Development Bank is allocating 40 percent of project approvals to climate finance. It also finances fossil-fuel projects.

The Inter-American Development Bank has allocated limited funding in the past to climate finance, and finances both renewable and fossil-fuel projects.

The Millennium Challenge Corporation has recently announced plans to “commit more than 50 percent of our program funding to climate-related investments over the next five years.” The Corporation has financed several electricity modernization projects around the world.

During the U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP26), financial institutions and governments all over the world made unprecedented pledges and commitments to reduce financed emissions and begin to address climate-related financial risk. Now that the dust has settled, the real work of implementing these commitments begins. What will this mean for the Biden administration? Will President Joe Biden’s financial regulators endeavor to reign in banks and other financial institutions that continue to fund fossil fuels and other high-carbon-emitting industries or leave the U.S. economy and financial system at risk of another crisis?

Please join the Center for American Progress and Sierra Club for the launch of important new research revealing the enormous size of carbon emissions financed by the largest banks and asset managers in the United States and a discussion of actions the Biden administration can take to curtail this problem before the carbon bubble bursts.

Speakers:

• Caroline A. Crenshaw, Commissioner, U.S. Securities and Exchange
• Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.)

In conversation:

• Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.)
• John Podesta, Founder and Chair of the Board of Directors, Center for American Progress

Research Presentation:

• Ben Cushing, Campaign Director for Fossil-Free Finance, Sierra Club

RSVP