Field Hearing: Flooded Out: Vanishing Environmental Reviews and the SBA’s Disaster Loan Program

Wheeling Village Hall – 2 Community Blvd, Wheeling, IL, 60090

Environmental reviews protect communities by studying in advance the social, environmental, and economic harms that could result from a construction project. Understanding the potential harms gives the public and government officials the ability to make informed decision-making prior to construction and the opportunity to plan for mitigation. Unfortunately, environmental reviews are skipped for expediency, such as the Foxconn development in Wisconsin which has the potential to exacerbate flooding in the Des Plaines River watershed. After severe flooding in 2017, businesses in Lake County, Illinois utilized SBA’s disaster loans to rebuild and recover. With projections of more severe future flooding, the SBA disaster loan program could face further unnecessary strain. As Congress considers adapting the program to face additional challenges related to increasing disasters, it is important to understand how compliance with required environmental reviews can ensure the longevity of the SBA disaster program.

Witnesses

  • Mike Warner, Executive Director, Lake County Stormwater Management Commission, Libertyville, IL
  • Howard Learner, Executive Director, Environmental Law & Policy Center, Chicago, IL
  • John Durning, Owner, Pizzeria Deville, Libertyville, IL Testimony
  • Dr. Louis Woo , Special Assistant to the Chairman and CEO of Foxconn, Fewi Development Corporation
House Small Business Committee

07/19/2019 at 10:30AM

The Future of Electricity Delivery: Modernizing and Securing our Nations Electricity Grid

Opening Statements

Witnesses:

  • Karen Evans, Assistant Secretary, Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response, U.S. Department of Energy

* Juan Torres, Co-Chair, Grid Modernization Lab Consortium and Associate Laboratory Director, Energy Systems Integration, National Renewable Energy Laboratory * Kelly Speakes-Backman, Chief Executive Officer, Energy Storage Association * Katherine Hamilton, Chair, 38 North Solutions and Executive Director, Advanced Energy Management Alliance

House Science, Space, and Technology Committee
   Energy Subcommittee
2318 Rayburn

07/17/2019 at 02:00PM

Markup of Grand Canyon, Chaco Cultural Heritage, and Uranium bill

On Wednesday, July 17, 2019, at 10:00 a.m. in Hearing Room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources is scheduled to hold a markup and consider the following bills:

  • H.R. 1373 (Rep. Grijalva), To protect, for current and future generations, the watershed, ecosystem, and cultural heritage of the Grand Canyon region in the State of Arizona, and for other purposes. “Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act.” Amendments to H.R. 1373 must be drafted to the amendment in the nature of a substitute, attached to this notice.
  • H.R. 2181 (Rep. Luján), To provide for the withdrawal and protection of certain Federal land in the State of New Mexico. “Chaco Cultural Heritage Area Protection Act of 2019.”
  • H.R. 3405 (Rep. Grijalva), To direct the Secretary of the Interior to revise the Final List of Critical Minerals, and for other purposes. “Removing Uranium from the Critical Minerals List Act.” Amendments to H.R. 3405 must be drafted to the amendment in the nature of a substitute, attached to this notice.
House Natural Resources Committee
1324 Longworth

07/17/2019 at 10:00AM

Scientific Integrity in Federal Agencies

Opening Statements

Witnesses:

  • John Neumann, Managing Director, Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics, U.S. Government Accountability Office
  • Michael Halpern, Deputy Director, Center for Science & Democracy, Union of Concerned Scientists
  • Joel Clement, Arctic Initiative Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School
  • Minority witness: Roger Pielke Jr., Director, Sports Governance Center, Professor, Environmental Studies Program, University of Colorado
House Science, Space, and Technology Committee
   Oversight Subcommittee
   Research and Technology Subcommittee
2318 Rayburn

07/17/2019 at 10:00AM

Markup of Green Jobs, Smart Energy, Smart Building, Pipeline Cybersecurity, Weatherization, and Other Bills

  • H.R. 2119, a bill to amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to reauthorize grants for improving the energy efficiency of public buildings, and for other purposes, was favorably reported, as amended, to the House by a voice vote.
  • H.R. 3432, the “Safer Pipelines Act of 2019” was not considered in markup.
House Energy and Commerce Committee
2123 Rayburn

07/17/2019 at 09:30AM

Oil and Gas Development: Impacts of Business-as-Usual on the Climate and Public Health

Witnesses

  • David J. Hayes, Executive Director, State Energy & Environmental Impact Center, Former Deputy Secretary of the Interior (1999-2001; 2009-2013)
  • Jamie Williams, President, The Wilderness Society
  • Nicolas Loris, Deputy Director, Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies and Herbert and Joyce Morgan Research Fellow, Institute for Economic Freedom, The Heritage Foundation
  • Seth Shonkoff, PhD, MPH, Executive Director, PSE Healthy Energy, Visiting Scholar, UC Berkeley
House Natural Resources Committee
   Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee
1324 Longworth

07/16/2019 at 02:00PM

EPA Advisory Committees: How Science Should Inform Decisions

Opening Statements

Witnesses

  • J. Alfredo Gomez, Director, Natural Resources and Environment, U.S. Government Accountability Office
  • Dr. Thomas A. Burke, PhD, MPH, Jacob I. and Irene B. Fabrikant Professor and Chair in Health Risk and Society, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University
  • Dr. Deborah Swackhamer, Professor Emerita, Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota
  • Dr. Jonathan Samet, MD, MS, Dean, Colorado School of Public Health
House Science, Space, and Technology Committee
   Environment Subcommittee
   Oversight Subcommittee
2318 Rayburn

07/16/2019 at 02:00PM

Cleaning Up Heavy Duty Vehicles, Protecting Communities

Cleaning up heavy duty transportation is a critical climate solution and can help advance climate justice by improving air quality in frontline communities.

Opening Statement

Witnesses

  • Ryan Popple (@rcpopple), President and CEO of Proterra, Inc. (@Proterra_Inc), a company that manufactures zero-emission battery-electric buses. Popple is a U.S. Army veteran and previously worked for Tesla Motors.
  • Angelo Logan (@angeloseanlogan), Campaign Director of the Moving Forward Network (@The_MFN). Logan is the co-founder of East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice and has worked with several coalitions focused on protecting public health and advancing environmental justice.
  • Michelle Romero (@michelledreams2), National Director for Green for All (@GreenForAll). Romero leads Green for All’s work to create an inclusive green economy and shift resources from polluters to communities suffering from pollution.
  • Tony Satterthwaite, President, Distribution Business at Cummins, Inc. (@Cummins). Cummins is a Fortune 500 engine manufacturing company and its distribution business employs more than 16,000 people globally.
House Climate Crisis Committee
2172 Rayburn

07/16/2019 at 10:00AM

Earth's Thermometers: Glacial and Ice Sheet Melt in a Changing Climate

Witnesses:

  • Dr. Richard B. Alley, Evan Pugh Professor of Geosciences and Associate of the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute, Pennsylvania State University
  • Dr. Robin E. Bell, Lamont Research Professor, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University
  • Dr. Twila A. Moon, Research Scientist, National Snow and Ice Data Center’s (NSIDC) Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences
  • Dr. Gabriel J. Wolkon, Research Scientist and Manager, Climate and Cryosphere Hazards Program, Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys, Alaska Department of Natural Resources
  • Dr. W. Tad Pfeffer, Fellow, Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado Boulde
House Science, Space, and Technology Committee
2318 Rayburn

07/11/2019 at 10:00AM