Hill Heat

The House Natural Resources Committee, led by Chairman Nick J. Rahall (D-WV), will meet in open markup session to mark up the following bills:

• H.R. 3981 (B. Miller): To authorize the Preserve America Program and Save America’s Treasures Program, and for other purposes. “Preserve America and Save America’s Treasures Act”
• H.R. 5451 (Bordallo): To reauthorize the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, and for other purposes. “Coastal Zone Reauthorization Act of 2008”
• H.R. 4199 (Turner): To amend the Dayton Aviation Heritage Preservation Act of 1992 to add sites to the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park, and for other purposes.
• H.R. 2964 (E.B. Johnson): To amend the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 to treat nonhuman primates as prohibited wildlife species under that Act, to make corrections in the provisions relating to captive wildlife offenses under that Act, and for other purposes. “Captive Primate Safety Act”
• H.R. 5741 (Bordallo): To amend the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to improve the conservation of sharks. “Shark Conservation Act of 2008”
• H.R. 1423 (Visclosky): To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to lease a portion of a visitor center to be constructed outside the boundary of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore in Porter County, Indiana, and for other purposes. “Dorothy Buell Memorial Visitor Center Lease Act”
• H.R. 3702 (Rehberg): To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey certain land in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, Montana, to Jefferson County, Montana, for use as a cemetery. “Montana Cemetery Act of 2007”
• H.R. 5710 (T. Udall): To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to provide financial assistance to the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water Authority for the planning, design, and construction of the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water System, and for other purposes. “Eastern New Mexico Rural Water System Authorization Act”
• H.R. 5511 (Lamborn): To direct the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bureau of Reclamation, to remedy problems caused by a collapsed drainage tunnel in Leadville, Colorado, and for other purposes. “Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel Remediation Act of 2008”

Witnesses

• Dr. Robert J. Wooley, Director, Process Engineering, Abengoa Bioenergy New Technology
• Scott Barnwell, General Manager, Blue Ridge Biofuels
• Tom Todaro, CEO, Targeted Growth and Sustainable Oils
• Jeffrey M. Trucksess, Executive Vice President, Green Earth Fuels, LLC
• Robert Byrnes, Nebraska Renewable Energy Systems

The bill provides incentives to lenders and financial institutions to provide lower interest loans and other benefits to consumers, who build, buy or remodel their homes and businesses to improve their energy efficiency. This timely legislation reflects the input of a broad coalition of housing advocates, financial institutions, government leaders, developers, and the environmental community.

Witnesses

Panel One

• Michael Freedberg, Director, Division of Affordable Housing Technology Research; Co-Chair, HUD Energy Task Force, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
• Patrick J. Lawler, Chief Economist and Associate Director, Office of Policy Analysis and Research, Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight

Panel Two

• Doris Koo, President and Chief Executive Officer, Enterprises Community Partners, Inc.
• Marshall E. Purnell, FAIA, President, American Institute of Architects
• Jerry Howard, President, National Association of Homebuilders
• Tom Hicks, Vice President, International Programs and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Neighborhood Development, U.S. Green Building Council
• Alan W. George, Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officers, Equity Residential
• Scott Bernstein, President, Center for Neighborhood Technology

As prices at the pump reach record levels on a daily basis, many consumers and analysts are asking the same questions: How bad could prices get? And what policies are needed to address America’s oil crisis?

On Wednesday, June 11, Chairman Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming will examine the long term prognosis for oil’s global supply and demand, and what solutions could be implemented to reduce demand and decrease prices.

A barrel of oil reached a new record price on Friday, and many analysts are saying $200 oil is a potentially imminent threat. Yet our own government energy analysts are saying oil could slide back to $50 a barrel, and supplies could increase, even as the private sector disagrees. The Select Committee will discuss this disconnect, as well as the global warming concerns of non-traditional oil retrieval methods like oil shale and oil sands.

Witnesses

• Guy Caruso, Administrator, Energy Information Administration
• Adam Sieminski, Chief Energy Economist, Deutsche Bank
• Amy Myers Jaffe, Energy Studies Fellow at the James Baker Institute for Public Policy
• Athan Manuel, Director of Land Protection Programs, Sierra Club

In light of recent reports by the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Research Council on the problems associated with the disposal of coal combustion waste, the Subcommittee will examine the appropriate role of the federal government in assuring the safe disposal of coal combustion waste.

Witnesses

Panel 1

• Prof. Mark Squillace, Director, Natural Resources Law Center, University of Colorado School of Law
• Shari Wilson, Secretary of the Environment, State of Maryland
• David Goss, Executive Director, American Coal Ash Association

Panel 2

• Charles Norris, Consultant, GeoHydro, Inc.
• Dr. Thomas Burke, Director, Risk Sciences and Public Policy Institute, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
• Lisa Evans, Project Attorney, Earthjustice
• Norman Harvey, Community Activist, Maryland

The Senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to S. 3044, a bill to provide energy price relief and hold oil companies and other entities accountable for their actions with regard to high energy prices, and for other purposes; provided, that there be one hour for debate prior to the cloture vote, equally divided and controlled between the two Leaders or their designees, with the final 20 minutes equally divided between the two Leaders or their designees, with the Majority Leader controlling the final 10 minutes prior to the cloture vote on the motion to proceed.

In addition, cloture has been filed on H.R. 6049, an act to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide incentives for energy production and conservation, to extend certain expiring provisions, to provide individual income tax relief, and for other purposes.

Witnesses

• Jill Egbert, Manager, Pacific Gas & Electric Company, Clean Air Transportation
• Eric Smith, Chief Engineer, Eaton Corporation, Hybrid Medium Duty Truck
• Terry Penney, Technology Manager, Advanced Vehicle and Fuel Technologies, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
• Richard Parish, Senior Program Manager, Calstart, Calstart Hybrid Truck Users Forum (HTUF)
• Joseph Dalum, Vice President, Dueco

At 9:00 a.m. on Friday, June 5, 2008, the Senate will proceed to vote on cloture on Amdt. No. 4825, offered by the Senator from California (Mrs. Boxer), to S. 3036, a bill to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a program to decrease emissions of greenhouse gases, and for other purposes.

Ordered further, That Members have until 10:00 a.m. on Friday, June 5, 2008 to file second degree amendments.

Witnesses

Panel 1

• The Honorable David H. McCormick, Under Secretary for International Affairs, U.S. Department of Treasury

Panel 2

• Mr. Brent Blackwelder, President, Friends of the Earth
• Mr. David Wheeler, Senior Fellow, Center for Global Development
• Mr. Jacob Werksman, Program Director, Institutions and Governance Program, World Resources Institute
• Dr. Andrew Deutz, Director of International Institutions, The Nature Conservancy