Hill Heat

Subcommittee hearing on the FY2025 Department of Agriculture budget request.

• Budget in brief

• Thomas Vilsack, Secretary, U.S. Department of Agriculture

Under the current law, the 2025 request for discretionary budget authority to fund programs and operating expenses is $31.6 billion, slightly more than 6.84 percent increase, or $2.16 billion, above the 2024 annualized Continuing Resolution (CR) levels. Outlays for mandatory programs are $189.6 billion, 82.1 percent of total outlays. The remaining $41.4 billion, or 17.9 percent, of outlays are for discretionary programs such as: the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), food safety, rural development loans and grants, research and education, soil and water conservation technical assistance, animal and plant health, management of national forests, wildland firefighting, other Forest Service activities, and domestic and international marketing assistance.

The 2025 Budget supports a continued investment of approximately $11.6 billion to combat the climate crisis through all aspects of the food and agricultural systems by focusing on climate science, clean energy innovation, mitigation via climate-smart land management practices, and adaptation and resilience. The Budget includes approximately $5.1 billion to restore our national forests and mitigate wildfire risk, an operational increase of approximately $400 million from 2023 enacted. This includes $207 million for hazardous fuels reduction, equal to the 2023 enacted level. The Budget requests $1 billion in lending authority for Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) to support the transition to clean energy, and $6.5 billion in authority for rural electric loans to support additional clean energy, energy storage, and transmission projects that would create good-paying jobs. The Budget also requests $53 million in zero-interest loans for the Rural Energy Savings Program, which would help rural Americans implement durable cost- effective energy efficiency measures in their homes, which lowers energy costs and contributes to the President’s clean energy goals. The Budget also seeks $1 million in funding to continue work started by the Growing Climate Solutions Act. As directed in the Act, USDA will establish a voluntary program to help reduce entry barriers into voluntary environmental credit markets for farmers, ranchers, and private forest landowners.

Full committee hearing on the FY2025 budget request.

Chair Ron Wyden (D – Ore.)

• Janet L. Yellen, Secretary, United States Department of the Treasury

The purpose of the hearing is to consider the nominations of:

• David Rosner to be a Member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the term expiring June 30, 2027;
• Lindsay S. See to be a Member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the term expiring June 30, 2028; and
• Judy W. Chang to be a Member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for a term expiring June 30, 2029.

A full committee hearing entitled “Importing Global Governance: Examining the Dangers of Ceding Authority Over American Financial Regulation”.

The hearing is a reprise of the November hearing on global capital rules.

Full committee hearing on the FY2025 budget request.

• Shalanda D. Young, Director of the Office of Management and Budget

On Thursday, March 21, 2024, at 10:00 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. 1395 (Rep. Fitzpatrick), “Delaware River Basin Conservation Reauthorization Act of 2023”, to amend the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act to reauthorize Delaware River Basin conservation programs;
• H.R. 5487 (Rep. Huffman), “Help Our Kelp Act”, to require the Secretary of Commerce to establish and carry out a grant program to conserve, restore, and manage kelp forest ecosystems;
• H.R. 6814 (Rep. Graves of LA), “Marine Fisheries Habitat Protection Act”, to require the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere to assess certain offshore oil and gas platforms and pipelines for potential use as artificial reefs; and
• H.R. 7020 (Rep. McClain), “Great Lakes Mapping Act”, to direct the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to conduct high-resolution mapping of the lakebeds of the Great Lakes

Hearing memo

• Clay Porch, Director, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [All bills]
• Jennifer Boehme, Chief Executive Officer, Great Lakes Observing System [H.R. 7020]
• Chris Horton, Senior Director, Fisheries Policy, Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, Bismarck, AR [H.R. 6814]
• Kelly Knutson, Director, Coalition for the Delaware River Watershed, Princeton, NJ [H.R. 1395]
• Deb Self, Senior Director of Restoration and Partnerships, Greater Farallones Association, San Francisco, CA [Minority Witness, H.R. 5487]

The Green New Deal Network is excited to see you this Wednesday for the next GND Happy Hour at Alero on U St. at 6pm.

We even have a special guest in town.

All are welcome at these events except the fossil fuel industry and its affiliates.

1301 U St NW, Washington DC

On Wednesday, March 20, 2024, at 2:15 p.m., in Room 1334 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources will hold an oversight hearing titled “Assessing Domestic Offshore Energy Reserves & Ensuring U.S. Energy Dominance.”

Hearing memo

• Dr. Walter Cruickshank, Deputy Director, U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
• Joe Dryer, President & CEO, Fairfield Geotechnologies
• Erik Milito, President, National Ocean Industries Association
• Amir Zaman, Partner & Commercial Director, Rystad Energy
• Kendall Dix, National Policy Director, Taproot Earth

On Wednesday, March 20, 2024, at 10:15 a.m., in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Subcommittee on Federal Lands will hold a legislative hearing on the following bills:

• H.R. 5015 (Rep. Leger Fernandez), “Seedlings for Sustainable Habitat Restoration Act of 2023”, for the collection and maintenance of native seeds and production of tree seedlings;
• H.R. 5499 (Rep. Miller-Meeks), “Congressional Oversight of the Antiquities Act”, to amend the Antiquities Act to increase congressional oversight with respect to the designation of national monuments;
• H.R. 6085 (Rep. Hageman), To prohibit the implementation of the Draft Resource Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement for the Rock Springs RMP Revision, Wyoming;
• H.R. 6209 (Rep. Titus), “Sloan Canyon Conservation and Lateral Pipeline Act”, to amend the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area Act to adjust the boundary of the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area;
• H.R. 6547 (Rep. Boebert), “Colorado Energy Prosperity Act”, to prohibit the Secretary of the Interior from implementing the Draft Resource Management Plan and Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Colorado River Valley Field Office and Grand Junction Field Office Resource Management Plans; and
• H.R. 7006 (Rep. Curtis), To prohibit natural asset companies from entering into any agreement with respect to land in the State of Utah or natural assets on or in such land.

Full committee markup.

• H.R. 7630, the Accelerating Networking, Cyberinfrastructure, and Hardware for Oceanic Research Act (ANCHOR Act, Mike Garcia, R-Calif.), to require a plan to improve the cybersecurity and telecommunications of the U.S. Academic Research Fleet
• H.R. 7073, the Next Generation Pipelines Research and Development Act (Randy Weber, R-Texas), to improve public-private partnerships and increase Federal research, development, and demonstration related to the evolution of next generation pipeline systems
• H.R. 7685, the Innovative Mitigation Partnerships for Asphalt and Concrete Technologies Act (IMPACT Act), to support research and development of advanced technologies to improve the efficiency of cement, concrete, and asphalt production
• H.R. 272, the Astronaut Safe Temporary Ride Options Act (ASTRO Act)
• H.R. 6219, the Accessing Satellite Data to Enable New Discoveries Act (ASCEND Act), directing the NASA Administrator to establish a commercial satellite data acquisition program with NASA’s Science Mission Directorate
• H.R. 7687, the NASA Streamlining Partnerships for Research and Education for Engineering and Science Act (SPREES Act)
• H.R. 4152, the Space Resources Institute Act
• H.R. 7686, the Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program Definition Clarification