Hill Heat

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

The purpose of the hearing is to receive testimony on H.R. 4174, legislation introduced by Rep. Tom Allen of Maine on November 14, 2007. The Committee will also examine the current status of science on ocean acidification and research and monitoring activities focused on ocean acidification and its potential impacts on marine organisms and marine ecosystems.

Witnesses

• Dr. Richard A. Feely, Supervisory Chemical Oceanographer, Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Dr. Feely will discuss the quantification of oceanic uptake of carbon dioxide and NOAA’s monitoring program; major research issues to be addressed including the relationship between the ocean acidification process and carbon cycling processes in the ocean.
• Dr. Joan Kleypas, Scientist, Institute for the Study of Society and Environment, National Center for Atmospheric Research. Dr. Kleypas will discuss the impacts of ocean acidification on marine life and marine ecosystems, particularly on coral reef ecosystems.

• Dr. Scott Doney, Senior Scientist, Department of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Dr. Doney will discuss the gaps in our understanding of ocean acidification and the implications of ocean acidification for marine resource management. Dr. Doney will also discuss current interagency efforts and federal programs addressing ocean acidification.

• Dr. Ken Caldeira, Scientist, Department of Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution for Science of Washington. Dr. Caldeira will discuss the ongoing changes in the global carbon cycle and its relationship to ocean acidification including the research and modeling efforts needed to better understand ocean acidification and to project its impacts and develop strategies for adaptation and mitigation.
• Mr. Brad Warren, Director, Productive Oceans Partnership Program, Sustainable Fisheries Partnership. The Sustainable Fisheries Partnership provides policy and technical guidance to seafood suppliers and producers. The Productive Oceans Partnership Program was formed to address the issue of ocean acidification. Mr. Warren will discuss the potential impacts of ocean acidification on the world seafood industry and the steps the Partnership is recommending to deal with the problem of ocean acidification.

The following nominations will be considered:

• Bartholomew H. chilton, to be Commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission
• Walter Lukken, to be Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission
• Scott O’Malia, to be Commissioner of the Commodity Ftures Trading Commission

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2008 H.R. 6063.