Hill Heat

The Committee on Rules will meet Wednesday, November 1, 2023 at 4:00 PM ET in H-313, The Capitol on the following measures:

• H.R. 4820 – Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024 (Text, H. Rept. 118-154)
• H.R. 4821 – Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024 (Text, H. Rept. 118-155)
• H.R. ___ – Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024

Full committee hearing.

Witnesses:

• Jessica Wahl Turner, President, Outdoor Recreation Roundtable
• Rebecca Peters, Okoboji Tourism Director, Vacation Okoboji, Arnolds Park, IA
• Andrew Drummond, Owner, Ski The Whites, LLC, Jackson, NH
• Chris Fox, State Chairman, Iowa Ducks Unlimited, Johnston, IA

Full committee hearing.

Witnesses:

• Michael F. Wehner, Ph.D., Senior Scientist, Applied Mathematics and Computational Research Division at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
• Jennifer Jurado, Ph.D., Chief Resilience Officer and Deputy Director, Resilient Environment Department, Broward County, Florida
• Paul M. Dabbar, Former Under Secretary for Science, U.S. Department of Energy, Senior Research Scholar, Columbia University

Dabbar served in the Trump administration.

Subcommittee hearing on “Evaluating Material Alternatives for Single-Use Plastics”.

Witnesses:

• Marcus Eriksen, Ph.D., Co-Founder, Executive Director, The 5 Gyres Institute, Leap Lab
• Erin Simon, Vice President, Plastic Waste + Business, World Wildlife Fund
• Humberto Kravetz, Founder and CEO, GSF Upcycling

The purpose of this full committee hearing is to examine federal offshore energy strategy and policies.

Witnesses:

• Elizabeth Klein, Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, U.S. Department of the Interior
• Janet Coit, Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce

Join Politico for a deep-dive conversation on what it will take to ensure a reliable electric grid for the future on Wednesday, October 25 at 5:15 PM ET.

The EPA’s proposed standards for coal and new natural gas-fired power plants have implications for the future of the electric grid. These rules may lead to changes in the power generation mix – shifting to more renewable sources and leading to the potential retirement or modification of fossil fuel plants. These changes raise questions about how to ensure that America will have the electric power that it needs, where and when we need it.

RSVP

Speakers:

• Richard Campbell, Vice President, Policy and Research, Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions, a Republican climate policy group
• Thomas Coleman, Executive Director, Grid Security Project, SAFE
• Rep. Bob Latta (R-Ohio), Member, House Energy and Commerce Committee
• Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.), Member, House Energy and Commerce Committee
• Heather Teilhet, Senior Vice President, External Affairs, Oglethorpe Power Corporation
• Moderated by Catherine Morehouse, Energy Reporter, Politico

Executive Conversation:

• Jim Matheson, Chief Executive Officer, NRECA
• Cally Baute, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Media Business, Politico

VIP reception following the main program.

At the Showroom | 1099 14th Street NW Washington, D.C. | 20005

Sponsored by NRECA

The purpose of this subcommittee hearing is to receive testimony on pending legislation.

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, Chair

Bills:

• S. 175, to codify certain public land orders relating to the revocation of certain withdrawals of public land in the State of Alaska;
• S. 1348, to redesignate land within certain wilderness study areas in the State of Wyoming, and for other purposes;
• S. 1719, to amend the Health Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to establish emergency fireshed management areas, and for other purposes;
• S. 1764, to improve Federal activities relating to wildfires, and for other purposes;
• S. 1889, to provide for the recognition of certain Alaska Native communities and the settlement of certain claims under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, and for other purposes;
• S. 2132, to require the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a pilot program for the establishment and use of a pre-fire-suppression stand density index, and for other purposes;
• S. 2151, to amend the Southwest Forest Health and Wildfire Prevention Act of 2004 to require the establishment of an additional Institute under that Act;
• S. 2581, to extend the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000;
• S. 2615, to amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to provide that Village Corporations shall not be required to convey land in trust to the State of Alaska for the establishment of Municipal Corporations, and for other purposes;
• S. 2855, to modernize and streamline the permitting process for broadband infrastructure on Federal land, and for other purposes;
• S. 2867, to address the forest health crisis on the National Forest System and public lands, and for other purposes;
• S. 2991, to improve revegetation and carbon sequestration activities in the United States, and for other purposes;
• S. 3033, to withdraw certain Federal land in the Pecos Watershed area of the State of New Mexico from mineral entry, and for other purposes;
• S. 3036, to require the Secretary of the Interior to convey to the State of Utah certain Federal land under the administrative jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management within the boundaries of Camp Williams, Utah, and for other purposes;
• S. 3044, to redesignate the Mount Evans Wilderness as the “Mount Blue Sky Wilderness”, and for other purposes;
• S. 3045, to provide for the transfer of administrative jurisdiction over certain Federal land in the State of California, and for other purposes;
• S. 3046 / H.R. 3324, to extend the authority to collect Shasta-Trinity Marina fees through fiscal year 2029;
• S. 3062, to provide for the removal of small-diameter trees in fire hazard areas, and for other purposes; and
• S. 3079, to establish a policy regarding appraisal and valuation services for real property for a transaction over which the Secretary of the Interior has jurisdiction, and for other purposes

Witnesses:

• Nada Wolff Culver, Principal Deputy Director, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Department of the Interior
• Jacqueline Emanuel, Associate Deputy Chief, National Forest System, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
• Mark S. Boshell, Deputy Director, Utah Public Lands Policy Coordinating Office

On Wednesday, October 25, 2023, at 2:15 p.m. in room 1334 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. 520 (Rep. McClintock), To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to provide that artificially propagated animals shall be treated the same under that Act as naturally propagated animals;
• H.R. 2990 (Rep. Bonamici), “National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Sexual Harassment and Assault Prevention Improvements Act of 2023”;
• H.R. 5103 (Rep. Donalds), “Fishery Improvement to Streamline untimely regulatory Hurdles post Emergency Situation Act” or the “FISHES Act”;
• H.R. 5504 (Rep. Newhouse), To require the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to withdraw proposed rules relating to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, and for other purposes;
• H.R. 5509 (Rep. Porter), “Electronic Permitting Modernization Act”;
• H.R. 5874 (Rep. Ciscomani), “Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Program Act” or the “TAAP Act”; and
• Discussion Draft of H.R. ___ (Rep. Graves of Louisiana), To prohibit the implementation of certain documents until the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries of the National Marine Fisheries Service issues documents relating to the Rice’s whale.

Hearing memo

Witnesses:

• Gary Frazer, Assistant Director for Ecological Services, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior
• Dr. Richard Spinrad, Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere & NOAA Administrator, Department of Commerce [invited]
• Shalanda Young, Director, Office of Management and Budget, Washington, D.C. [invited]
• Jonathan Wood, Vice President of Law and Policy, Property and Environment Research Center
• Dr. Alex Loureiro, Scientific Director, EnerGeo Alliance
• Dr. Sharon B. Megdal, Director, Water Resources Research Center, The University of Arizona
• Robert E. Beal, Executive Director, Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
• Tom Birmingham, Water Policy Expert
• Dr. Barbara Taylor, Red List Coordinator for the Cetacean Specialist Group, International Union for the Conservation of Nature, San Diego, CA [Minority Witness]
• Stephen Roady, Senior Lecturing Fellow, Duke University School of Law, Professor of the Practice, Duke School of the Environment [Minority Witness]

On Wednesday, October 25, 2023, at 2:00 p.m., in Room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources will hold a legislative hearing on the following bills:

• H.R. 1449 (Rep. Fulcher), “Committing Leases for Energy Access Now Act” or the “CLEAN Act”, to require the Secretary of the Interior to hold lease sales annually for geothermal energy
• H.R. 2855 (Rep. Soto), “Sinkhole Mapping Act of 2023”, directs the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to establish a program to study the causes of sinkholes, including storms and droughts, and map them, authorizing $40 million annually for 5 years
• Discussion draft of H.R. ___ (Rep. Valadao), “Right of Way Application Transparency and Accountability Act” or the “ROWATA Act”, which would require agencies to notify applicants if their right-of-way application is complete within 60 days • Discussion draft of H.R. ___ (Rep. Boebert), “Restoring American Energy Dominance Act”, would force BLM to withdraw its proposed rule updating its oil and gas leasing regulations

Hearing memo

Witnesses:

Panel I:

• Rep. Darren Soto (D-Fla.)
• Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.)
• Rep. Russ Fulcher (R-Idaho)

Panel II

• Tom Kropatsch, Oil and Gas Supervisor, Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission
• Sarah Jewett, Vice President of Strategy, Fervo Energy
• Gene Grace, General Counsel, American Clean Power Association
• Melissa Hornbein, Senior Attorney, Western Environmental Law Center (Democratic witness)

A roundtable discussion entitled “Implementing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act in Native Communities.”