Hill Heat

House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) will hold a full committee hearing titled “Death by a Thousand Regulations: The Biden Administration’s Campaign to Bury America in Red Tape.” This hearing will examine the Biden Administration’s historic level of regulatory overreach and President Biden’s decision to rescind nearly all the Trump Administration’s successful regulatory reforms.

Witnesses:

• Anthony P. Campau, Principal, Clark Hill Public Strategies
• Casey Mulligan, Professor in Economics, University of Chicago
• Adam J. White, Co-Executive Director, The C. Boyden Gray Center for the Study of the Administrative State, George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School
• Sally Katzen, Professor of Practice and Distinguished Scholar in Residence, New York University School of Law (Democratic witness)

On Wednesday, June 14, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn House Office Building, the Subcommittee on Energy, Climate, and Grid Security will hold a hearing entitled “Oversight of the NRC: Ensuring Efficient and Predictable Nuclear Safety Regulation for a Prosperous America.” The hearing will examine the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) role in regulating and licensing commercial power plants, advanced nuclear technologies, and other uses of nuclear materials.

Hearing memo

Witnesses:

• Christopher T. Hanson, Chairman, NRC
• Jeff Baran, Commissioner, NRC
• David A. Wright, Commissioner, NRC
• Annie Caputo, Commissioner, NRC
• Bradley R. Crowell, Commissioner, NRC

The NRC operates as an independent safety regulator and oversees the commercial nuclear industry pursuant to the Atomic Energy Act, as amended. In keeping with the established policy, the NRC, per its mission statement, “licenses and regulates the Nation’s civilian use of radioactive materials to provide reasonable assurances of adequate protection of public health and safety, to promote the common defense and security, and to protect the environment.”

Today, the NRC’s regulatory mission covers three main areas: Reactors, Materials, and Waste. The NRC regulates commercial nuclear power plants; research, test, and training reactors; nuclear fuel cycle facilities; and nuclear materials used in medicine, academia, and industry. The Commission is also responsible for regulating the transport, storage, disposal of nuclear materials and waste, and facility decommissioning, in addition to the import and export of radioactive materials. The current United States’ nuclear fleet consists of 93 reactors, at 53 plants, in 28 states. The NRC is responsible for the regulation, licensing, and safety of the current fleet.

The NRC is headed by a five-member Commission. The five Commissioners are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate for five-year terms. The President designates one of the Commissioners to be the Chair and official spokesperson of the Committee. The NRC is presently operating with all five Commissioners, including the current Chair, Christopher Hanson.

The NRC’s fiscal year 2024 budget request, including for the Office of the Inspector General, is $1 billion to support 2,949 full-time employees. This request is an increase of $63.2 million or approximately 6.7 percent compared to the FY 2023 enacted budget.6 Of the $979 million in budget authority, NRC expects to recover 823.2 million in fees assessed to applicants and licensees, resulting in a net appropriation request of $156 million, an increase $19 million over 2023 enacted budget.

The NRC major program budget requests are organized under four activities: $530.8 million for Nuclear Reactor Safety, including licensing, regulating, and overseeing civilian nuclear power, research and test reactors, and medical isotope facilities; $152.9 million for Nuclear Materials and Waste Safety, including spent fuel storage and transportation, nuclear materials users, decommissioning and low-level waste, high level waste, and fuel facilities; $304 million for Corporate support, including IT, policy support, human resource management, administrative services; and $0 funding requested for University Nuclear Leadership Program, which includes grants for nuclear engineering education.

Subcommittee hearing on the Fiscal Year 2024 budget request for Near Eastern Affairs.

Witnesses:

• Barbara A. Leaf, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, U.S. Department of State
• Jeanne Pryor, Deputy Assistant, Administrator, Middle East Bureau, United States Agency for International Development

To advance the President’s regional agenda, the FY 2024 President’s Budget Request includes $7.57 billion in foreign assistance for the Middle East and Near Africa with the goal of continuing the work to build a more stable, integrated, and prosperous region.

The FY 2024 President’s Budget Request for the region includes $5.3 billion in Foreign Military Funding, maintaining our enduring commitments to Israel, Jordan, and Egypt, and advancing U.S. priorities in countries like Iraq, Lebanon, and Tunisia.

We supported Israel, Jordan, and the UAE to launch Project Prosperity, opening the door to regional cooperation on clean energy and water security. We are working with Saudi Arabia to develop the next generation of 5G, 6G, and OpenRAN technology. We are helping Egypt to build 10 gigawatts of renewable power.

Shortages in wheat supplies caused by Putin’s continued war on Ukraine worsened already tenuous food security across the region, which also saw poor domestic harvests due to severe droughts and water shortages.

In Libya, USAID’s work to strengthen the energy sector dramatically decreased power outages from 158 hours in the first quarter of 2022 to only 3 hours in the first quarter of 2023, providing a significant increase in reliable power for Libyans and their economy.

In Egypt, the world’s largest grain importer, USAID helped agricultural collection centers improve their storage capacity to decrease grain losses due to spoiling. USAID accomplished this through the introduction of 30 low or no cost solutions for irrigation, cooling, drying, and harvesting that cut post-harvest losses by a third. USAID programs also helped farmers get more from their seeds, reducing planting costs by 60 percent.

In Lebanon, U.S. assistance helped sustain local vegetable, legume, and dairy production by providing everything from seeds and compost to technical assistance and training. In Yemen, USAID scaled up our agriculture work to train an additional 1,200 farmers on modern approaches like greenhouses, tunnel farming, drip irrigation, and solar-water pumping.

COP 27, the United Nations Conference of Parties on Climate Change, hosted last year by Egypt, was particularly timely given record-breaking heat waves across the region in 2022. According to experts, the Middle East is currently warming at nearly double the rate of the rest of the world. In the future, if average global temperatures rise by two degrees, rainfall is projected to decline by 20-40 percent. As 70 percent of agriculture is rain-fed, this could significantly reduce food security and trigger climate-induced migration and greater political instability in the region. Approximately 52 million people in the MENA region are chronically undernourished and increasing droughts will push more people in that direction.

The Fiscal Year 2023 Request significantly increased funding for climate change adaptation, and does so again in the Fiscal Year 2024 Request to continue this vital work. Sustainable domestic agriculture production in the world’s most water-scarce region requires consideration of climate change impacts in all our work. For example, in Jordan, groundwater is depleted twice as fast as it can be replenished, and leaks, theft, or broken meters lead to water and revenue losses. USAID is working with the Government of Jordan’s Ministry of Water and Irrigation to strengthen infrastructure and oversight and incentivize water conservation.

With Fiscal Year 2024 resources, USAID will continue valuable partnerships, such as our work with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to develop energy and water saving irrigation systems. This partnership yielded low-drip technology that cuts energy requirements in half and costs 40 percent less than existing systems, which the irrigation company Toro is now commercializing.

Nomination hearing

Nominees:

• Nisha Desai Biswal, of Virginia, to be Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the United States International Development Finance Corporation
• Edgard D. Kagan, of Virginia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Malaysia
• Mark W. Libby, of Massachusetts, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Azerbaijan *Joel Ehrendreich, of New York, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Palau
• Cynthia Kierscht, of Minnesota, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Djibouti

The purpose of this hearing is to explore the current status of fusion energy research and development in the United States, with a focus on private sector innovation, Department of Energy (DOE) programs and facilities, and international research partnerships. This hearing will also provide an opportunity to review DOE’s progress in carrying out fusion energy program direction recently enacted in the CHIPS and Science Act and the Energy Act of 2020.

Hearing charter

Witnesses:

• Dr. Kathryn McCarthy, Director, U.S. ITER Project Office
• Dr. David Kirtley, CEO, Helion Energy
• Dr. Wayne Solomon, Vice President, Magnetic Fusion Energy, General Atomics
• Andrew Holland, CEO, Fusion Industry Association
• Dr. Scott Hsu, Senior Advisor and Lead Fusion Coordinator, U.S. Department of Energy

Department of Energy (DOE) supports fusion energy science research primarily through the Fusion Energy Sciences (FES) program within its Office of Science. The mission of FES is “to expand the fundamental understanding of matter at very high temperatures and densities and to build the scientific foundation for fusion energy.” In addition, the FES mission includes the development of a competitive fusion power industry in the U.S. DOE stewards three main fusion facilities: the NIF at LLNL, the National Spherical Torus Experiment – Upgrade (NSTX-U) at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), and DIII-D at General Atomics. DOE also partners with the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), a leading international fusion construction project.

The Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPAE), has supported fusion projects over the last few years through two programs: Breakthroughs Enabling Thermonuclear-fusion Energy (BETHE) and Galvanizing Advances in Market-Aligned Fusion for an Overabundance of Watts (GAMOW). BETHE seeks to provide funding to high maturity, but low-cost fusion options while GAMOW prioritizes projects of enabling technologies and advanced materials, which are necessary for commercial fusion systems.

Recently, Congress reauthorized FES in the Energy Act of 2020 and the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. Through the Energy Act of 2020, Congress authorized two public-private partnership programs, the Innovation Network for Fusion Energy (INFUSE) and the Milestone Based Development Fusion program. Launched in FY2019, the INFUSE program provides industry access to the national laboratories and universities who have expertise and world leading facilities in fusion energy sciences. This relationship will support the advancement of novel approaches to fusion through material sciences, modeling and simulation, advanced computing, and diagnostics. The DOE closed its INFUSE Request for Assistance (RFA) for FY2023 in March 2023. To date, the program has 72 awards totaling $14.7 million.

Similarly, the Fusion Milestone Development is a milestone program that will award companies that meet technical and commercialization targets, which will accelerate the development of a fusion power plant. The Department of Energy closed its up-to-$50 million Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) in December of 2022. On May 31, the DOE announced that it will award $46 million to eight companies including: Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Focused Energy Inc., Princeton Stellarators Inc., Realta Fusion Inc., Tokamak Energy Inc., Type One Energy Group, Xcimer Energy Inc, and Zap Energy Inc.

Over the last few years, FES has seen a steady increase in funding. The President’s fiscal year (FY) 2024 Budget Request includes $1.01 billion for FES activities, a topline consistent with CHIPS and Science funding levels, and a 32.4% increase from FY 2023. The President’s FY 2024 Budget Request also includes funding for new FES activities such as dedicated fusion R&D centers focused on blanket/fuel cycle, advanced simulations, structural/plasma facing materials, as well as enabling technologies to support public-private fusion power plant efforts.

EPA will hold a virtual public hearing on June 13, 14 and 15, 2023, to provide the public the opportunity to present comments and information regarding the Agency’s proposal for carbon pollution standards for fossil fuel-fired power plants.

Hearing dates

• Tuesday, June 13, 2023, 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM Eastern Time
• Wednesday, June 14, 2023, 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM Eastern Time
• Thursday, June 15, 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM Eastern Time

Register to speak by visiting this link

Registration closes June 6, 2023. Each speaker will have 4 minutes to speak.

Those who wish to listen but not speak at the hearing do not need to register. A link to view the hearing will be available here before the hearing begins.

EPA considers all comments equally, whether submitted in writing to the docket, or given orally at a public hearing. EPA will take written comment on the proposal until July 24, 2023.

Background:

EPA is proposing Clean Air Act standards and guidelines to limit emissions of carbon dioxide from fossil fuel-fired power plants based on cost-effective and available control technologies. The proposals would set limits for new gas-fired combustion turbines, existing coal, oil and gas-fired steam generating units, and certain existing gas-fired combustion turbines.

Consistent with EPA’s traditional approach to establishing pollution standards for power plants under section 111 of the Clean Air Act, the proposed standards are based on technologies such as carbon capture and sequestration/storage, low-GHG hydrogen co-firing, and natural gas co-firing, which can be applied directly to power plants that use fossil fuels to generate electricity.

As laid out in section 111 of the Clean Air Act, the proposed new source performance standards and emission guidelines reflect the application of the best system of emission reduction that, taking into account costs, energy requirements, and other statutory factors, is adequately demonstrated for the purpose of improving the emissions performance of the covered electric generating units.

Proposal and fact sheets

The Natural Resources Committee will hold a markup on Tuesday, June 13, 2023, at 10:15 a.m. in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building. The bills to be considered include H.R. 188 (Rep. McClintock), H.R. 630 (Rep. Grijalva), H.R. 1240 (Rep. Feenstra), H.R. 1314 (Rep. Moore of Utah), H.R. 1450 (Rep. Fulcher), H.R. 3371 (Rep. Johnson of SD), H.R. 3389 (Rep. Valadao), and H.R. 3562 (Rep. Neguse). The Committee will also consider a Committee resolution to establish the Indo-Pacific Task Force in the Committee on Natural Resources.

Hearing memo

Bills expected to move by regular order: H.R. 188 (Rep. McClintock), “Proven Forest Management Act”; and H.R. 1450 (Rep. Fulcher), “Treating Tribes and Counties as Good Neighbors Act”. Both H.R. 188 and H.R. 1450 have an amendment in the nature of a substitute (ANS). Members should draft any amendments to H.R. 188 and H.R. 1450 to the ANS thereto.

Bills expected to move by unanimous consent: H.R. 3389 (Rep. Valadao), “Emergency Wildfire Fighting Technology Act of 2023”; H.R. 1314 (Rep. Moore of Utah), “LODGE Act”; H.R. 3562 (Rep. Neguse), “Forest Service Flexible Housing Partnerships Act of 2023“; H.R. 1240 (Rep. Feenstra), “Winnebago Land Transfer Act of 2023”; H.R. 3371 (Rep. Johnson of SD), “Wounded Knee Massacre Memorial and Sacred Site Act”; and H.R. 630 (Rep. Grijalva), “Urban Indian Health Confer Act”.

H.R. 188 (Rep. McClintock), “Proven Forest Management Act”

H.R. 188 would expand a Categorical Exclusion (CE) currently available only in the Lake Tahoe Basin to the entire National Forest System and on all public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Under this CE, land managers, in coordination with local governments and interested stakeholders, can develop projects of up to 10,000 acres to reduce forest fuels.

H.R. 1450 (Rep. Fulcher), “Treating Tribes and Counties as Good Neighbors Act”

H.R. 1450 would extend the ability to retain timber receipts from Good Neighbor Authority (GNA) projects to counties and tribes for additional restoration projects. This bipartisan legislation would also improve cross-boundary restoration work by allowing restoration projects to occur not just on federal lands, but also on lands approved under the project’s Good Neighbor Agreement, including state and tribal lands. This bill will increase coordination and buy-in from counties and tribes and lead to more active forest management. This legislation, which is also referred to the House Agriculture Committee, passed out of that Committee in May 2023 by a unanimous vote of 51 to 0.

H.R. 3389 (Rep. Valadao), “Emergency Wildfire Fighting Technology Act of 2023”

H.R. 3389 would require the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and the Department of the Interior (DOI) to conduct an evaluation on the use of container aerial firefighting system (CAFFS) in response to wildfires. The evaluation will focus on effectiveness, cost, ease of delivery, and safety. As the wildfire season continues to increase in severity, it is critical firefighting agencies have all tools and methods available to fight fires and protect lives. In addition to on the ground crews, agencies have air support to drop water and fire retardant. One solution to provide more aircrafts for fighting wildland fires is using a boxed delivery system of water or fire retardant. This method is known as CAFFS. This technology could increase the response time and number of aircrafts available. This technology is not new, but it has not been actively studied by the wildland firefighting agencies. An ANS offered by Chairman Westerman adjusts the reporting and protocol updates for this bill.

H.R. 1314 (Rep. Moore of Utah), “LODGE Act”

H.R. 1314 would amend current law to provide the National Park Service (NPS) with improved authorities to enter into partnerships with non-federal entities and other federal agencies for the development of employee housing. The LODGE Act was developed in consultation with NPS to increase the availability and affordability of housing in and adjacent to our nation’s parks.

H.R. 3562 (Rep. Neguse), “Forest Service Flexible Housing Partnerships Act of 2023”

H.R. 3562 would provide additional authority for USFS to lease underutilized lands for housing partnerships. This bill amends the “Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018,” or the Farm Bill, by adding additional clarification about the leasing authority of USFS. It specifies leases can be 100 years and renewed if needed. One of the most pressing issues affecting wildland firefighters is the lack of available and affordable housing. There are many concerning examples of “firefighters liv[ing] out of their cars and trailers and camp[ed] out on the side of the road, even when they’re not actively fighting a fire.” This, along with other factors like pay and increasingly severe on-the-ground conditions, has contributed to the recruitment and retention challenges facing agencies like USFS and DOI when it comes to hiring a sufficient number of federal wildland firefighters. These hiring challenges are exacerbated by certain states like California that often provide their firefighters with hotel rooms when they are on fire assignment. While this issue has affected firefighters primarily, it also affects other USFS employees working in remote locations that lack affordable housing.

H.R. 1240 (Rep. Feenstra), “Winnebago Land Transfer Act of 2023”

H.R. 1240 would transfer administrative jurisdiction of approximately 1,600 acres of land from the Army Corps of Engineers in the state of Iowa to the Bureau of Indian Affairs to be held in trust for the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska. This federal land was seized through eminent domain by the Army Corps of Engineers in the 1970’s for the Snyder-Winnebago Oxbow Lake Recreation Complex project which was never completed. In response, the Tribe challenged the Army Corps of Engineers condemnation in federal court, both in Iowa and Nebraska. They were successful in Nebraska. However, in the Iowa litigation, a failure to properly preserve a right of appeal meant that the Eighth Circuit could not return the land to the tribe through a court order, and congressional action would be required to return the land to the tribe.

H.R. 3371 (Rep. Johnson of SD), “Wounded Knee Massacre Memorial and Sacred Site Act”

H.R. 3371 would place approximately 40 acres of fee land located within the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, into restricted fee status for the Oglala Sioux Tribe and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe as a memorial and as a sacred site for the approximately 300 Indian people killed in the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890. Restricted fee land contains the same restrictions against alienation and taxation as land held in trust, but title is not held by the federal government. In September 2022, the Oglala Sioux Tribe and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe jointly purchased 40 acres of land where an old trading post was located, and which contains a portion of the area where the Wounded Knee massacre took place. On October 21, 2022, both tribes signed a covenant, stating that this property shall be held and maintained as a memorial and sacred site without any economic development, and prohibiting any gaming.

H.R. 630 (Rep. Grijalva), “Urban Indian Health Confer Act”

H.R. 630 would require all agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish an Urban Indian Organization (UIO) confer policy. Currently, only the Indian Health Service (IHS) is required to confer with UIOs. Other agencies within HHS that provide services to American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs), such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services, do not have policies regarding conferring with UIOs. These agencies are only required to consult and confer with Indian tribes, consistent with Executive Order 13175. As highlighted by the National Council of Urban Indian Health, during the COVID-19 pandemic, UIOs were not provided notice by HHS that they were required to make a selection for COVID-19 vaccine distribution until the day of the deadline imposed by the agency. Direct communication with agencies that impact urban Indian health could improve health care access to urban AI/AN populations.

Committee Resolution Authorizing the Indo-Pacific Task Force in the Committee on Natural Resources (Reps. Westerman, Grijalva)

The Committee Resolution Authorizing the Indo-Pacific Task Force in the Committee on Natural Resources (Indo-Pacific Task Force Resolution) would establish in the Committee the IndoPacific Task Force. The resolution also prescribes the functions of the Task Force, establishes its membership, which comprises seven Republicans and seven Democrats, names the Chair and Co-Chair of the Task Force, and sets the expiration date of the Task Force as December 12, 2023.

Hearing page

Witness:

• Deanne Criswell, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency

Hearing page

Documents

• FY24 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies – Report

The Committee recommends $337,909,342,000 in total budget authority for the fiscal year 2024 programs and activities funded in the bill. This is an increase of $15,184,084,000 above the fiscal year 2023 enacted level and $999,443,000 above the President’s request.

On Tuesday, June 13, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn House Office Building, the Subcommittee on Energy, Climate, and Grid Security will hold a hearing entitled “Oversight of FERC: Adhering To A Mission Of Affordable And Reliable Energy For America.” The hearing will examine the work of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) “to ensure affordable, reliable electricity and natural gas service throughout the country, as well as its adherence to its core mission of ensuring just and reasonable rates for energy services.”

Hearing memo

Witnesses:

• Willie Phillips, Chairman, FERC (Democrat)
• James Danly, Commissioner, FERC (Republican)
• Mark Christie, Commissioner, FERC (Republican)
• Allison Clements, Commissioner, FERC (Democrat)

Republican letters to FERC:

• April 26, 2023 letter sent to FERC Commissioners demanding they “return the agency to its core mission to help deliver abundant, reliable, and affordable energy for Americans”
• March 17, 2023 letter to FERC requesting information on “how they plan to incorporate guidance from the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) in a way that does not jeopardize American energy security”
• March 3, 2023 letter sent to FERC Commissioners urging them to “stop prioritizing the left’s political agenda over making energy more reliable”