Hill Heat

On Thursday, February 15, 2024, at 2:00 p.m., in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will hold an oversight hearing titled “Bidenomics & Land Management: The Misguided National Strategy to Develop Environmental Economic Decisions.”

Hearing memo

Witness:

• Henry Wykowski, Advisor, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Department of the Interior

President Biden has pushed the federal government to develop its framework for environmental-economic accounting, laying the groundwork through executive order (E.O.), guidance from his administration, and requests for information.

On April 22, 2022, President Biden issued E.O. 14072—Strengthening the Nation’s Forests, Communities, and Local Economies—which ordered the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to issue guidance on the valuation of ecosystem and environmental services and natural assets in Federal regulatory decision-making. On July 22, 2022, OMB issued the guidance in a memorandum for the heads of executive Departments and Agencies regarding research and development priorities for the Fiscal Year 2024 budget (OMB Natural Capital Memo). The OMB Natural Capital Memo instructed agencies to promote efforts to account for ecosystem and natural capital services. The OMB Natural Capital Memo also instructed agencies to “identify and prioritize R&D investments that advance… the ability to evaluate and track the effects of policies, projects, and programs on climate mitigation, resilience, and ecosystem services.”

A month later, on August 22, 2022, OMB continued to execute its marching orders by issuing a request for information to help inform the development of “Government-wide natural capital accounts and standardized environmental-economic statistics” (OMB RFI). The OMB RFI stated that international interest in “developing natural capital accounting methodologies” has led to “demand for U.S. Federal leadership to develop natural capital accounts and standardized environmental-economic statistics to provide a centralized domestic framework and to promote international norms.”

A month later, on October 31, 2022, the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) issued its own request for information—on behalf of the United States Global Change Research Program (USGCRP)—to help “inform the framing, development, and eventual use of the first National Nature Assessment” (USGCRP RFI). The USGCRP RFI stated that the National Nature Assessment “will assess the status, observed trends, and future projections of America’s lands, waters, wildlife, biodiversity and ecosystems and the benefits they provide, including connections to the economy, public health, equity, climate mitigation and adaptation, and national security.” In doing so, the USGCRP RFI declared the U.S. currently “lacks comprehensive knowledge on these major aspects of global change.

On January 19, 2023, the Biden administration released a national strategy for Natural Capital Accounting and ESV, the National Strategy to Develop Statistics for Environmental-Economic Decisions: A U.S. System of Natural Capital Accounting and Environmental Economic Statistics (National Strategy for Natural Capital Accounting).

Open meeting

This month’s commission meeting will be at 1 p.m. at Howard University School of Law, Damon J. Keith Moot Court Room, Houston Hall, Level B 2900 Van Ness Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20008.

Agenda

Among agenda items is the Saguaro Connector Pipeline for the export of natural gas between the United States, in Hudspeth County, Texas, to Chihuahua, Mexico.

Subcommittee hearing on EPA’s NAAQS standards, including the new PM2.5 standard, entitled “Safeguarding Jobs and the Economy: Legislation to End EPA’s Attack on American Manufacturing,” originally titled “Safeguarding American Prosperity and People’s Livelihoods: Legislation to Modernize Air Quality Standards.”

Legislation to be considered:

H.R. ___, the Air Quality Standards Implementation Act of 2024

Witnesses:

• Christopher Netram, Managing Vice President, Policy, National Association of Manufacturers
• John Eunice, Deputy Director, Georgia Environmental Protection Division
• Paul Noe, Vice President of Public Policy, American Forestry and Paper Association
• Seth Johnson, Senior Attorney, Earthjustice

Subcommittee hearing.

Full committee hearing.

Witnesses:

• Arati Prabhakar, Director, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
• Dr. Rebecca Keiser, Chief of Research Security Strategy and Policy, National Science Foundation
• Geri Richmond, Under Secretary for Science and Innovation, Department of Energy
• Dr. Michael Lauer, Deputy Director for Extramural Research, National Institutes of Health

Join us to learn about new clean energy research and message testing conducted by the Rural Climate Partnership and Global Strategies Group. In late 2023, rural focus groups assessed community attitudes towards clean energy and tested an array of pro- and anti-clean energy messages and messengers.

With the rise of clean energy bans across rural America, this research provides valuable insight into how to address real community concerns and lessen opposition to wind and solar projects.

During the webinar, we’ll cover what drives community skepticism and how to build more comfort and interest in clean energy projects through specific research-tested messages and trusted, local rural messengers.

RSVP.

Subcommittee hearing.

Hearing memo

Witnesses:

• Jim Huston, Chairman, Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission
• Nick Myers, Commissioner, Arizona Corporation Commission
• Tricia Pridemore, Commissioner, Georgia Public Service Commission
• Keith Hay, Senior Director of Policy, Colorado Energy Office

The following issues may be examined at the hearing:

• The changes in regulatory structures in the United States and their impact on the roles and responsibilities of State utility commissions.
• The current state of electricity costs and electric reliability.
• The pace of electric generating unit retirements and the costs to ratepayers associated with retiring resources and building new infrastructure.
• The impacts of the proposed standards on State responsibilities concerning the power sector and regulation of existing electric generating sources.
• The technical challenges and cost considerations relating to the implementation of EPA regulations (proposed and final) on the power sector, including the Clean Power Plan 2.0.

On Wednesday, February 14, 2024, at 10:15 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. 3119 (Rep. Soto, D-Fla.), To provide for the issuance of a Manatee Semipostal Stamp;
• H.R. 6784 (Rep. Stauber, R-Minn.), “ESA Flexibility Act”;
• H.R. 6854 (Rep. Fischbach, R-Minn.), “Habitat Enhancement Now Act”; and
• H.R. 7157 (Rep. Duarte, R-Calif.), “Strengthen Wood Product Supply Chains Act”, to weaken Lacey Act enforcement against illegal imports of wildlife and plants

Hearing memo

Witnesses:

• Steve Guertin, Deputy Director for Program Management and Policy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (All bills)
• Frank Rohwer, President and Chief Scientist, Delta Waterfowl Foundation, Bismarck, North Dakota (H.R. 6854)
• Jordan McIlvain, Vice President, Alan McIlvain Company, Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania (H.R. 7157)
• Ray Higgins, Executive Vice President, Minnesota Timber Producers Association, Duluth, Minnesota (H.R. 6784)
• Alexander von Bismarck, Executive Director, Environmental Investigation Agency

Legislative summaries:

H.R. 3119 (Rep. Soto, D-FL), To provide for the issuance of a Manatee Semipostal Stamp

• Creates a manatee postal stamp administered by the United States Postal Service, with funds made available from the stamp transferred to the USFWS to conserve the United States’ manatee population. Funds generated from this stamp shall be transferred at least twice a year; the legislation does not require these funds to be considered as part of the annual appropriations process. The stamp must be made available for sale within one year of enactment for at least two years.

H.R. 6784 (Rep. Stauber, R-MN), “ESA Flexibility Act”

• Amends Section 4(d) of the Endangered Species Act to provide greater flexibility between species classified as endangered or threatened, granting the Secretary of the Interior the ability to promulgate rules under Section 4(d) for both threatened and endangered species. Specifically, the endangerment finding for the Northern Long-Eared Bat restricts logging of its habitat. This would allow the Secretary to permit logging, under the argument the bat is endangered because of white-nose syndrome, not habitat destruction. Supportive organizations included the American Farm Bureau, the Independent Petroleum Association of America, the Forest Resources Association, and the National Mining Association.

H.R. 6854 (Rep. Fischbach (R-MN), “Habitat Enhancement Now Act”

• Seeks to protect migratory waterfowl by establishing two separate grant programs that can be used by local governments or individuals: one to build and maintain hen houses and another to develop breeding ground for migratory waterfowl in California. It also establishes Congressional findings recognizing the importance of managing wetland ecosystems, the need to deploy new tools to sustain waterfowl populations, and the importance of investments and incentives for landowners to conduct these activities.

H.R. 7157 (Rep. Duarte (R-CA), “Strengthening Wood Product Supply Chains Act”

• Places timelines on enforcement actions related to the Lacey Act.
• Enforcing agencies must:
  • Not later than 5 days after the date on which merchandise is detained, issue the importer a notice of detention or release the detained merchandise.
  • Not later than 10 days after the date on which the enforcing agency issues a notice of detention, the agency must allow the importer to transport the merchandise to a location not controlled by the U.S. Government.
  • Not later than 30 days after the date on which merchandise is detained for inspection, the enforcing agency must release or seize such merchandise.
• allows importers to sue the enforcing agency if the agency decides to seize the merchandise or fails to release the merchandise within those 30 days.

Full committee hearing.

Witness:

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

Full committee hearing titled: “Burdensome Regulations: Examining the Impact of EPA Regulations on Main Street”

Witnesses:

• Brandon Farris, Vice President, Domestic Economic Policy, National Association of Manufacturers
• Cye Cooper Wagner, Executive Vice President, Exploration, Cooper Oil and Gas, testifying on behalf of Texas Alliance of Energy Producers
• Dr. Lishan Aklog, MD, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, PAVmed, Inc.
• Michael Green, Director of Climate and Energy Policy, American Sustainable Business Network