Reception and dinner celebrating the fifty-year
anniversary
of the American Legislative Exchange Council. Speakers include
ALEC CEO Lisa B. Nelson, talk show host and
political commentator Hugh Hewitt, and Florida House Speaker Daniel
Perez. Tickets for the event are $750.
For five
decades, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has
shamelessly served as a conduit for large corporations seeking to
swiftly advance their self-serving agendas through statehouses across
the nation. ALEC’s model bills go far beyond
financial gains for these corporate entities – these legislative
blueprints pose severe threats to our environment, racial justice and
the vitality of our democracy.
Join us on Wednesday, Oct.
4, 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm for the “ALEC (slow) Extinction Watch Party and
Rally” in DC in front of the entrance to
ALEC’s 50th anniversary gallery at DC’s
National Portrait Gallery.
Speakers will present on the 50 years of harm
ALEC bills have caused to their communities
and the vision and solutions we share for an inclusive multiracial
democracy.
Together we will build a movement for an inclusive multiracial
democracy. Sponsored by: Greenpeace USA,
Center for Media and Democracy, Public Citizen, People for the American
Way, UnKoch My Campus, Common Cause, True North Research, Union of
Concerned Scientists, Rethink Media.
U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chair of the Senate Committee on
Commerce, Science and Transportation, will convene a full committee
hearing
titled “CHIPS and Science Implementation and Oversight” on Wednesday,
October 4, 2023, at 2:00 PM ET. One year after
its becoming law, the hearing will focus on the implementation and
oversight of the CHIPS and Science Act by the
Department of Commerce and the National Science Foundation. The hearing
will highlight the rollout of investments to boost the United States’
innovation, research and competitiveness through domestic semiconductor
manufacturing incentives, regional innovation programs and other science
programs established under the law.
Witnesses:
Secretary Gina Raimondo, U.S. Department of Commerce
Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan, Director of the National Science
Foundation
Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
H. Rept.
118-126,
Report from the Committee on Appropriations to accompany H.R. 4394
The nondefense allocation in this bill is $5.4 billion, or 22 percent,
lower than last year’s effective level. Specifically, the bill cuts the
Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy account by
$466 million. That imperils our nation’s imperative to become energy
independent here at home in perpetuity. In addition, the bill repeals
over $5 billion for critical energy programs from the Inflation
Reduction Act that would have helped American families save money on
their monthly energy bills. This bill provides only $88 million for the
WaterSMART program, a reduction of $98 million, 53 percent lower than
last year’s enacted level. Through WaterSMART, the Bureau of Reclamation
works cooperatively with states, tribes, and local entities to conserve
our water supply and enhance the resilience of the West to drought and
climate change. The bill allows firearms on Corps of Engineers’ lands;
includes a new title of controversial California water provisions that
mandates the use of environmentally harmful water management plans and
advances controversial California dam proposals; prohibits funding
related to critical race theory; prohibits funding related to diversity,
equity, inclusion, and accessibility in the federal workforce; prohibits
funding related to advancing racial equity and support for underserved
communities; and could even allow for discrimination based on same-sex
marriage. Additional concerning riders include blocking energy
efficiency standards, prohibiting the Corps of Engineers from renaming
items that commemorate the Confederacy, and funding prohibitions with
unintended programmatic implications.
The Green New Deal Happy Hour is this Friday 9/29 at 5:30pm, at Red Bear
Brewing (209 M St NE).
At the happy hour, we will celebrate the announcement of the Civilian
Climate Corps and the re-introduction of the Green New Deal for Schools
Act from Rep. Jamaal Bowman and Sen. Ed Markey.
Join Congressman Jamaal Bowman, Senator Ed Markey, and more as they
reintroduce the Green New Deal for Public
Schools, which would fund
upgrades for every public school facility in the country to create safe,
healthy, zero-carbon learning environments—and fully invest in our
public schools to support students and families holistically, with more
educators, mental health professionals, and wraparound services.
Research from the Climate and Community Project has shown that this
level of investment ($1.6 trillion over ten years) would create more
than a million union jobs annually.
This Summit was announced by President Biden earlier this summer, and
will amplify the leadership of climate resilience practitioners
nationwide – the construction workers, educators, resource managers,
city and state resilience officers, local and Tribal leaders, and many
others who are striving to help their communities adapt to today’s
climate impacts and prepare for future climate risks.
The Summit will also explore how federal programs and funding, including
the more than $50 billion secured for climate resilience through
President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda, can support leaders and
practitioners nationwide in building communities that are not only
resilient to the impacts of a changing climate, but also more safe,
healthy, equitable, and economically strong.
Speakers during the event will include:
Deputy Administrator Jainey Bavishi, National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
Secretary Deb Haaland, U.S. Department of the Interior
Senior Advisor to the President Mitch Landrieu
Assistant Secretary for Health Admiral Rachel Levine, U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services
Chair Shelley C. Lowe (Navajo), National Endowment for the Humanities
Chair Brenda Mallory, White House Council on Environmental Quality
Senior Advisor to the President John Podesta
Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, Madison, WI
Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall
National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi
Today’s actions include:
Boosting Climate Resilience in Buildings
Transitioning the Building Sector to Zero Emissions. The Department of
the Treasury issued guidance this week on the 45L new energy efficient
home tax credit that offers up to $5,000 to eligible contractors who
construct, reconstruct, or rehabilitate an energy efficient home to meet
EPA Energy Star Certification and
DOE’s Zero Energy Ready Homes Certification.
This comes on the heels of the Department of Energy opening applications
for $400 million for states and territories to adopt and implement
building energy codes that reduce utility bills, increase efficiency,
lower greenhouse gas emissions that fuel the climate crisis, and make
buildings more resilient to climate disaster.
Strengthening the Power Grid for States and Tribes. The Department of
Energy (DOE) is announcing the eighth cohort of its Grid Resilience
State and Tribal Formula Grants. This cohort includes $167.7 million in
awards from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law across 11 states, 2
territories, and 20 Tribes. With this cohort,
DOE has now awarded more than $748 million to
modernize the electric grid to reduce impacts of climate-driven extreme
weather and natural disasters, while also ensuring power sector
reliability.
Promoting Climate Resilient Building and Energy Codes and Standards. The
Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Mitigation Framework
Leadership Group, which works with federal agencies to advance hazard
risk reduction across the nation, is issuing a set of Federal best
practices for incorporating latest consensus-based codes and above-code
standards to achieve climate resilience and greenhouse gas reduction in
physical assets that are funded with federal dollars. This publication
is a product of the National Initiative to Advance Building Codes.
Advancing Federal Agency Leadership in Climate Adaptation Planning.
Federal agencies are taking action to build a resilient government
through the implementation of their Climate Adaptation Plans, which are
roadmaps that agencies developed to adapt physical assets and operations
to climate risk. The White House Council on Environmental Quality and
Office of Management and Budget are directing agencies to use a
data-driven, climate science-based approach to evaluate their climate
risk and develop resilience and adaptation strategies that will ensure
more resilient federal operations and a resilient workforce.
Strengthening Local Engagement and Partnerships
Establishing New Community Climate Resilience Centers. The Department of
Energy is announcing the recipients – in Arizona, California, Maryland,
Michigan, and North Carolina – of a combined $5 million to establish
Climate Resilience Centers. These centers will improve the use and
utility of DOE climate science and engagement
with local communities to address local climate resilience challenges
while also supporting Historically Black Colleges and Universities and
Minority Serving Institutions.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s Climate
Adaptation Partnerships program (CAP/RISA) is announcing eight new
awards totaling approximately $3.9 million. Funded projects will work
cross-regionally – in flood-impacted communities everywhere from Hawai’i
and the U.S. Caribbean to the East Coast and in wildfire-impacted
communities in Colorado and New Mexico – over the next three to four
years to test, scale, and transfer knowledge that builds national
adaptation capacity. Projects will also generate locally relevant
knowledge and strategies to reduce risks from flooding and wildfires in
frontline communities. NOAA will grow support
for equitable adaptation by extending the reach of the
CAP/RISA network to the Central Midwest
(Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, and Nebraska). This is the first time there has
been a CAP/RISA program in this region. This
new CAP/RISA will focus on engaging Tribal
Nations and women farmland owners in a community of learning about
inland climate adaptation and community resilience. In alignment with
the Administration’s policy goals, philanthropic organizations are
leveraging new federal funding from President Biden’s Investing in
America agenda and committing resources to advance actions that help
communities plan for and adapt to a changing climate. A dozen
philanthropic organizations have invested more than a combined $800
million in complementary climate resilience priorities – and are
committed to continuing to work with the federal government,
communities, and local leaders on opportunities to further advance
shared policy priorities and climate resilience goals.
Bolstering Workforce and Community Benefits
The Department of Labor is awarding $16 million to support organizations
in 12 states as they pilot strategies to improve job quality and
increase the availability of good jobs in the critical sectors of
climate resilience, care, and hospitality. The Critical Sectors Job
Quality grants being announced today will enable recipients to design
and deploy programs that align with the Good Jobs Principles developed
by the Departments of Labor and Commerce, leveraging workforce
strategies, such as sector partnerships with workers and employers, to
create good climate resilience jobs to benefit workers and employers.
Programs will expand career awareness, provide training, and improve
access to quality jobs within the climate resilience sector for
historically underrepresented and underserved communities.
NOAA will award $12.7 million through its
Climate Smart Communities Initiative (CSCI) to help communities protect
people, property, infrastructure, economies and natural resources from
climate-related hazards. CSCI will work to
support communities by helping them to identify and use climate science
data and tools needed to understand their exposure to climate-related
hazards, and to use that information to create and implement climate
resilience plans.
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is announcing the
Pacific Islands Cultural Initiative, a $1.3 million investment to
fortify cultural heritage and resilience in the U.S. Pacific Islands. In
August 2023, NEH awarded $2 million to
cultural and educational organizations, Tribal Nations, and
municipalities through its new Cultural and Community Resilience and
Climate Smart Humanities Organizations programs, which support
community-based and strategic planning efforts to safeguard cultural
resources and foster cultural resilience against the impacts of climate
change.
The Office of Climate Change and Health Equity and Administration for
Strategic Preparedness and Response in the Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS) is launching a new Climate and Health Outlook
Portal. Built on the data underlying the HHS
Climate and Health Outlook, the Portal features interactive county-level
maps with heat, wildfire, and drought forecasts for the current month,
along with individual-level climate health risk factors. This tool,
being released in initial beta form, is designed for emergency response
and health care professionals to support planning and preparation for
the potential impacts of these climate hazards and assist the public
with learning more about the climate-related health risks they may face
in their county.
Ensuring Resilient Lands and Waters
The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation is announcing up
to $328 million in funding available through President Biden’s
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and annual appropriations to help make
Western communities more resilient to drought and climate change,
including in the Colorado River Basin. Funding will support grants for
water desalination, water recycling and reuse, and small water storage
projects. In addition, earlier this week, NOAA
announced availability of $2 million in funds through the National
Integrated Drought Information System to support Tribal Nations in
addressing current and future drought risk on Tribal lands across the
western United States.
Earlier this week, the Wildland Fire Management and Mitigation
Commission, established by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure
Law, released a report recommending improvements to Federal policies
related to preventing, mitigating, suppressing, and managing wildland
fires, as well as rehabilitating affected lands.
Earlier this week, the Department of the Interior’s National Park
Service and the nonprofit American Forests signed a five-year agreement
to help return the threatened whitebark pine to its range in the
northern Rockies. At least half of all whitebark pines have died in
recent decades due to threats including climate change, negatively
affecting the long-term outlook for this critical keystone plant
species. The new partnership, made possible through funding from the
Inflation Reduction Act, will support restoration activities in national
parks where whitebark pine grow – making whitebark pine ecosystems more
resilient to climate impacts – and advance the Interior Department’s
National Seed Strategy.
The purpose of this
hearing
is to examine opportunities to counter the People’s Republic of China’s
control of critical mineral supply chains through increased mining and
processing in the United States as well as international engagement and
trade.
Witnesses:
Tommy P. Beaudreau, Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of the Interior
Dr. Daniel Yergin, Vice Chairman, S&P Global
Mark Compton, Executive Director, American Exploration & Mining
Association
Reception and dinner celebrating the fifty-year
anniversary
of the American Legislative Exchange Council. Speakers include
ALEC CEO Lisa B. Nelson, talk show host and
political commentator Hugh Hewitt, and Florida House Speaker Daniel
Perez. Tickets for the event are $750.
