Hill Heat

Subcommittee hearing on the FY2025 budget request and economic outlook.

Witnesses:

• Janet Yellen, Secretary, Department of the Treasury
• Shalanda Young, Director, Office of Management and Budget
• Jared Bernstein, Chairman, Council of Economic Advisers

Subcommittee on Oversight & Accountability hearing.

Witnesses:

• Richard R. Verma, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, U.S. Department of State
• Naz DurakoÄŸlu, Assistant Secretary Bureau of Legislative Affairs, U.S. Department of State

Subcommittee hearing.

Witnesses:

• Kin W. Moy, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, U.S. State Department
• Matt Murray, U.S. Senior Official for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), U.S. State Department
• Pamela Phan, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Asia, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce

On Thursday, March 21, 2024, immediately following the conclusion of the Full Committee Business Meeting, the Full Committee will hold a legislative hearing titled “Legislative Hearing on: Toxic Exposure Fund Improvement Act of 2024”.

Hearing repository

Subcommittee hearing on the FY2025 Department of Agriculture budget request.

• Budget in brief

Witness:

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

Under the current law, the 2025 request for discretionary budget authority to fund programs and operating expenses is $31.6 billion, slightly more than 6.84 percent increase, or $2.16 billion, above the 2024 annualized Continuing Resolution (CR) levels. Outlays for mandatory programs are $189.6 billion, 82.1 percent of total outlays. The remaining $41.4 billion, or 17.9 percent, of outlays are for discretionary programs such as: the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), food safety, rural development loans and grants, research and education, soil and water conservation technical assistance, animal and plant health, management of national forests, wildland firefighting, other Forest Service activities, and domestic and international marketing assistance.

The 2025 Budget supports a continued investment of approximately $11.6 billion to combat the climate crisis through all aspects of the food and agricultural systems by focusing on climate science, clean energy innovation, mitigation via climate-smart land management practices, and adaptation and resilience. The Budget includes approximately $5.1 billion to restore our national forests and mitigate wildfire risk, an operational increase of approximately $400 million from 2023 enacted. This includes $207 million for hazardous fuels reduction, equal to the 2023 enacted level. The Budget requests $1 billion in lending authority for Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) to support the transition to clean energy, and $6.5 billion in authority for rural electric loans to support additional clean energy, energy storage, and transmission projects that would create good-paying jobs. The Budget also requests $53 million in zero-interest loans for the Rural Energy Savings Program, which would help rural Americans implement durable cost- effective energy efficiency measures in their homes, which lowers energy costs and contributes to the President’s clean energy goals. The Budget also seeks $1 million in funding to continue work started by the Growing Climate Solutions Act. As directed in the Act, USDA will establish a voluntary program to help reduce entry barriers into voluntary environmental credit markets for farmers, ranchers, and private forest landowners.

Full committee hearing on the FY2025 budget request.

Chair Ron Wyden (D – Ore.)

Witness:

• Janet L. Yellen, Secretary, United States Department of the Treasury

The purpose of the hearing is to consider the nominations of:

• David Rosner to be a Member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the term expiring June 30, 2027;
• Lindsay S. See to be a Member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the term expiring June 30, 2028; and
• Judy W. Chang to be a Member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for a term expiring June 30, 2029.

A full committee hearing entitled “Importing Global Governance: Examining the Dangers of Ceding Authority Over American Financial Regulation”.

The hearing is a reprise of the November hearing on global capital rules.

Full committee hearing on the FY2025 budget request.

Witness:

• Shalanda D. Young, Director of the Office of Management and Budget

On Thursday, March 21, 2024, at 10:00 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. 1395 (Rep. Fitzpatrick), “Delaware River Basin Conservation Reauthorization Act of 2023”, to amend the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act to reauthorize Delaware River Basin conservation programs;
• H.R. 5487 (Rep. Huffman), “Help Our Kelp Act”, to require the Secretary of Commerce to establish and carry out a grant program to conserve, restore, and manage kelp forest ecosystems;
• H.R. 6814 (Rep. Graves of LA), “Marine Fisheries Habitat Protection Act”, to require the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere to assess certain offshore oil and gas platforms and pipelines for potential use as artificial reefs; and
• H.R. 7020 (Rep. McClain), “Great Lakes Mapping Act”, to direct the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to conduct high-resolution mapping of the lakebeds of the Great Lakes

Hearing memo

Witnesses:

• Clay Porch, Director, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [All bills]
• Jennifer Boehme, Chief Executive Officer, Great Lakes Observing System [H.R. 7020]
• Chris Horton, Senior Director, Fisheries Policy, Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, Bismarck, AR [H.R. 6814]
• Kelly Knutson, Director, Coalition for the Delaware River Watershed, Princeton, NJ [H.R. 1395]
• Deb Self, Senior Director of Restoration and Partnerships, Greater Farallones Association, San Francisco, CA [Minority Witness, H.R. 5487]