There will be a
hearing
of the Committee on the Budget on Wednesday, January 24, 2024, 10:00 AM
in Room SD-608 to consider: “Warming Seas, Cooling Economy: How the
Climate Crisis Threatens Ocean Industries”.
Witnesses:
Kyle Schaefer, Fishing Guide And Lodge Owner
Dr. Andrea Dutton, Helen Jupnik Endowed Research Professor, Department
Of Geoscience, University Of Wisconsin-Madison
Dr. Rashid Sumaila, University Killam Professor, Institute For The
Oceans And Fisheries, University Of British Columbia
Dr. Thomas Frazer, Professor And Dean Of The College Of Marine
Science, University of South Florida
Subcommittee
hearing
to examine U.S. nuclear power generation and identify the benefits and
challenges associated with further nuclear reactor buildout.
Chairman Pat Fallon (R-Texas.)
Witnesses:
Dr. Kathryn Huff, Assistant Secretary, Office of Nuclear Energy,
Department of Energy
Daniel Dorman, Executive Director for Operations, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission
Dr. David Ortiz, Director, Office of Electric Reliability, Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee
Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs Subcommittee
S.
1863,
PROVE IT Act of 2023, to instruct the
Department of Energy (DOE) to undertake a thorough examination,
comparing the greenhouse pollution of specific goods (metals, cement,
plastics, oil, natural gas, batteries, paper, solar cells, uranium,
wind turbines) manufactured in the United States to the pollution
generated by the same goods manufactured in other countries.
Co-sponsored by Coons and Cramer
S.
2781,
Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act of 2023, to
allow the EPA to issue permits to allow
third parties to remediate historic mine residue at abandoned hardrock
mine sites they are not responsible for without being subject to
enforcement or liability under specified environmental laws for past,
present, or future releases, threats of releases, or discharges of
hazardous substances or other contaminants at or from the abandoned
mine site.
S. 3412, Reuben E. Lawson Federal Building Act of 2023, a bill to
redesignate the Richard H. Poff Federal Building located at 210
Franklin Road Southwest in Roanoke, Virginia, as the “Reuben E. Lawson
Federal Building,” and for other purposes
S. 3570, A bill to designate the United States courthouse located at
500 West Pike Street in Clarksburg, West Virginia, as the “Irene M.
Keeley United States Courthouse,” and for other purposes
S. 3577, A bill to designate the Federal building located at 300 E.
3rd Street in North Platte, Nebraska, as the “Virginia Smith Federal
Building,” and for other purposes
On Thursday, January 18, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. in Room 2128 of the Rayburn
House Office Building, the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
will hold a
hearing
entitled “Oversight of the SEC’s Proposed
Climate Disclosure Rule: A Future of Legal Hurdles.”
On Thursday, January 18, 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.
897
(Rep. Carl), “Alabama Underwater Forest National Marine Sanctuary and
Protection Act”;
H.R.
3925
(Rep. Salazar), “Youth Coastal Fishing Program Act of 2023”;
H.R. 5441 (Rep. LaLota), “Long Island Sound Restoration and
Stewardship Reauthorization Act of 2023”; and
H.R. 6235 (Rep. Bonamici), “Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research
and Control Amendments Act of 2023”.
Witnesses:
Panel I
Members of Congress
Panel II
Paul M. Scholz, Deputy Assistant Administrator of the National Ocean
Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [H.R. 897,
H.R. 3925, and H.R. 6235]
Mike Lum, Fundraising and Event Coordinator, Captain Rollo’s Kids at
Sea [H.R. 3925]
Chris Pickerell, Marine Program Director, Cornell Cooperative
Extension of Suffolk County [H.R. 5441]
Ben Raines, Environmental Fellow, Writer and Filmmaker in Residence,
University of South Alabama [H.R. 897]
Dr. Donald Anderson, Senior Scientist and Director, U.S. National
Office for Harmful Algal Blooms, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute
[H.R. 6235]
Bill descriptions:
H.R.
897
would establish a sanctuary under the Marine Protection, Research, and
Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (P.L. 92-532) at the underwater forest off the
coast of Gulf Shores, Alabama, while balancing the other industries
that operate in the Gulf of Mexico.
H.R.
3925
would establish a grant program at the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that would provide applicants with
financial resources to connect America’s youth with fishing
activities.
H.R. 5441 reauthorizes the Long Island Sound Office and additional
funding programs, providing both financial resources and critical
expertise to preserve and restore the watershed
H.R. 6235 reauthorizes and revamps the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia
Research and Control Amendments Act, a program that encourages federal
agencies, along with state and local governments, to develop best
practices to respond to hypoxia events and harmful algal blooms
(HABs).
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved key fracked-gas
pipeline
projects
during its first open meeting of 2024 — including a high-profile
permit for the nation’s largest public power provider, which is
seeking to transition away from coal.
FERC voted to approve a permit for a 32-mile
natural gas pipeline that would help fuel proposed gas-fired
generation at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Cumberland Fossil
Plant. The commission also approved a Texas-to-Louisiana project by
Williams Cos., which aims to expand an existing pipeline and boost gas
flow to the Gulf Coast.
Both decisions saw FERC’s two Democrats
diverge. Acting Chair Willie Phillips voted in favor of all pipeline
certificates, while Commissioner Allison Clements dissented in part on
the pipeline for TVA and in full on the
Williams project. Commissioner Mark Christie,
FERC’s lone Republican, voted the same as
Phillips on the two projects and other commission business.
On Wednesday, January 17, 2024, at 10:15 a.m., in room 1324 Longworth
House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources will hold a
mark-up
on the following bills.
The following bills will be debated (move by regular order):
H.R. 5482 (Rep. Hageman), “Energy Poverty Prevention and
Accountability Act of 2023” (Amendments to H.R. 5482 must be drafted
to the amendment in the nature of a
substitute),
to require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a
study to identify laws, regulations, and state standards that impact
at-risk communities and categorize barriers to at-risk communities
from accessing “reliable and affordable energy,” defined to be fossil
fuels
H.R.
6474
(Rep. Steel), To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to expedite
geothermal exploration and development in previously studied or
developed areas
The following bills are expected to move by unanimous consent:
H.R.
1246
(Rep. Hageman), To authorize leases of up to 99 years for land held in
trust for federally recognized Indian tribes;
H.R. 2950 (Rep. Huffman), “Coastal Habitat Conservation Act of 2023”
(Amendments to H.R. 2950 must be drafted to the amendment in the
nature of a
substitute);
H.R.
5874
(Rep. Ciscomani), To amend the United States-Mexico Transboundary
Aquifer Assessment Act to reauthorize the United States-Mexico
transboundary aquifer assessment program;