The Committee on Natural Resources will hold a field oversight
hearing
on “Conservation in a Crown Jewel: A Discussion About Wildfires and
Forest Health” on Friday, August 11, 2023, at 11:00 a.m.
PST at the Curry Village in Yosemite National
Park.
Brett Howard, Federal Coordinating Officer for Hurricane Ian, Federal
Emergency Management Agency
Thomas McCool, Federal Coordinating Officer for Hurricane Ian, Federal
Emergency Management Agency
Marion McFadden, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Community
Planning and Development, Department of Housing and Urban Development
Francisco Sánchez, Associate Administrator, Office of Disaster
Recovery & Resilience, Small Business Administration
Panel two
Kevin B. Anderson, Mayor, Fort Myers, Florida
Chauncey Goss, Chairman, South Florida Water Management District
Governing Board
Brian Hamman, Chairman and District 4 Commissioner, Lee County,
Florida
Lakes Regional Library, 15290 Bass Road, Fort Myers, Florida 33919
Hurricane Ian hit southwest Florida in September 2022, causing billions
of dollars in damage and claiming over 160 lives. While federal agencies
were quick to respond to Ian, the convoluted nature of the federal
disaster response regime complicated recovery efforts immediately after
the storm and since. While FEMA is technically
charged with coordinating federal efforts following a disaster, over 30
agencies are involved in emergency response efforts. These complex
interagency authorities, and the at times poor communication between
federal agencies and the public, leave many residents unaware of federal
benefits they may be entitled to following a hurricane. Southwest
Florida continues to rebuild from Ian’s devastating impact, and many
residents continue to struggle in their interactions with federal
disaster response agencies.
This hearing will examine the role federal agencies played in response
to Hurricane Ian, as well as southwest Florida’s efforts to rebuild from
the storm. Specifically, Members will be able to inquire about the
effectiveness of the federal response to Hurricane Ian, whether areas
for improvement exist in the federal disaster response regime, and the
nature and extent of Ian’s impact on communities in the region.
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee
Government Operations and the Federal Workforce Subcommittee
On Thursday, July 27, 2023, 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
“Examining Barriers to Access: Ongoing Visitor Experience Issues at
America’s National Parks.”
Charles F. Sams III, Director, National Park
Service, Washington, DC
Despite significant additional resources provided by Congress over the
last several years, the National Park Service (NPS) has failed to reduce
their deferred maintenance (DM) backlog and develop a strategy to
prevent increasing the DM backlog in the future.
Leaders from the environmental organizations Beyond Plastics, Beyond
Petrochemicals, River Valley Organizing, Hip Hop Caucus, Moms Clean Air
Force, Plastic Free Future, Greenpeace, and others, are delivering a
petition to
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Washington, D.C.,
calling for a ban on vinyl chloride before any more harm is done to
communities like East Palestine, Ohio.
Speakers:
Heather McTeer Toney, Beyond Petrochemicals
Daniel Winston, River Valley Organizing
Almeta Cooper, Moms Clean Air Force
Chris Walton, Hip Hop Caucus
Charlie Cray, Greenpeace
Judith Enck, Beyond Plastics
Jessica Conard
Location: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Headquarters at 1200
Pennsylvania Avenue NW
On Thursday, July 27, 2023, at 10:15 a.m. in room 1334 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.
1437
(Rep. Rose), “Black Vulture Relief Act of 2023”, to authorize
livestock producers and their employees to kill black vultures;
H.R.
2950
(Rep. Huffman), “Coastal Habitat Conservation Act of 2023”;
H.R.
2982
(Rep. Tonko), “New York-New Jersey Watershed Protection Act”;
H.R.
4051
(Rep. Wittman), “SHARKED Act” (Supporting the Health of Aquatic
Systems through Research, Knowledge and Enhanced Dialogue Act), backed
by sportfishing
lobby;
H.R.
4094
(Rep. Curtis), “Great Salt Lake Stewardship Act”;
H.R.
4587
(Rep. Rutherford) “Red Snapper Act”, to provide that the Administrator
of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall not issue
an interim or final rule that includes an area closure in the South
Atlantic for species managed under the Snapper-Grouper Fishery
Management Plan until the South Atlantic Great Red Snapper Count study
is complete and the data related to that study is integrated into the
stock assessment; and
H.R.
4596
(Rep. Boebert), ‘‘Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basins Endangered
Fish Recovery Programs Reauthorization Act of 2023’’, to reauthorize
the Bureau of Reclamation to provide cost-shared funding to implement
the endangered and threatened fish recovery programs for the Upper
Colorado and San Juan River Basins.
Rob Wittman, Representative from the First District of Virginia
Amata Radewagen, Representative from American Samoa
John Curtis, Representative from the Third District of Utah
Lauren Boebert, Representative from the Third District of Colorado
John Rutherford, Representative from the Fifth District of Florida
Paul Tonko, Representative from the Twentieth District of New York
John Rose, Representative from the Sixth District of Tennessee
Jared Huffman, Representative from the Second District of California
Panel II (Administration witnesses):
Dr. Kelly Kryc, Deputy Assistant Secretary for International
Fisheries, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
Washington, DC
Stephen Guertin, Deputy Director for Program Management and Policy,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, DC
Panel III (Advocates):
William Gibbons-Fly, Executive Director, American Tunaboat
Association, San Diego, CA [H.R.1792]
Jack Graham, Captain, Afishianado Charters, Nags Head, NC [H.R.
4051]
Jessica McCawley, Director of the Division of Marine Fisheries
Management, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission,
Tallahassee, FL [H.R. 4587]
Gene Shawcroft, General Manager of the Central Utah Water Conservancy
District, Orem, UT [H.R.4094]
Steve Wolff, General Manager, Southwestern Water Conservation
District, Durango, CO [H.R. 4596]
Charlie Besher, Property Rights and Environmental Management Committee
Chair, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Patton, MO [H.R. 1437]
On Thursday, July 27, 2023, at 10:00 a.m., in room 1324 Longworth House
Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on
Energy and Mineral Resources will hold an oversight hearing titled
“Safeguarding American Jobs and Economic Growth: Examining the Future of
the Offshore Leasing Program.”
Archie Chiasson, III, President, Lafourche
Parish, LA
Paul Danos, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Danos, Gray, LA
Mike Minarovic, Chief Executive Officer, Arena Offshore, The
Woodlands, TX
Justin Solet, Gulf South Advocate, Dulac, LA (Democratic witness)
Under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), the Department of
the Interior (DOI) is responsible for preparing and maintaining an oil
and gas leasing program that meets national energy needs while
considering various factors, including input from intergovernmental
partners and stakeholders. However, recent events such as the vacatur of
Lease Sale 257 and cancelation of Lease Sales 258, 259 and 261, later
mandated by the so-called Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), raise questions
about DOI’s compliance with
OCSLA and the future of the offshore leasing
program.
The Biden administration has initiated the process for several offshore
wind sales since taking office. On July 17, 2023,
BOEM announced the availability of the Final
Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Revolution Wind Farm
project offshore of the State of Rhode Island. If finalized, Revolution
Wind would be the fourth commercial-scale offshore wind project located
on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf approved by the Biden
administration. More recently, on July 20, 2023
BOEM announced it will hold the first-ever
offshore wind energy lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico this August.
Despite claims of inability to conduct similar review activities for oil
and gas in the same region or elsewhere, BOEM
expects to review at least 16 Construction and Operations Plans of
commercial, offshore wind energy facilities by 2025 and are on track to
hold zero new oil and gas lease sales.
U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chair of the Senate Committee on
Commerce, Science and Transportation, will convene a full committee
Executive
Session on
Thursday, July 27, 2023, at 10 a.m. ET to consider the following
legislation:
Agenda:
S.
447,
ORBITS Act of 2023, to remediate orbital
debris
S. 484, Combating Human Rights Abuses Act of 2023
S.
1153,
The National Manufacturing Advisory Council for the 21st Century Act
S. 1303, TICKET Act
S. 1409, Kids Online Safety Act
S. 1418, Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act
S. 1421, Country of Origin Online Labeling Act
S. 1648, Launch Communications Act
S. 1669, AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act of 2023
S.
2086,
A bill to require the Secretary of Commerce to establish the Sea
Turtle Rescue Assistance Grant Program
S.
2116,
Strengthening Support for American Manufacturing Act
S. 2201, the American Cybersecurity Literacy Act
Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee