Plans for the Removal of the Lower Snake River Dams

On Tuesday, January 30, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. (ET) in 2123 Rayburn House Office Building, the Subcommittee on Energy, Climate, and Grid Security will hold a hearing entitled “Exposing President Biden’s Plan to Dismantle the Snake River Dams and the Negative Impacts to the United States.” The hearing will examine the management and operations of federal dams on the Columbia River and its tributaries, and actions taken by the Biden administration to plan for the removal of the Lower Snake River dams.

Hearing memo

Witnesses:

Panel I

  • Brenda Mallory, Chair, Council on Environmental Quality
  • John Hairston, Administrator and CEO, Bonneville Power Administration
  • Michael L. Connor, Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works), U.S. Army
  • Janet Coit, Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
  • Jeremiah Baumann, Senior Advisor, Director of Policy and Implementation, Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy

Panel II

  • Jim Matheson, CEO, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA)
  • Casey Chumrau, CEO, Washington Grain Commission
  • Neil Maunu, Executive Director, Pacific Northwest Waterways Association (PNWA)
  • Jeremy Takala, Member, Yakama Nation’s Tribal Council
House Energy and Commerce Committee
   Energy, Climate, and Grid Security Subcommittee
2123 Rayburn

01/30/2024 at 10:00AM

Nominees for Ambassador to Indonesia, UNESCO, and Assistant Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development for Middle Eastern Affairs

Nomination hearing.

Nominees:

  • Kamala Shirin Lakhdhir, of Connecticut, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Indonesia
  • Courtney Diesel O’Donnell, of California, former Director of Global Partnerships at Airbnb, to be United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, with the rank of Ambassador
  • Andrew William Plitt, of Maryland, to be an Assistant Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (Middle Eastern Affairs)
Senate Foreign Relations Committee
419 Dirksen

01/25/2024 at 10:00AM

Reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program: Local Perspectives on Challenges and Solutions

The Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs will meet in open session, hybrid format to conduct a hearing entitled, “Reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program: Local Perspectives on Challenges and Solutions.”

Witnesses:

  • Dr. Daniel Kaniewski, Managing Director, Public Sector, Marsh McLennan
  • Michael Hecht, President & CEO, Greater New Orleans, Inc.
Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee
538 Dirksen

01/25/2024 at 10:00AM

Nominations for Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture, Ambassador to Burkina Faso, and others

Business meeting to vote on nominations.

Nominees:

  • Kurt Campbell, of the District of Columbia, the current Deputy Assistant to the President and Coordinator for Indo-Pacific Affairs on the National Security Council, to be Deputy Secretary of State
  • Cardell Kenneth Richardson, Sr., of Virginia, the current inspector general of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, to be Inspector General, Department of State
  • Robert David Gioia, of New York, former President of Buffalo’s John R. Oishei Foundation, to be a Commissioner on the part of the United States on the International Joint Commission, United States and Canada
  • Nicole Shampaine, of California, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, for the rank of Ambassador during her tenure of service as United States Representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
  • Sean Patrick Maloney, of New York, to be Representative of the United States of America to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, with the rank of Ambassador
  • Jeffrey Prescott, of the District of Columbia, current Deputy to the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, to be U.S. Representative to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture, with the rank of Ambassador
  • Charlie Crist, of Florida, to be Representative of the United States of America on the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization, with the rank of Ambassador
  • Joann M. Lockard, of Virginia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Burkina Faso
Senate Foreign Relations Committee
116 Dirksen

01/24/2024 at 10:00AM

How the Climate Crisis Threatens Ocean Industries

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
  • Dr. Phil Levy, Chief Economist, Flexport Inc.
Senate Budget Committee
608 Dirksen

01/24/2024 at 10:00AM

The Next Generation: Empowering American Nuclear Energy

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
2154 Rayburn

01/18/2024 at 02:00PM

Providing Reliable, Objective, Verifiable Emissions Intensity and Transparency (PROVE IT) Act and Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act

Business meeting agenda:

  • 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
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
406 Dirksen

01/18/2024 at 10:30AM

Oversight of the SEC’s Proposed Climate Disclosure Rule

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.”

Committee memo

Witnesses:

  • Charles Crain, Vice President, Domestic Policy, National Association of Manufacturers
  • Lawrence Cunningham, Special Counsel, Mayer Brown
  • Bill Schultz, Vice President, Schultz Fruitridge Farms, Inc.
  • George Georgiev, Associate Professor of Law, Emory University School of Law
House Financial Services Committee
   Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee
2128 Rayburn

01/18/2024 at 10:00AM

Coastal Fishing and Protection Legislation

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).
House Natural Resources Committee
   Water, Wildlife and Fisheries Subcommittee

01/18/2024 at 10:00AM