Hill Heat

Housing and Insurance subcommittee hearing entitled: “How Mandates Like ESG Distort Markets and Drive Up Costs for Insurance and Housing”.

• Warren Davidson, Ohio, Chairman
• Emanuel Cleaver, II, Missouri, Ranking Member

07/14/2023 at 09:00AM

Subcommittee hearing on the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Rescheduled from June 13th.

Witness:

• Deanne Criswell, Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency

07/13/2023 at 10:00AM

Subcommittee hearing on the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate.

Subcommittee chair: Brian Mast (R-Fla.)

Ranking member: Jason Crow (D-Colo.)

Witness:

• John Kerry, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, U.S. Department of State

Under questioning from Rep. Mast, Kerry said that “under no circumstances” would the United States support a loss and damage fund at COP 28.

MAST: Are you planning to commit America to ‘climate reparations’, that is to say we have to pay some other country because they had a flood, or they had a hurricane, or a typhoon, or a wildfire?

KERRY: No. Under no circumstances.

MAST: Very good. I’m glad to hear you say that. I do have a “no”, I’ll put it up there.

KERRY: Why don’t you create an exclamation point beside it?

MAST: I will write in an exclamation point for you. And I’m glad that we have agreement on that.

[The exchange begins at 56:05 in the above recording.]

07/13/2023 at 10:00AM

The purpose of this hearing is to receive testimony on pending public lands, forests, and mining legislation.

Opening Remarks:

• Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, Subcommittee Chair, Subcommitte on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining
• Sen. Mike Lee, Subcommittee Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining

Witnesses:

• Thomas Heinlein, Assistant Director, National Conservation Lands and Community Partnerships, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Department of the Interior
• Christopher French, Deputy Chief, National Forest System, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
• John J. Entsminger, General Manager, Southern Nevada Water Authority
• Michelle McConkie, Director, Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration
• Joseph A. Heringer, Commissioner of University and School Trust Lands, North Dakota Department of Trust Lands

Legislation:

• S. 636, to establish the Dolores River National Conservation Area and the Dolores River Special Management Area in the State of Colorado, to protect private water rights in the State, and for other purposes;
• S. 912, to require the Secretary of Energy to provide technology grants to strengthen domestic mining education, and for other purposes;
• S. 1015, to require the Secretary of Agriculture to convey the Pleasant Valley Ranger District Administrative Site to Gila County, Arizona;
• S. 1088, to authorize the relinquishment and in lieu selection of land and minerals in the State of North Dakota, to restore land and minerals to Indian Tribes within the State of North Dakota, and for other purposes;
• S. 1254, to designate and expand wilderness areas in Olympic National Forest in the State of Washington, and to designate certain rivers in Olympic National Forest and Olympic National Park as wild and scenic rivers, and for other purposes;
• S. 1405, to provide for the exchange of certain Federal land and State land in the State of Utah;
• S. 1622, to discourage speculative oil and gas leasing and to promote enhanced multiple use management of public land and National Forest System land, and for other purposes;
• S. 1634, to provide for the designation of certain wilderness areas, recreation management areas, and conservation areas in the State of Colorado, and for other purposes;
• S. 1657, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain land to La Paz County, Arizona, and for other purposes;
• S. 1760, to amend the Apex Project, Nevada Land Transfer and Authorization Act of 1989 to include the city of North Las Vegas, Nevada, and the Apex Industrial Park Owners Association, and for other purposes;
• S. 1776, to provide for the protection of and investment in certain Federal land in the State of California, and for other purposes;
• S. 1890, to provide for the establishment of a grazing management program on Federal land in Malheur County, Oregon, and for other purposes;
• S. 2020, to amend the Oregon Resource Conservation Act of 1996 to reauthorize the Deschutes River Conservancy Working Group, for other purposes;
• S. 2042, to amend the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area Act to adjust the boundary of the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area, and for other purposes;
• S. 2136, to require the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to convey certain Federal land to the State of Utah for inclusion in certain State parks, and for other purposes;
• S. 2149, to sustain economic development and recreational use of National Forest System land in the State of Montana, to add certain land to the National Wilderness Preservation System, to designate new areas for recreation, and for other purposes.
• S. ___, to release from wilderness study area designation certain land in the State of Montana, to improve the management of that land, and for other purposes.

07/12/2023 at 02:30PM

The Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship will hold a business meeting to consider pending legislation.

Disaster legislation:

• S. 943 – Small Business Disaster Damage Fairness Act of 2023
• S. 1763 – Small Business Wildfire Smoke Recovery Act

Other legislation:

• S. 38 – Veteran Entrepreneurship Training Act of 2023
• S. 77 – STEP Improvement Act of 2023
• S. 609 – NEW START Act of 2023
• S. 673 – Small Business Childcare Investment Act
• S. 936 – Supporting Small Business and Career and Technical Education Act of 2023
• S. 1156 – Native American Entrepreneurship and Opportunity Act of 2023
• S. 1345 – 504 Credit Risk Management Improvement Act of 2023
• S. 1352 – 504 Modernization and Small Manufacturer Enhancement Act of 2023
• S. 1370 – PREPARE Act of 2023
• S. 1396 – RAMP for Innovators Act
• S. 1402 – Minority Entrepreneurship Grant Act of 2023
• S. 1458 – SECURE Small Business Act
• S. 1739 – Small Business Innovation Voucher Act of 2023
• S. 2094 – Interagency Committee on Women’s Business Enterprise Act of 2023
• S. 2099 – Supporting Community Lenders Act
• S. 2100 – 504 Loan Availability Act
• S. 2146 – Investing in Vets Act
• S. 2184 – Women’s Business Centers Improvement Act of 2023
• S. 2185 – Small Business Development Centers Improvement Act of 2023
• S. 2206 – Expanding the Surety Bond Program Act
• S. 2209 – Veteran Federal Procurement Training Program Act
• S. 2212 – SBIC Advisory Committee Act of 2023
• S. ____ – Community Advantage Loan Program Act of 2023

07/12/2023 at 02:30PM

The Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs will meet in executive session to vote on the following nominations:

• Philip Nathan Jefferson, of North Carolina, to be Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System;
• Lisa DeNell Cook, of Michigan, to be a Member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; and
• Adriana Debora Kugler, of Maryland, to be a Member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

In a recent meeting to hear testimony from the slate of candidates, the panel’s ranking member, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), accused Lisa Cook and Adriana Kugler of seeking to “use their positions … to influence and immerse their philosophies into the mainstream of American life.”

Scott said they were, among other things, looking to impose a “climate agenda” and “ESG” — shorthand for the practice of making investment decisions according to environmental, social and governmental principles — which he said are “issues that distract from the actual job of the Fed.”

Cook was first nominated in January 2022 and confirmed in May 2022.

Kugler, the World Bank Group Executive Director for the United States, was nominated in May 2023.

07/12/2023 at 02:00PM

Press conference highlighting the need to protect Americans’ freedom to invest following the first of six House Financial Services Committee hearings targeting ESG investing.

During the press conference, members of the Congressional Sustainable Investment Caucus and House Financial Services Committee will underscore the importance of preserving the free-market principles of consumer choice and investor freedom.

Speakers:

• Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA)
• Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL)
• Rep. Juan Vargas (D-CA)
• Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-RI)
• Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA)
• Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison
• Brandon Rees, Deputy Director of the Office of Investment for the AFL-CIO

Where: House Triangle

The event will also be livestreamed on Rep. Vargas’ Twitter and Rep. Casten’s Facebook page.

07/12/2023 at 01:30PM

The Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources will hold an oversight hearing titled “Examining the Biden Administration’s Record on Federal Coal Leasing” on Wednesday, July 12, 2023, at 10:15 a.m. EDT in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building.

Hearing memo

Witnesses:

• Randall Luthi, Chief Energy Advisor, Office of the Governor, State of Wyoming, Cheyenne, WY
• Matthew Adams, Vice President and Senior Tax Counsel, Navajo Transitional Energy Company (NTEC), Broomfield, CO
• John Driscoll, Director and Chief Executive Officer, Port of Mobile, Alabama Port Authority, Mobile, AL
• Sara Kendall, Interim Executive Director, Western Organization of Resource Councils, Washington, DC

07/12/2023 at 10:15AM

Full committee hearing on enhancing fire weather prediction and coordination.

Witnesses:

• Mark Goeller, State Forester/Director Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry
• James Peverill, Founder/CEO, GreenSight
• Dr. Ali Tohidi, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Wildfire Dynamics, San Jose State University

07/12/2023 at 10:00AM

Regulators overseeing public corporations and depository institutions are adopting climate-related financial risk measures and regulations to support shareholder democracy. At this full committee hearing, Republican witnesses will testify in favor of legislation to block those advances.

Committee memo

Witnesses:

• James Copland, Senior Fellow & Director, Manhattan Institute
• Benjamin Zycher, Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
• Lawrence Cunningham, Special Counsel, Mayer Brown
• Ted Allen, Vice President, Society for Corporate Governance

Legislation:

• H.R. ____, a bill authorize the exclusion of shareholder proposals from proxy or consent solicitation material if such proposals are substantially similar to previously included proposals.
• H.R. ____, to authorize the exclusion of shareholder proposals from proxy or consent solicitation material if such proposals substantially implement, substantially duplicate, or are substantially similar to previously included proposals.
• H.R. ____, to authorize the exclusion of shareholder proposals from proxy or consent solicitation material if the subject matter of the shareholder proposal is environmental, social, or political.
• H.R. ____, to clarify that an issuer may exclude a shareholder proposal pursuant to section 240.14a-8(i) of title 17, Code of Federal Regulations, without regard to whether such proposal relates to a significant social policy issue.
• H.R. ____, to amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to prohibit the Securities and Exchange Commission from compelling the discussion of shareholder proposals or proxy or consent solicitation materials.
• H.R. ____, to require the Securities and Exchange Commission to conduct a study of certain issues with respect to shareholder proposals, proxy advisory firms, and the proxy process, and for other purposes.
• H.R. ____, to amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to provide for the registration of proxy advisory firms, and for other purposes.
• H.R. ____, to amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to provide for liability for certain failures to disclose material information in connection with proxy voting advice, and for other purposes. 
• H.R. ____, to amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to provide for duties of certain investment advisors, asset managers, and pension funds with respect to voting on shareholder proposals, and for other purposes.
• H.R. ____, to amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to prohibit robovoting with respect to votes related to proxy or consent solicitation materials, and for other purposes.
• H.R. ____, to amend the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 with respect to proxy voting of passively managed funds, and for other purposes.
• H.R. ____, to require the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study on the detrimental impact of the Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive on United States companies, and for other purposes.
• H.R. ____, the “International Regulatory Transparency and Accountability Act.”
• H.R. ____, the “Mandatory Materiality Requirement Act of 2022.”
• H.R. ____, to amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require the Securities and Exchange Commission to disclose and report on non-material disclosure mandates, and for other purposes.
• H.R. ____, the “Public Company Advisory Committee Act of 2022.”
• H.R. ____, to amend the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 to specify requirements concerning the consideration of pecuniary and non-pecuniary factors, to require the Securities and Exchange Commission to conduct a study on climate change and other environmental disclosures in the municipal bond market, and to require the Securities and Exchange Commission to conduct a study on the solicitation of municipal securities business.
• H.R. 2743, the “Fair Access to Banking Act.”

07/12/2023 at 10:00AM