Hill Heat

Subcommittee hearing on U.S. foreign policy priorities in East Asia and the Pacific and the FY 2024 Budget Request.

Witnesses:

• Daniel Kritenbrink, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, U.S. Department of State
• Michael Ronning, Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator, Asia Bureau, U.S. Agency for International Development

For East Asia and the Pacific, USAID’s FY 2024 budget request includes $279.3 million for climate, which is a $108.8 million increase, or 64 percent, over the FY 2023 request. The FY 2024 request emphasizes the Administration’s priority of addressing climate change by reducing emissions, protecting critical ecosystems, implementing legal and regulatory reforms, mitigating resource conflicts, helping nations transition to renewable energy, and building resilience against the impacts of climate change. There is significant demand for this support from our partners across the region. The FY 2024 request includes a significant increase for regional programming on climate adaptation in IPEF countries. With this funding, USAID will be able to respond to IPEF partners’ priorities, as articulated in the course of the IPEF negotiations, to help them implement IPEF commitments and grow their economies, as well as the economy of the United States. We will support them in climate change adaptation through investments in agriculture systems and food supplies, nature-driven solutions, resilient cities, and investments in climate-friendly infrastructure, in alignment with the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment. Across the region, USAID will enhance climate change adaptation and mitigation by improving access to, and use of, information and tools that can help countries slow, stop, and reverse rapid deforestation, improve land and natural resources management, and prepare and respond to the impacts of climate change. USAID will support net-zero energy grid development in Asia by promoting power sector reforms, supporting the deployment of stateof-the-art energy systems and technologies, and modernizing power grids. With FY 2024 resources, USAID will help our Pacific Islands neighbors realize their own ambitious climate adaptation and mitigation goals by advancing the adoption of renewable energy sources, increasing access to infrastructure that is resilient to a changing climate, and strengthening early warning systems for climate-induced disasters. To promote transformative adaptation and resilience solutions, FY 2024 resources will help more residents to adopt climate-smart livelihoods and mobilize additional climate financing. Since 2016, USAID has mobilized more than $500 million dollars for Pacific Island countries from international climate finance institutions and supported local institutions to receive full accreditation to directly access international climate finance. With FY 2024 resources, USAID will also improve the performance of energy utilities, increase transparent private sector investments in the energy sector, and expand off-grid clean energy systems in Pacific Island countries. In addition, the request will allow USAID to boost the resilience of communities around the region so that they can keep working and earning a living—despite the negative impacts of climate change. In Vietnam, for example, USAID will use FY 2024 resources to protect the landscapes and biodiversity that agricultural communities depend on. We will continue to develop sustainable, climate-smart livelihoods, building on success creating jobs in parks, conservation zones, and watershed protection areas as well as in ecotourism. In the Philippines, which the 2022 World Risk Index ranked as the country with the highest disaster risk, USAID will improve the coping capacities of vulnerable communities in the face of disaster and capitalize on the use of climate-smart technologies to advance U.S. leadership in addressing climate security, as well as food security. USAID will also continue to engage our partners in the region and identify adaptation needs in Pacific Island countries, where extreme weather and shifting climate patterns pose an existential threat. Although collectively these nations contribute less than half a percent of global greenhouse emissions, they are on the frontlines of the struggle against climate threats.

On Tuesday, July 18, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn House Office Building, the Subcommittee on Energy, Climate, and Grid Security will hold a legislative hearing entitled “American Nuclear Energy Expansion: Updating Policies for Efficient, Predictable Licensing and Deployment.”

Hearing memo

Witnesses:

Panel One:

• Dan Dorman, Executive Director of Operations, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
• Michael Goff, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Nuclear Energy, Department of Energy

Panel Two:

• Maria Korsnick, President and CEO, Nuclear Energy Institute
• Jeffrey S. Merrifield, Chairman, Advanced Nuclear Working Group, U.S. Nuclear Industry Council
• Ted Nordhaus, Founder and Executive Director, The Breakthrough Institute
• Jackie Toth, Deputy Director, Good Energy Collective

The hearing will review the following legislation:

• H.R.___, NRC Mission Alignment Act
• H.R.___, Modernize Nuclear Reactor Environmental Reviews Act
• H.R.___, Nuclear Licensing Efficiency Act
• H.R.___, Nuclear Advisory Committee Reform Act
• H.R.___, Efficient Nuclear Licensing Hearings Act
• H.R.___, Advanced Reactor Fee Reduction Act
• H.R.___, Advanced Nuclear Reactor Prize Act
• H.R.___, Advancing Nuclear Regulatory Oversight Act
• H.R.___, Nuclear for Brownfields Site Preparation Act
• H.R. 995, Global Nuclear Energy Assessment and Cooperation Act (Rep. Carter)
• H.R.___, Strengthening American Nuclear Competitiveness Act
• H.R.___, Advanced Nuclear Deployment Act
• H.R.___, Nuclear Fuel Security Act
• H.R. 4528, Strengthening the NRC Workforce Act of 2023 (Rep. DeGette)
• H.R. 4530, NRC Office of Public Engagement and Participation Act of 2023 (Rep. Levin)

Tuesday, July 18, 2023, at 10:00 AM ET, the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security, led by Chairman Carlos Gimenez (R-FL), will hold a hearing to examine the existing and future security threats in the Arctic Region and opportunities for the United States Coast Guard (USCG) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to effectively respond and address these threats.

Witnesses:

• Ronald O’Rourke, Specialist in Naval Affairs, Congressional Research Service
• Luke Coffey, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute
• Esther Brimmer, James H. Binger Senior Fellow in Global Governance, Council on Foreign Relations

On Tuesday, July 18, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. in Room 2220 of the Rayburn House Office Building, the Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy will hold a hearing titled “Climate-Risk: Are Financial Regulators Politically Independent?”

Committee memo

Witnesses:

• Michael S. Gibson, Director, Division of Supervision and Regulation, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
• Greg Coleman, Senior Deputy Comptroller for Large Bank Supervision, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
• Doreen Eberley, Director, Division of Risk Management and Supervision, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
• Rendell L. Jones, Deputy Executive Director, National Credit Union Administration
• Sarah Benatar, Treasurer, Coconino County, Arizona

The hearing will examine recent actions by federal banking regulators to incorporate climate-related financial risks into financial institutions’ risk management frameworks and to monitor and guide those frameworks. The hearing will also examine recent actions by federal banking regulators to incorporate recommendations related to climate-related financial risks of Executive Orders, the Financial Stability Oversight Council, Executive-Branch-led working groups, and international non-governmental organizations. Many recent climate-related financial risk actions by regulators closely align with President Biden’s May 20, 2021, Executive Order on ClimateRelated Financial Risk (EO 14030) and, relatedly, the Financial Stability Oversight Council’s determination of climate change as “an emerging and increasing threat to financial stability” on October 21, 2021.

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

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

Witness:

• Deanne Criswell, Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency

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.]

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.

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

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.