On Wednesday, July 21, 2021 at 10:00 A.M. EDT,
in room 1324 Longworth Hearing Room and online via Cisco Webex, the
Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife will hold a hybrid
oversight
hearing
titled, “Examining the President’s Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Proposal for
the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.”
This hearing will also be streamed on the Committee’s YouTube.
Witnesses
David Palumbo, Deputy Commissioner of Operations, U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation
Dr. Don Cline, Associate Director, Water Resources, U.S. Geological
Survey
Dr. Richard W. Spinrad, Administrator, National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Stephen D. Guertin, Deputy Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Dale Hall, Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Mark D. Myers, Director, U.S. Geological Survey
Ben Chandler (D-Ky.) I know that you all have talked some about
the alarming loss of common birds in our
country.
Alarming it is. I almost can’t believe it. The numbers that I’ve seen
are absolutely atrocious. And one thing that I’d like to explore with
you real quick, the Audubon Society has stated that the cause of the
dramatic decline of birds is the outright loss of habitat due to poor
land use, the clear-cutting of forests, the draining of wetlands and
sprawl. Now, in light of such a stinging indictment as that, how does
the administration justify a 70 percent cut in land acquisition?
Hall I don’t know.
Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) That’s a good answer.
Chandler That’s one of the best answers I’ve heard in a while,
because I think that’s accurate. I appreciate that.