Hill Heat

Witnesses

Panel I

• Harlan Watson, Ph.D., Special Representative and Senior Climate Negotiator, Bureau of Oceans and International Environment and Scientific Affairs, U.S. Department of State

Panel II

• His Excellency Ali’ioaiga Feturi Elisaia, Permanent Representative of the Independent State of Samoa
• Mason F. Smith, Charge d’affaires, a.i. of the Republic of the Fiji Islands
• Mr. Charles Paul, Charge d’affaires, a.i., Republic of the Marshall Islands
• His Excellency Masao Nakayama, Permanent Representative of the Federated States of Micronesia
• Her Excellency Marlene Moses, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Nauru

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) opening statement:

We are here today to review the Administration’s proposed Fiscal Year 2009 budget for the Environmental Protection Agency.

Since this is the Bush Administration’s final budget proposal, let’s ask ourselves a simple question:

Is EPA better able today to protect people and communities from serious public health and environmental problems than it was when this Administration took the reins?

The answer is a resounding “No.”

The Bush Administration’s proposed budget for 2009 represents a 26% decline in overall EPA funding since the Administration’s first budget was enacted, when adjusted for inflation. Budgets are about priorities – this shows the low priority that the Bush Administration places on environmental protection.

Witness

• Stephen L. Johnson, Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency

The White House withdrew Stanley Suboleski’s nomination the night before the hearing, saying that Suboleski asked for his nomination to be withdrawn “for personal reasons” Monday afternoon.

Today, Chairman Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and the Select Committee will start a process to look into the choices our nation makes on food and agriculture and how those choices affect our environment, specifically the “carbon footprint” of how we grow, raise, transport, package, dispose of and otherwise provide sustenance to Americans and people around the world. And while changing the way the world creates and consumes energy is the most effective way to combat global warming, so-called “lifestyle” choices like the food we eat will play an increasing role in how to make immediate cuts in the pollution that causes global warming.

In today’s hearing—entitled “Food for Thought”—this hunger for knowledge on food and the environment starts by looking at the food service industry, and specifically at the food choices and serving options Congress makes available right here in the House of Representatives. For millions of Americans, the cafeterias that serve food in hospitals, universities, major employment centers and schools deliver the meals to get them through the day, but the environment is often an afterthought in the face of swarms of hungry patrons looking for calories instead of low-carbon food.

Witnesses

• Dan Beard, Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), House of Representatives
• Carina Wong, Executive Director, Chez Panisse Foundation
• Patricia D. Millner, Ph.D, Research Microbiologist in the Sustainable Agricultural Systems Laboratory and Environmental Microbial Systems Laboratory, USDA
• Tom Kelly, Ph.D., Chief Sustainability Officer, University of New Hampshire Office of Sustainability

Witness

• Stephen L. Johnson, Director. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

From E&E News:

Pressed by House panel, EPA chief defends waiver decision (02/26/2008) Katherine Boyle, E&ENews PM reporter

U.S. EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson defended his rejection today of California’s waiver request that would have allowed state regulation of motor vehicles’ emissions of greenhouse gases in the wake of the release of agency documents showing that top EPA officials strongly disagreed with him.

Appearing before the House Interior and Environment Subcommittee, Johnson said climate change is not a unique California problem and the state’s petition for a Clean Air Act waiver did not meet the “compelling and extraordinary conditions” required by law.

“Every time another governor, another state representative talks about the need for their state to address global climate change, they’re actually making my very point on the California waiver,” he said.

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee released documents showing EPA staff members strongly supported granting the waiver.

A presentation prepared for the director of EPA’s Transportation and Air Quality, Margo Oge, urged Johnson to grant the waiver and suggested he would face great outside pressure to deny it.

“If you are asked to deny this waiver, I fear the credibility of the agency that we both love will be irreparably damaged,” the presentation says. “You have to find a way to get this done. If you cannot, you will face a pretty big personal decision about whether you are able to stay in the job under those circumstances.”

It is “obvious” there is “no legal or technical justification for denying” the waiver, says the presentation prepared by Chris Grundler, Oge’s deputy director at the National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory in Michigan.

Johnson said he only became aware of the presentation when Congress requested documents on the waiver decision.

“It was never presented to me,” he said.

Rep. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) pressed him, asking if Oge ever raised the issues in the presentation.

But Johnson again denied seeing the presentation, although he didn’t say whether Oge raised those points.

“I received a lot of comments from my professional staff, and they presented me with a wide range of options,” Johnson said. “One of the options was denial. One of the options was to grant the waiver.”

Johnson said he will issue a final decision document on the waiver by the end of the week.

At the hearing, Chairman Feinstein will call for passage of legislation she has sponsored to close a loophole that has allowed oil and gas companies to pay no royalty payments for drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf for leases negotiated in 1998 and 1999. This measure to close the loophole was stripped from the FY2008 Interior Appropriations bill.

Under this provision, the companies who have not renegotiated their existing contracts will have a choice.

• They can keep their existing leases royalty-free if they so choose, but be barred from bidding on new contracts, or
• They can agree to renegotiate these leases in good faith and be able to participate in the bidding for new leases.

Witnesses

• C. Stephen Allred, Assistant Secretary for Lands and Minerals Management, Department of the Interior
• Randall Luthi, Director, Minerals Management Service

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) and the House Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Caucus invite you to a briefing addressing the impacts of the President’s FY 2009 budget on energy efficiency and renewable energy (EE/RE) programs, including impacts upon states and low-income consumers. In addition, the urgent need to extend Federal tax incentives for EE/RE will be discussed. Energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies are critical elements of a national energy policy that will meet the nation’s goals of reducing energy imports, moderating energy prices, and improving the economy, national security, the environment and public health.

Panel

• Deborah Estes, Majority Counsel, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
• Scott Sklar, President, The Stella Group; Chair, Sustainable Energy Coalition Steering Committee
• Bill Prindle, Deputy Director, American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy
• Jeff Genzer, General Counsel, National Association of State Energy Officials; Duncan Weinberg, Genzer & Pembroke

Witnesses

• Dr. David L. Greene, Corporate Fellow, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Center for Transportation Analysis
• Bob Dinneen, President and CEO, Renewable Fuels Association
• Dr. Mary Beth Stanek, Director of Environment and Energy Policy and Commercialization, General Motors
• Dr. Don Hillebrand, Director of Center for Transportation Research, Argonne National Laboratory
• Lynda L. Ziegler, Senior Vice President of Customer Service, Southern California Edison
• Tom Stricker, Director Technical and Regulatory Affairs, Toyota Motor North America

From E&E News:

Overall, the president’s $10.7 billion budget proposal released last week represents a slight decrease from last year’s budget, with funding shifted from standard functions like construction and range improvement for specific department initiatives.

Kempthorne defended the cuts when testifying before the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee last week, calling the cuts “strategic reductions” that reduce overlap with other federal efforts while boosting funding for key department priorities.

“In tight budgetary times, I do feel that to the extent possible that we have to balance the budget, and by balance I mean with the issues,” Kempthorne said.

The National Park Service, for example, would receive $2.4 billion – a $47 million cut – but the request would also increase the service’s operations budget by more than $160 million, to $2.1 billion, making it the largest budget for park operations ever.

The increased funding for park operations is part of Bush’s National Parks Centennial Challenge in honor of NPS’s 100th anniversary. The plan calls for $1 billion – $100 million over each of the next 10 years – in donations from the public, friends groups and corporations, to be matched “dollar for dollar” in mandatory funds by Congress.

Kempthorne is expected to ask for support for the matching funds. The administration is also looking for additional funding for its Water for America, Birds Forever, Oceans and Coastal and Safe Borderlands initiatives.

Witness

• Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, Department of the Interior