Hill Heat

Full committee markup.

• Consideration of 302(b) Subcommittee allocations.
• Markup of the ‘Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2025.”
• Markup of the “Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2025.”
• Markup of the “Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2025.”

Subcommittee hearing.

Witnesses:

• Ted Brady, Executive Director, Vermont League of Cities and Towns, Williston, VT
• Julie S. Moore PE, Secretary, Agency of Natural Resources, State of Vermont, Middlesex, VT
• Kevin Paap, County Commissioner, Blue Earth County, Garden City, MN
• Mark D. Bohlin, General Manager, Perdido Bay Water, Sewer and Fire Protection District, Foley, AL
• Brad Kimbro, General Manager and CEO, Wiregrass Electric Cooperative, Ashford, AL

A full committee classified briefing.

Witness:

• Brian Nichols, Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, U.S. Department of State

Full committee hearing entitled “Examining the Consequences of EPA’s Actions on American Agriculture”.

The purpose of the hearing is to consider the nomination of Shannon A. Estenoz to be Deputy Secretary of the Interior.

Witness:

• Shannon A. Estenoz, Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, Department of the Interior

Estenoz is currently Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks. Previously, Shannon served as Interior’s Director of Everglades Restoration Initiatives and Executive Director of the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force. Shannon’s twenty four-year career in conservation includes roles with the World Wildlife Fund and the National Parks Conservation Association, and appointments by three Florida Governors including to the Governing Board of the South Florida Water Management District. Shannon is a fifth generation native of Key West, Florida, and holds degrees in International Affairs and Civil Engineering from Florida State University.

Full committee hearing.

Witness:

• Michael Regan, Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Full committee hearing.

Witness:

• Eric Beightel, Executive Director, Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council

The Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (Permitting Council) was established in 2015 by Title 41 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST-41), charged with improving the transparency and predictability of the federal environmental review and authorization process for certain critical infrastructure projects. The Permitting Council is comprised of the Permitting Council Executive Director, who serves as the Council Chair; 13 federal agency council members (including deputy secretary-level designees of the Secretaries of Agriculture, Army, Commerce, Interior, Energy, Transportation, Defense, Homeland Security, and Housing and Urban Development, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Chairs of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation); and the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

The Permitting Council coordinates federal environmental reviews and authorizations for projects that seek and qualify for FAST-41 coverage. FAST-41 covered projects are entitled to comprehensive permitting timetables and transparent, collaborative management of those timetables on the Federal Permitting Dashboard. FAST-41 covered projects may be in the renewable or conventional energy production, electricity transmission, energy storage, surface transportation, aviation, ports and waterways, water resource, broadband, pipelines, manufacturing, mining, carbon capture, semiconductors, artificial intelligence and machine learning, high-performance computing and advanced computer hardware and software, quantum information science and technology, data storage and data management, and cybersecurity sectors.

The purpose of the hearing is to consider the nomination of Shannon A. Estenoz to be Deputy Secretary of the Interior.

Nominee:

• Shannon A. Estenoz, Assistant Secretary of the Department of the Interior

Full committee markup of Fiscal Year 2025 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Agriculture, Rural Development, and Food and Drug Administration Bills and Revised Subcommittee Allocations.

Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies

• Full Committee Mark
• Democratic Fact Sheet
• Democratic Summary

Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies

• Subcommittee Mark
• Democratic Summary
• Democratic Fact Sheet

Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies

• Subcommittee Mark
• Democratic Summary
• Democratic Fact Sheet

This is a hearing of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials.

Witnesses:

• Dillon Olvera, President and Chief Executive Officer, Modesto and Empire Traction Company; on behalf of the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association
• Roger Nober, Director of GW Regulatory Studies Center and Professor of Practice at the Trachtenberg School, George Washington University
• Ural Yal, Senior Vice President – Corporate Preconstruction Group, Flatiron Construction; on behalf of the Associated General Contractors of California
• Heather Arias, Chief, Transportation and Toxics Division, California Air Resources Board