The Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development, and Insurance will
hold a
hearing
entitled, “State of Emergency: Examining the Impact of Growing Wildfire
Risk on the Insurance Market” on September 22 at 9:00 am in room 2128 of
the Rayburn House Office Building and on the Webex platform.
H.R. 8483, the “Wildfire Insurance Coverage Study Act of 2022”
(Rep. Waters) would require the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct
studies assessing the danger that wildfires increasingly pose to
communities and how the market for homeowners’ insurance is responding
to this growing threat.
Witnesses:
Matthew Auer, Dean of the School of Public and International
Affairs, University of Georgia
Amy Bach, Executive Director, United Policyholders
Ricardo Lara, California Insurance Commissioner
Roy Wright, President & CEO of the
Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety
Rex Frazier, President, Personal Insurance Federation of
California
House Financial Services Committee
Housing, Community Development and Insurance Subcommittee
The purpose of this
hearing
is to receive testimony on the following bills:
S.J.
Res.57,
A joint resolution redesignating the Robert E. Lee Memorial in
Arlington National Cemetery as the “Arlington House National Historic
Site”;
S.
305, to
establish the Springfield Race Riot National Monument in the State of
Illinois, and for other purposes;
S.
1211,
to establish the Cahokia Mounds Mississippian Culture National
Historical Park in Collinsville, Illinois, Monroe, Madison, and St.
Clair Counties, Illinois, and St. Louis City County, Missouri, and for
other purposes;
S.
3447,
to authorize the National Service Animals Monument Corporation to
establish a commemorative work in the District of Columbia and its
environs, and for other purposes;
S.
3579,
to authorize the Embassy of France in Washington, DC, to establish a
commemorative work in the District of Columbia and its environs to
honor the extraordinary contributions of Jean Monnet to restoring
peace between European nations and establishing the European Union,
and for other purposes;
S.
3873,
to designate the outdoor amphitheater at the Blue Ridge Music Center
in Galax, Virginia, as the “Rick Boucher Amphitheater”;
S.
4122,
to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate certain segments
of the Housatonic River in the State of Connecticut as components of
the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, and for other purposes;
S.
4168,
to amend title 54, United States Code, to reauthorize the National
Park Foundation;
S.
4222,
to establish the St. Croix National Heritage Area, and for other
purposes;
S.
4371,
to establish the César E. Chávez and the Farmworker Movement National
Historical Park in the States of California and Arizona, and for other
purposes;
S.
4377 /
H.R. 4380, to designate the El Paso Community Healing Garden National
Memorial, and for other purposes;
S.
4464/H.R.
1908, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to
assess the suitability and feasibility of designating certain land as
the Kaena Point National Heritage Area, and for other purposes;
S.
4693,
to amend the National Trails System Act to include national discovery
trails and designate the American Discovery Trail, and for other
purposes;
S.
4784,
to modify the boundary of the Katahdin Woods and Waters National
Monument in the State of Maine, to improve public access to the
National Monument, and for other purposes.
This
hearing
will provide an opportunity to discuss the partnership between the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the development, testing,
acquisition, launch and management of NOAA’s
operational weather satellite programs. Furthermore, this hearing will
examine how lessons learned from past challenges in recent weather
satellite programs are being incorporated into the future goals,
architecture, and capabilities for the next generation of weather
satellites.
Witnesses
Dr. Stephen Volz, Assistant Administrator, National Environmental
Satellite, Data, and Information Services,
NOAA
John Gagosian, Joint Agency Satellite Division Director,
NASA
Fred Meny, Assistant Inspector General for Audit and Evaluation, U.S.
Department of Commerce, Office of Inspector General
Over a
million Puerto Ricans remain without electricity following Hurricane
Fiona. For a timely conversation, join a Twitter
space — hosted by Climate
Nexus and the Energy Democracy Project — for Reflections on Hurricanes
Maria + Harvey & the Road to Recovery.
Speakers:
Johanna Bozuwa, Climate and Community Project
Ruth Santiago, Comité Diálogo Ambiental
Arturo Massol-Deyá, Casa Pueblo
Sandra Edwards, Coalition for Environment, Equity and Resilience
Dr. Brett Perkison, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston
School of Public Health
The Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, led by Chair Alan
Lowenthal (D-Calif.), will hold a legislative
hearing
on the following bill:
H.R.
8802
(Grijalva), To require the Secretary of the Interior and the Chief of
the Forest Service to align management of public lands and waters with
the President’s greenhouse gas emission reduction goals, and for other
purposes. Public Lands and Waters Climate Leadership Act of 2022
Witnesses
Andrew Dessler, Professor of Atmospheric Sciences Director, Texas
Center for Climate Studies; Reta A. Haynes Chair in Geosciences, Texas
A&M University
Rosemary Ahtuangaruak, Mayor, Nuiqsut, Alaska
Abigail Ross Hopper, President and CEO,
Solar Energy Industries Association
Kenny Stein, Policy Director, Institute for Energy Research
With the Arctic warming two to four times faster than the rest of the
planet, the purpose of this hearing is to discuss the Interagency Arctic
Research Policy Committee’s Arctic Research Plan 2022-2026, which is
informed by the U.S. Arctic Research Commission. The hearing will
explore gaps in research and analysis, needed improvements to federal
science capabilities, research vessels and infrastructure, and barriers
to strengthening our response to local and global climate change
impacts, such as carbon and methane emissions released from permafrost
thaw. Additionally, we will discuss gaps in Arctic system monitoring,
observing, modeling, and prediction efforts. Importantly, we will
examine the role of traditional knowledge holders and equitable
practices in the coproduction of research, especially in critical areas
such as food security and biodiversity. Finally, the hearing will be an
opportunity to discuss the impact of geopolitical tensions on science
diplomacy in the Arctic and challenges for future international
collaboration in key research including boreal forest fires, sea ice
melt and land ice loss, particularly the Greenland Ice Sheet.
Witnesses:
Dr. Larry Hinzman, Assistant Director of Polar Sciences, Office of
Science and Technology Policy and Executive Director, Interagency
Arctic Research and Policy Committee
Dr. Mike Sfraga, Chair, U.S. Arctic Research Commission
Vera Kingeekuk Metcalf, Executive Director, Eskimo Walrus Commission
Dr. Susan Natali, Arctic Program Director, Woodwell Climate Research
Center
On Tuesday, September 20, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. ET, Rep. Carolyn B.
Maloney, Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, will hold
a hybrid business meeting to consider bills that will improve federal
government operations and provide Washington D.C. with more autonomy.
The Committee will consider the following
legislation:
S. 1941, the Metropolitan Areas Protection and Standardization (MAPS)
Act;
S. 3510, the Disaster Resiliency Planning Act;
H.R. 8466, the Chai Suthammanont Healthy Federal Workplaces Act of
2022;
H.R. 8665, the National Archives and Records Administration
Modernization Act; and
H.R. 8861, the District of Columbia Home Rule Expansion Act of 2022.
S. 3510 was introduced by Senate Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs Committee Chairman Gary Peters and Senator Rick Scott on January
13, 2022. The bill passed the Senate by unanimous consent on June 22,
2022. Companion legislation in the House, H.R. 7863, is led by Rep. Troy
Carter. In 2021, GAO released a report on the
efforts of federal agencies to mitigate the impact of natural disasters
on federal property and assets. In the five years preceding the report,
billions of taxpayer dollars were appropriated to help repair assets
from natural disasters. To better protect these federal assets and
taxpayer dollars in the face of the escalating frequency and severity of
natural disasters, the report recommended that
OMB direct agencies to incorporate natural
disaster risk information assessments into asset management investment
decisions. That recommendation remains open today. To address this
recommendation, S. 3510 would direct OMB to
establish guidance within 180 days of enactment for the incorporation of
natural disaster resilience into the real property asset management and
investment decisions of federal agencies. As recommended by
GAO, agencies would be required to incorporate
their natural disaster risk information assessments into such decisions.
OMB would also be required to report to
Congress on the guidance, and to later brief Congress on its
implementation.
The Committee will also consider additional legislative business and
several postal naming measures.
