Nomination of Brendan Owens to be Assistant Secretary for Energy, Installations and Environment at the Department of Defense; and other DOD Nominations

Hearing page

Witnesses:

  • Milancy Harris to be Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security
  • Dr. Radha Plumb to be Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment
  • Brendan Owens to be Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations, and Environment
  • Dr. Laura Taylor-Kale to be Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy

At the U.S. Green Building Council, Owens oversaw technical development of LEED, the green building rating.

If confirmed, Owens would oversee environmental planning and compliance, renewable energy, energy management, and energy resilience for DoD’s global portfolio of military bases and installations, housing, construction, and other property. The portfolio totals approximately 2.2 billion square feet of space across nearly 600,000 structures. It is valued at more than $1 trillion.

Some context for those numbers: Two billion square feet is larger than the built environment of most cities in the world. It is almost 100 times the amount of office space WeWork leased last year in the United States and Europe. One trillion dollars is more than the GDPs of Switzerland, South Africa, and Turkey.

Senate Armed Services Committee
G-50 Dirksen

07/28/2022 at 09:30AM

FY 2023 Budget Request For Africa

Hearing page

Chair: Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.)

Witnesses:

  • Mary Catherine Phee, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, U.S. Department of State
  • Dr. Diana Putnam, Acting Assistant to the Administrator, Bureau of Africa, U.S. Agency for International Development

The FY 2023 budget request includes $1.6 billion for development assistance in Africa; $229 million for African Affairs in U.S. State, an increase of $20 million, which would support 26 new positions to “help embassies engage on global health, strengthen economic linkages, and counter the PRC’s malign influence in Africa”; $32.6 million for the Economic Support Fund for Africa including the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership (TSCTP), the Partnership for Regional East Africa Counterterrorism (PREACT), the Africa Regional Democracy Fund, and the Ambassador’s Special SelfHelp program; $33 million for the U.S. African Development Foundation; $55 million for the African Development Bank; $171 million for the African Development Fund; $20 million for the Young African Leader’s Initiative; $2.3 billion for international peacekeeping activities around the world, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo ($312.9 million), Central African Republic ($311 million), Sudan ($74.9 million) and South Sudan ($335 million), Western Sahara ($15.8 million), and Mali ($354 million); $5.6 billion in global health programs for Africa; $848 million in migration assistance for Africa; $50.8 million in international narcotics and law enforcement for Africa; $19.2 million in military training for Africa; $6 million in foreign military financing for Djibouti; among other spending. The budget request also includes $4.7 billion for international disaster assistance globally

Senate Foreign Relations Committee
   Africa and Global Health Policy Subcommittee
419 Dirksen

07/27/2022 at 02:30PM

Nominations of David Peskoe as Administrator of Transportation Security Administration, Susie Feliz as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Legislative Affairs, Don Cravins as Under Secretary of Commerce for Minority Business Development

U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, will convene an executive session on Wednesday, July 27, 2022, at 10 a.m. EDT to consider bipartisan children’s online privacy legislation and presidential nominations.

Agenda:

  • S. 1628, Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act
  • S. 3663, Kids Online Safety Act
  • Nomination of David P. Pekoske to be Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration (PN2063)
  • Nomination of Donald R. Cravins to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Minority Business Development (PN2062)
  • Nomination of Susie Feliz to be Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs (PN1862)

The TSA oversees oil and gas pipeline security.

The majority of the Department of Commerce’s budget is for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
253 Russell

07/27/2022 at 10:00AM

Examining the Development of Projects and Implementation of Policies that Support Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) Technologies

Hearing page

Witnesses:

  • Jason Albritton, Director of Climate & Energy policy, The Nature Conservancy
  • Brad Townsend, Vice President for Policy and Outreach, Center for Climate and Energy Solutions
  • Jason Lanclos, P.E., Director, Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, Technology Assessment Division, Louisiana State Energy Office
  • John Harju, Vice President for Strategic Partnerships, Energy & Environmental Research Center, University of North Dakota
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
G-50 Dirksen

07/27/2022 at 10:00AM

Challenges Facing Global Food Security

Hearing page

Witnesses:

  • Sarah Charles, Assistant to the Administrator, Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, U.S. Agency for International Development
  • Maura Barry, Acting Assistant to the Administrator, Bureau for Resilience and Food Security, U.S. Agency for International Development
House Foreign Affairs Committee
2172 Rayburn

07/27/2022 at 10:00AM

Nominations of Joseph Goffman to be EPA Assistant Administrator of the Office of Air and Radiation, Annie Caputo and Bradley Crowell to Nuclear Regulatory Commission

The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works will hold a business meeting to consider the following items:

  • Joseph Goffman to be Assistant Administrator of the Office of Air and Radiation for the Environmental Protection Agency
  • Annie Caputo to be a Member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
  • Bradley Crowell to be a Member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
  • 15 GSA resolutions

The meeting had been originally scheduled for July 20.

Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
G-50 Dirksen

07/27/2022 at 09:45AM

Markup of the Environmental Justice For All Act

On Wednesday, July 27, 2022, at 9:30 a.m. ET in 1324 Longworth Hearing Room and via Webex, and livestreamed on the Committee’s YouTube page, the Committee on Natural Resources will meet to consider the following bill:

  • H.R. 2021 (Chair Raúl M. Grijalva), To restore, reaffirm, and reconcile environmental justice and civil rights, and for other purposes. Environmental Justice For All Act.
House Natural Resources Committee
1324 Longworth

07/27/2022 at 09:30AM

Biden in the Hot Seat: People vs Fossil Fuels Movement Call to Action

Join us to find out what Biden needs to do right now – and how we can make sure he does it – to protect communities from the climate emergency, keep fossil fuels in the ground, and speed a just transition to renewables.

We are closer than ever before to a climate emergency declaration and ramping up executive actions to tackle the climate crisis. This is an all-hands-on-deck moment for our coalition and the broader People vs Fossil Fuels movement. Register here for the movement call on Tuesday July 26th.

People vs. Fossil Fuels
07/26/2022 at 08:00PM