Climate science, policy, politics, and action
The FY 2023 Defense budget includes $1.1 billion in requested funds for environmental restoration.
Chair: Jon Tester (D-Mont.)
Witnesses:
The Department of the Navy budget is $230.8 billion: a Navy budget at $180.5 billion and Marine Corps budget at $50.3 billion.
The Navy is requesting $718.8 million in climate-related funding:
In regards to climate change, the ‘23 budget increases climate investments by a total of $137 million across the shore providing funding for electric vehicle leasing, charging stations, installation resiliency, and natural resource carbon sequestration projects.
Witness:
From May 24th-June 6th we will be traveling along the route of the Mountain Valley Pipeline. We seek to amplify the voices of frontline Appalachian communities and others in their fight for environmental justice and renewable energy. We will be working to challenge the environmental damages being done by all fossil fuels, and to cancel the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) and the MVP Southgate extension, whose construction has already devastated parts of WV, VA and NC.
Updates on the Walk’s progress are being posted on Facebook and on Twitter with the hashtag #AppalachiaWalk.
Starting points:
If you are trying to find the Walk, call Steve at (828) 777-7816 or Ted at (973) 460-1458 or email [email protected].
All along the pipeline route we will inspect damages to water, air, animals, and the Earth, and the people who depend on them; and we will every morning have ceremonies honoring the heroes in our states who have died during these fights to protect our Appalachia.
Communities affected by the Mountain Valley Pipeline and other destructive/extractive industries are invited to participate in the event in whatever way is best or most advantageous to them. For example, they can join our walk or have the walk come to them.
We plan to use the two-week journey on foot and by vehicle to support frontline communities first and foremost by listening. As appropriate, walkers may be called upon to support local campaigns for economic, racial and climate justice by amplifying their voices in various media, standing alongside them at rallies and protests, participating in and hosting workshops, and honoring the heroes of the struggle who are no longer with us.
Walk organizers consist of dedicated environmental justice workers from West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina and beyond, and members of seasoned organizations such as 7 Directions of Service, POWHR, Beyond Extreme Energy, Th!rd Act, NC Alliance to Protect the People and the Places We Live, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, and others.
The purpose of this hearing is to receive testimony on the following bills:
Chair: Chris Coons (D-Del.)
Witness
The President’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Budget Request for the State Department and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is $60.4 billion, which includes $29.4 billion for USAID fully and partially managed accounts, $1.7 billion (6 percent) above the FY 2022 Request.
Witnesses:
Legislation:
The last long-term reauthorization of the NFIP occurred when Congress passed the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 (BW-12), which was subsequently amended by the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014 (HFIAA). Since the end of fiscal year (FY) 2017, the NFIP has had 19 short-term reauthorizations and has even experienced brief lapses. According to the National Association of Realtors, an estimated 40,000 home sales are lost or interrupted every month that the NFIP’s authority lapses. The NFIP’s authorization is currently set to expire on September 30, 2022. In the event of a lapse, the NFIP will be unable to enter into new flood insurance contracts, which will lead to widespread market instability due to the stalling of mortgage processing for homes that are statutorily required to have flood insurance.
On November 15, 2021, President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which included $3.5 billion for flood mitigation and $500 million in grants to states for revolving loans for hazard mitigation through a new program called the Safeguarding Tomorrow through Ongoing Risk Mitigation (STORM) Act. On November 19, 2021, the House passed the Build Back Better Act, which includes provisions to forgive the NFIP’s $20.5 billion in debt and invests $600 million in setting up an affordability program for low-income policyholders, as well as $600 million toward updating flood maps. According to FEMA, the NFIP saves the nation an estimated $1.87 billion annually in flood losses avoided because of the NFIP’s building and floodplain management regulations.
Until 2021, FEMA had not updated its methodology for setting NFIP premium rates since the 1970s, when it adopted a risk rating method that accounts only for the 1% annual chance of fluvial and coastal flooding. In coordination with the US Army Corps of Engineers, US Geological Survey, and other experts, FEMA has now developed a new risk rating methodology, known as Risk Rating 2.0 (RR2). RR2 went into effect for new policyholders on October 1, 2021, and for new policyholders on April 1, 2022. RR2 is designed to more accurately “reflect an individual property’s risk, reflect more types of flood risk in rates, use the latest actuarial practices to set risk-based rates, provide rates that are easier to understand for agents and policyholders, and reduce complexity for agents to generate a flood insurance quote.”
