Hill Heat

07/18/2007 at 09:00AM

From Pacific Views live coverage:

The first House Agriculture Committee markup session on the 2007 Farm Bill began with Rep. Collin Peterson’s opening statement, followed by everyone else’s. Peterson said that Americans were fortunate to enjoy low, stable food prices, and food that meets the highest standards of quality and safety.

No markup, or voting on specific amendments, actually took place during today’s session. The last changes to the legislation weren’t made until late last night, and today was the first chance most members got to see the final versions, though Rep. Peterson said that the changes were minor in comparison to the version released a little over a week ago.

Peterson said that listening sessions all over the country indicated that the 2002 Farm Bill was popular and regarded as successful. Building from that as a platform, changes Peterson described as departing from 2002 policies included increased spending on research, investment in nutrition, and help for new farmers. He said it was also the first time there was dedicated baseline funding support for fruits and vegetables, as well as a hard cap on payments under the commodity and conservation programs, such that no one with an adjusted gross income of a million dollars or more is eligible.

Peterson further said that there would be a main version of the bill that strictly adhered to paygo, pay-as-you-go, budget guidelines. Other items not covered by this baseline funding would be included in a separate bill that would need to have budget offsets found for it.

Go to Pacific Views for full coverage.

07/17/2007 at 01:00PM

The nominations of Robert Boldrey, of Michigan, to be a Member of the Board of Trustees of the Morris K. Udall Scholarship and Excellence in National Environmental Policy Foundation, Kristine L. Svinicki, of Virginia, to be a Member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and R. Lyle Laverty, of Colorado, to be Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish and Wildlife

07/17/2007 at 10:00AM

Business meeting to markup proposed legislation making appropriations for the Department of Agriculture for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2008

07/17/2007 at 10:00AM

The House will have the floor debate on the $1.1 billion in member earmarks to the FY 2008 Energy and Water Appropriations Bill (HR 2641) approved last week by the House Appropriations Committee in a voice vote.

The measure, House Report 110-185 Part 2 (full pdf), amounts to about 3 percent of the $31.6 billion the bill would provide to the Energy Department, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Interior Department’s Bureau of Reclamation and several independent agencies.

The committee estimates that $3.4 billion of the bill goes to elements dealing with climate change, $1 billion more than in the President’s budget request. More on the original bill below the fold.

07/17/2007 at 09:00AM

S.488 and H.R.1100, bills to revise the boundary of the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site in the State of North Carolina, S.617, to make the National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass available at a discount to certain veterans, S.824 and H.R.995, bills to amend Public Law 106-348 to extend the authorization for establishing a memorial in the District of Columbia or its environs to honor veterans who became disabled while serving in the Armed Forces of the United States, S.955, to establish the Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area, S.1148, to establish the Champlain Quadricentennial Commemoration Commission and the Hudson-Fulton 400th Commemoration Commission, S.1380, to designate as wilderness certain land within the Rocky Mountain National Park and to adjust the boundaries of the Indian Peaks Wilderness and the Arapaho National Recreation Area of the Arapaho National Forest in the State of Colorado, and S.1182, to amend the Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers Valley National Heritage Corridor Act of 1994 to increase the authorization of appropriations and modify the date on which the authority of the Secretary of the Interior terminates under the Act, S. 1728, to amend the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978 to reauthorize the Na Hoa Pili O Kaloko-Honokohau Advisory Commission

07/12/2007 at 02:30PM

07/12/2007 at 02:30PM

American Association for the Advancement of Science and the British Embassy will sponsor a discussion on climate change and its implications for maintaining economic growth. The speaker will be United Kingdom chief science adviser David King. Contact: Earl Lane at 202-326-6431 or [email protected]

07/12/2007 at 02:30PM

House Select Energy Independence and Global Warming Committee (Chairman Markey, D-Mass.) will hold a hearing on the potential of plug-in hybrid vehicles. Contact: Moulton, David – Democratic Staff Director at 202-225-4012 Note: There will be a hands-on demonstration of plug-in hybrids at New Jersey Ave S.E. between C and D Sts. after the hearing.

Witnesses:

• Frank Gaffney – president, Center for Security Policy
• Rob Lowe – actor and adocate
• David Vieau – president and CEO, A123 Systems
• Will Wynn – mayor, Austin, Texas

07/12/2007 at 10:00AM

The nominations of Clarence H. Albright, of South Carolina, to be Under Secretary of Energy, Lisa E. Epifani, of Texas, to be an Assistant Secretary of Energy (Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs), and James L. Caswell, of Idaho, to be Director of the Bureau of Land Management

07/12/2007 at 09:30AM