Hill Heat

On Thursday, April 18, 2024, at 9:00 a.m., in Room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources will hold an oversight hearing titled “Assessing Solutions to Secure America’s Offshore Energy Future.”

This hearing will focus on the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) approach to resource assessments, particularly offshore oil and gas reserves on the Outer Continental Shelf.

Hearing memo

Witnesses:

• Andy McConn, Director, Head of Commercial Intelligence, Enverus
• Nikki Martin, President & CEO, EnerGeo Alliance
• Eric Zimmermann, Chief Operating Officer, LLOG Exploration, Covington, LA
• Tyson Slocum, Director, Energy Program, Public Citizen

This month’s Green New Deal Happy Hour is at 6:30 pm at Añejo Bar & Grill in Columbia Heights.

We will be joined by Councilwoman Janeese Lewis-George, the sponsor of DC’s GND for Public Housing and the DC for a GND coalition!

Join the GND Happy Hour list here.

Añejo Bar & Grill
3910 14th St NW, Washington, DC 20011

Subcommittee hearing on the FY 2025 NASA budget request of $25.3 billion, including $7.6 billion for science.

Witness:

• Bill Nelson, Administrator, National Aeronautics and Space Administration

This request proposes $2.4 billion to fund Earth science and observations that enhance our understanding of the Earth system and continues efforts to make data more accessible and useful to a wide range of stakeholders, including scientists and policymakers. This request also includes over $500 million in Aeronautics to improve aircraft efficiency and reduce the climate impact of aviation.

Subcommittee hearing to examine the President’s proposed budget request for fiscal year 2025 for the Department of Defense and Future Years Defense Program. The budget request is $849.8 billion.

Witnesses

• Lloyd J. Austin III, Secretary of Defense, Department of Defense
• General Charles Q. Brown, Jr., Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff
• Michael McCord, Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)/ Chief Financial Officer, Department of Defense

On Wednesday, April 17, 2024, at 10:00 a.m., in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Subcommittee on Federal Lands will hold a legislative hearing on the following bill:

• Discussion Draft of H.R. ___ (Rep. Westerman), “To expedite under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and improve forest management activities on National Forest System lands, on public lands under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management, and on Tribal lands to return resilience to overgrown, fire-prone forested lands, and for other purposes.”

Hearing memo

Witnesses:

Panel I (Administration Officials):

• Chris French, Deputy Chief of the National Forest System, U.S. Forest Service

Panel II (Outside Experts):

• Cody Desautel, President, Intertribal Timber Council, & Executive Director, Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, Nespelem, Washington
• Hannah Downey, Policy Director, Property and Environment Research Center, Bozeman, Montana
• Jim Parma, Eastern Fiber Manager, Bell Lumber and Pole, New Brighton, Minnesota
• Dr. Kimiko Barrett, Wildfire Research and Policy Lead, Headwaters Economics, Bozeman, Montana [Minority Witness]

From the GOP memo:

Unprecedented drought facing the West has further weakened overgrown national forests, leaving them extremely vulnerable to wildfire. Recent research has shown that some areas are experiencing the driest conditions in 1,200 years.7 These conditions have turned vast swaths of the nation’s forests into ticking time bombs that can ignite with a single spark. It is no longer a matter of “if” these areas will experience catastrophic wildfire but “when.”

“We know what needs to be done to turn the tide of this crisis and restore our forests to healthy, resilient conditions. Despite the fearmongering of increasingly isolated, radical environmentalists, there is a scientific consensus among a broad array of stakeholders recognizing the importance of active forest management. . . The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), in particular, is a major roadblock in improving the health of our nation’s forests.”

Full committee hearing.

Nominee:

• Christopher Hanson, Chair, Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Full committee markup of trade legislation:

Bills limiting the Clean Vehicle Tax Credits:

• H.R. 7983, the “Stop Executive Overreach on Trade Agreements”, to define the term free trade agreement for purposes of the clean vehicle credit (Michelle Fischbach, R-Minn.)
• H.R. 7980, the “End Chinese Dominance of Electric Vehicles in America Act of 2024”, to exclude vehicles the batteries of which contain materials sourced from prohibited foreign entities from the clean vehicle credit (Carol Miller, R-W.Va.)

Other bills:

• H.R. 5179, the “Anti-BDS Labeling Act”
• H.R. 7981, the “Stop China’s Exploitation of Congolese Children and Adult Forced Labor through Cobalt Mining Act”
• H.R. 7979, the “End China’s De Minimis Abuse Act”
• H.R. 7986, the “Generalized System Preferences References Reform Act”

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

Witness list:

• Mike Noland, President, Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District
• Debra Johnson, General Manager and Chief Executive Officer, RTD-Denver
• David W. Dech, Executive Director, South Florida Regional Transportation Authority / Tri-Rail
• Kevin Corbett, President and Chief Executive Officer, New Jersey Transit on behalf of the Northeast Corridor Commission
• Darren Kettle, Chief Executive Officer, Metrolink

On Wednesday, April 17, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. in Room 2128 of the Rayburn House Office Building, the Committee on Financial Services will meet to markup the following measures in an order to be determined by the Chairman.

Hearing memo

Resolutions of congressional disapproval:

• H.J. Res. 127, a resolution “providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to the ‘Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors’”
• H.J. Res. 120, a resolution “providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) relating to “Guidance on Non-Bank Financial Company Determinations’”
• H.J. Res. 125, a resolution “providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System relating to ‘Principles for Climate-Related Financial Risk Management for Large Financial Institutions’”
• H.J. Res. 126, a resolution “providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation relating to ‘Principles for Climate-Related Financial Risk Management for Large Financial Institutions’”
• H.J. Res. 124, a resolution “providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency relating to ‘Principles for Climate-Related Financial Risk Management for Large Financial Institutions’”
• H.J. Res. 122, a resolution “providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau relating to ‘Credit Card Penalty Fees (Regulation Z)’”

Other legislation:

• H.R. 5535, the “Insurance Data Protection Act”; An amendment in the nature of a substitute, offered by Mr. Fitzgerald; H.R. 5535 would eliminate the Treasury Department’s Federal Insurance Office (FIO) and Office of Financial Research (OFR) ability to compel the production of data from an insurer or any affiliate of an insurer via subpoena.
• H.R. 802, the “Respect State Housing Laws Act”; An amendment in the nature of a substitute, offered by Mr. Loudermilk.
• H.R. 7437, the “Fostering the Use of Technology to Uphold Regulatory Effectiveness in Supervision (FUTURES) Act”; An amendment in the nature of a substitute, offered by Ms. Houchin.
• H.R. 7440, the “Financial Services Innovation Act of 2024”; An amendment in the nature of a substitute, offered by Mr. McHenry.
• H.R. 7428, the “Earned Wage Access Consumer Protection Act”; An amendment in the nature of a substitute, offered by Mr. Steil.
• H.R. 4206, the “Bank Safety Act of 2023”; An amendment in the nature of a substitute, offered by Mr. Sherman.
• H.R. 4116, the “Systemic Risk Authority Transparency Act”; An amendment in the nature of a substitute, offered by Mr. Green.

Subcommittee hearing on the Fiscal Year 2025 request for the Department of the Interior.

The Department’s 2025 budget totals $18.0 billion in current authority ($17.8 billion in net discretionary authority)—an increase of $575.9 million, or 3 percent, from the 2024 continuing resolution (CR) level. An additional $360.0 million is accessible through a budget cap adjustment for wildfire suppression to ensure funds are available in the event the regular annual appropriation is inadequate to meet suppression needs. The budget also includes an estimated $14.8 billion in permanent funding available in 2025.

Witnesses:

• Denise Flanagan, Director of Budget, Department of the Interior
• Deb Haaland, Secretary, Department of the Interior
• Joan M Mooney, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Department of the Interior