Stakeholder Views on Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization
- Herman Haksteen, President, Private Railcar Food and Beverage Association
- Brad Hildebrand, Member, National Industrial Transportation League and former Vice President of Cargill – Rail and Barge Lead
- Dennis Pierce, President, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen
- Ian Jefferies, President and CEO, Association of American Railroads
- Dennis Newman, Executive Vice President of Planning, Strategy and Accessibility, Amtrak
- Chris Jahn, President and CEO, American Chemistry Council
A 2022 Review of the Farm Bill: Rural Development
- Xochitl Torres Small, Under Secretary for Rural Development, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.
FERC’s Recent Guidance On Natural Gas Pipelines
The purpose of the hearing is to review recent actions of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission relating to permitting construction and operation of interstate natural gas pipelines and other natural gas infrastructure projects.
“Today’s (Thursday) reckless decision by FERC’s Democratic Commissioners puts the security of our nation at risk. The commission went too far by prioritizing a political agenda over their main mission — ensuring our nation’s energy reliability and security. The only thing they accomplished today was constructing additional road blocks that further delay building out the energy infrastructure our country desperately needs. Energy independence is our greatest geopolitical and economic tool and we cannot lose sight of that as instability rises around the globe.”
“President Biden is trumpeting the importance of infrastructure at the same time his appointees are working to kill energy infrastructure. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is determined to make it nearly impossible for Americans to maintain or improve access to abundant and affordable supplies of natural gas. Delaying and then denying approval of natural gas pipelines and storage facilities will only drive up already-inflated energy prices. It also threatens natural gas and electric reliability. This is just the latest attack in Biden’s war on American energy.”
Bill Cassidy (R-La.) reaction:
“Our nation depends on clear-minded, nonpartisan policy, not activists carrying out an ideological and political agenda. Yesterday, FERC said it will defy the Natural Gas Act by no longer considering only whether a project is “needed” when granting new natural gas permits. Rather, they will also consider environmental justice and climate impacts that will be determined behind closed doors. This FERC policy announcement all but guarantees no new natural gas construction permits will be issued this year and amounts to a defacto natural gas export ban. All the while, Europe is dependent on Russian natural gas and we are in the midst of a global energy crisis hurting Americans’ pocketbooks. The vacuum of energy production will be filled by foreign countries with lower environmental standards which will increase global emissions. This administration could not be writing worse energy policy.”Witnesses:
- Richard Glick, Chairman, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Biden/Democratic appointee
- James Danly, Commissioner, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Trump/Republican appointee (dissented)
- Allison Clements, Commissioner, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Trump/Democratic appointee
- Mark C. Christie, Commissioner, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Trump/Republican appointee (dissented)
- Willie L. Phillips, Commissioner, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Biden/Democratic appointee
From Gray to Green: Advancing the Science of Nature-Based Infrastructure
- Dr. Steven Thur, Director, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
- Dr. Sherry Hunt, Supervisory Civil Engineer, Agriculture Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
- Dr. Todd Bridges, Senior Research Scientist, Environmental Science, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
State of the Union Address
President Joseph Biden delivers his first State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the U.S. Capitol.
Energy Science, Nuclear and Energy Security Legislation
The purpose of this hearing is to receive testimony on the following bills:
- Geraldine Richmond, Undersecretary for Science and Innovation, U.S. Department of Energy
A 2022 Review of the Farm Bill: Commodity Group Perspectives on Title 1
- Brad Doyle, President, American Soybean Association, Weiner, AR,
- Dr. Robert Johansson, Director of Economics and Policy Analysis, American Sugar Alliance, Alexandria, VA
- Nicole Berg, Vice President, National Association of Wheat Growers, Paterson, WA
- Chris Edgington, President, National Corn Growers Association, Saint Ansgar, IA
- Jaclyn Ford, National Cotton Council, Alapaha, GA
- Verity Ulibarri, National Sorghum Producers, Melrose, NM
- Clark Coleman, National Sunflower Association, National Barley Growers Association, U.S. Canola Association, and the USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council, Bismarck, ND
- Jennifer James, USA Rice, Newport, AR
- Meredith McNair Rogers, U.S. Peanut Federation, Camilla, GA
FEMA: Building a Workforce Prepared and Ready to Respond Part 2
- Erik A. Hooks, Deputy Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Public Meeting of the Chartered CASAC and the CASAC PM Panel
A Public Meeting of the Chartered Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) and CASAC Particulate Matter Panel.
Agenda: To discuss the Draft CASAC Report on EPA’s Draft Supplement to the 2019 Integrated Science Assessment (ISA) for PM and the Draft CASAC Report on EPA’s Draft PM Policy Assessment (PA).
| 11:00 AM | Convene Meeting | Mr. Aaron Yeow, Designated Federal Officer | |||||||||
| Review of Agenda | Dr. Liane Sheppard CASAC PM Panel Chair | ||||||||||
| Remarks from EPA | TBD | ||||||||||
| Public Comments on the Draft CASAC ISA Supplement Report and the Draft CASAC PA Report | Registered Speakers (TBD) | ||||||||||
Discussion of Draft CASAC ISA Supplement
Report
| Dr. Sheppard and Panel
Members
| Chartered CASAC Disposition of Draft
CASAC ISA Supplement Report
| Dr. Lianne Sheppard | Chartered CASAC Chair Chartered CASAC Members 2:00 PM
| Deliberation on the Draft Policy Assessment
Charge Questions |
|
| Dr. Chow, Mr. Allen, Drs.
Boylan, Ponette-González,
Turpin
| 3:00 PM | Recess | Mr. Yeow | |
State Climate Policy Network national call
Want to learn about how climate advocacy campaigns are developing in states across the country – from Pennsylvania to Nebraska to Connecticut to Hawaii? Have an exciting climate policy update or development to share with a network of like-minded individuals?
Join us for our monthly State Climate Policy Network national call! This one-hour, once-a-month call is the perfect opportunity to learn about the different legislation and movements going on in states across the U.S. Legislators, advocates, and experts will join us and inform the network of what is going on in their state, and what you might be able to do to help.
For those of you joining us for the first time, the SCPN call is also an opportunity simply listen to other states’ updates and challenges. We typically have campaign leaders in 15-20 states calling in and providing updates, and dozens of people listening and asking questions on the line. You can read more about the SCPN here.
Feel free to contact Kristen Soares, our SCPN Manager, at kristen@climate-xchange.org with any questions.
Please register and spread the word to others interested in pushing forward climate policy in their state.