Hill Heat

The purpose of this hearing is for Members to hear from U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Buttigieg on the administration’s ongoing efforts to implement the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Witness:

• Pete Buttigieg, Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation

Hearing page

Witnesses

• Barbara Ammirati, Senior Advisor, Child Protection, Save the Children
• Marcie Roth, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, World Institute on Disability
• Denise Bottcher, State Director, AARP Louisiana
• Antoine B. Richards, Chief of Staff, Institute for Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Management
• Preston Bowlin, Emergency Management Director, Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Marion County

The National Park Service is proposing to reopen the upper portion of Beach Drive in Rock Creek Park to vehicular traffic after closing it for more than two years. The road would reopen on weekdays most of the year, but NPS wants to continue to close that stretch of road to cars from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

Last year, Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) requested banning cars on upper Beach Drive, as did the D.C. City Council.

Of the 2400 comments received during the initial comment period, over 76% of commenters supported full-year closure of the road to vehicular traffic; only 14% of commenters supported returning the road to vehicular use.

The NPS will host a live, virtual public meeting on July 18, 2022 from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Join the Microsoft Teams meeting by clicking this link.

To connect via phone only dial, +1 202-640-1187, 146280403#. A recording of the meeting will also be available to view here after the meeting.  

The Committee on Rules will also meet on Monday, July 18, 2022 at 1:00 PM EDT in H-313, The Capitol on the following emergency measures:

• H.R. 8404—Respect for Marriage Act
• H.R. 8373—Right to Contraception Act As well as the following measure:
• H.R. 8294—Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2023 [Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Agriculture, Rural Development, Energy and Water Development, Financial Services and General Government, Interior, Environment, Military Construction, and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2023]
  • Rules Committee Print
  • H. Rept. 117-402, Report from the Committee on Appropriations to accompany H.R. 8294 (THUD)
  • H. Rept. 117-392, Report from the Committee on Appropriations to accompany H.R. 8239 (Agriculture/Rural Development)
  • H. Rept. 117-394, Report from the Committee on Appropriations to accompany H.R. 8255 (Energy & Water)
  • H. Rept. 117-393, Report from the Committee on Appropriations to accompany H.R. 8254 (FSGG)
  • H. Rept. 117-400, Report from the Committee on Appropriations to accompany H.R. 8262 (Interior and Environment)
  • H. Rept. 117-391, Report from the Committee on Appropriations to accompany H.R. 8238 (Military Construction and VA)
  • Amendment list

Rescheduled from May 18th and May 24th.

This hearing will examine pathways to create a sustainable food system that is resilient in the face of climate change. It will also explore solutions to reduce heat-trapping pollution in the food chain supply, while ensuring access to affordable, safe, and healthy food for all Americans.

Witnesses:

• Dana Gunders, Executive Director, ReFED. Gunders leads ReFED’s work to end food waste and loss across the U.S. food system. She authored a landmark 2012 report, “Wasted: How America is Losing Up to 40% of Its Food from Farm to Fork to Landfill,” and wrote the Waste-Free Kitchen Handbook. Gunders previously worked as a Senior Scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).
• Kent Swisher, President & CEO, North American Renderers Association (NARA). Swisher leads NARA’s work to represent the rendering industry, which repurposes inedible meat products such as fat and bone. He is a member of the USDA’s Trade Advisory Committee on Animals and Animal Products, and previously worked at the Continental Grain Company, U.S. Grains Council, and the American Seed Trade Association.
• Dr. Melinda Cep, Vice President for Natural Solutions and Working Lands, National Audubon Society. Dr. Cep works to advance natural climate solutions and conservation on working lands, such as rice fields, ranchlands, and forests. A trained veterinarian, she previously served as a senior advisor and deputy chief of staff at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
• Elly Brown, Co-Executive Director, San Diego Food System Alliance. Brown co-leads the Alliance’s work to build a healthy and sustainable food system in San Diego. Prior to joining the Alliance, Brown worked in nonprofit consulting at Root Cause and as an independent advisor to nonprofits, foundations, and social enterprises.

Hearing page

Hearing page

Witness:

• Admiral Linda L. Fagan, Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard

Hearing page

Witness:

• Francisco Sanchez, Associate Administrator, Office of Disaster Assistance, U.S. Small Business Administration

We are seeing that some communities and small businesses are experiencing disaster activity with a growing frequency. Natural disasters have also become more costly: 2020 was the sixth consecutive year in which there were more than ten-billion-dollar weather and climate disaster events that impacted the United States. The SBA has been a critical federal partner during the Biden-Harris Administration, providing lifelines totaling more than $2.5 billion to help small businesses, renters, homeowners, and private non-profits recover and rebuild. Our FY2022 SBA disaster aid includes: * More than $70 million in loans to help homeowners, renters and businesses following violent and deadly tornadoes that moved across Kentucky in December; * More than $100 million for wildfires and straight-line winds that spread across Boulder County, Colorado; and * Nearly $2 billion in loans to help more than 37,000 individuals and businesses from Louisiana to New York recover and rebuild after Hurricane Ida. Increased risk from extreme weather events means that we must continue to dedicate resources to disaster preparedness. The President’s budget requests $179 million in disaster funding to ensure the SBA can deliver its critical disaster relief. Small investments in resiliency can have a big impact when disaster strikes. In order to help small businesses better understand the importance of resilience and mitigation efforts and the options available to them, including outside of SBA, the budget includes $10 million to help small businesses build greater resiliency ahead of a storm.

The purpose of this hearing is to examine pathways to lower energy prices in the United States.

Opening Remarks

• Sen. Mazie Hirono, Chair, Subcommittee on Energy
• Sen. John Hoeven, Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Energy

Witnesses:

• Julie Fedorchak, Chair, North Dakota Public Service Commission
• David Bissell, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kauai Island Utility Cooperative
• John Larsen, Partner, Rhodium Group
• Ron Ness, President, North Dakota Petroleum Council

Hearing page

Witnesses:

• William “Ike” White, Senior Advisor, Office of Environmental Management, U.S. Department of Energy
• Dr. Vahid Majidi, Executive Vice President and Director, Savannah River National Laboratory
• Dr. John Plodinec, Vice Chair, Committee on the Independent Assessment of Science and Technology for the Department of Energy’s Defense Environmental Cleanup Program, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
• Nathan Anderson, Director, Natural Resources and Environment, U.S. Government Accountability Office