Department of Energy and National Nuclear Security Administration on atomic energy defense activities in review of the Defense Authorization Request for Fiscal Year 2023 and the Future Years Defense Program
- Senator Jack Reed (D-R.I.)
- Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.)
- Jennifer Granholm, Secretary of Energy
- Jill Hruby, Administrator, National Nuclear Security Administration
The Fiscal Year 2023 budget request for the defense functions of the Department of Energy is $29.7 billion. This figure accounts for about 61 percent of the Department of Energy’s overall $48 billion request. Given the share of the defense function of the Department’s budget, it is important for this committee to continue its oversight of the Department’s defense activities, which span from maintaining our nuclear stockpile to cleaning up former Cold War defense production sites. Within this defense proposal, the National Nuclear Security Administration, or NNSA, is requesting $21.4 billion – a 3.2 percent increase over last year’s level of $20.6 billion. I would also note that the amount for the defense portion of environmental cleanup increased by three percent to $6.9 billion.
At the hearing, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) challenged Granholm on the energy waste of crypto mining. “Does the federal government know how many crypto miners are operating in the United States and how much electricity they are using?”
Granholm: “No.”
Fiscal Year 2023 Member Day Hearing, Legislative Branch
- Rep. Steve Cohen: U.S. Capitol ban on single-use plastics
- Rep. Derek Kilmer: modernization and staff tuition support
- Rep. Andy Levin: staff unionization
- Rep. Seth Moulton: intern pay
- Rep. Mike Quigley: public access to Congressional Research Service reports
- Diane M. Rodriguez, President, American Association of Law Libraries; GPO and Library of Congress budget request
- Rep. William R. Timmons: bipartisan co-working spaces
Fiscal Year 2023 Budget Request for the National Park Service
- Jessica Bowron, Comptroller, National Park Service
- Charles “Chuck” F. Sams III, Director, National Park Service
The discretionary budget request for the NPS is $3.6 billion, an increase of $345.6 million compared to FY 2022 enacted funding levels. This level supports an estimated 16,412 direct full-time equivalents (FTE). Recreation fee revenue and other mandatory funding sources provide additional funding of $1.1 billion. The total FY 2023 request for NPS is $4.8 billion and 20,495 FTE from all funding sources. The NPS FY 2023 request prioritizes advancing racial equity and support for underserved stories and communities, tackling the climate crisis in the national park system, conserving our natural resources, and using science to inform decisions.
The FY 2023 operations budget includes a $178.8 million increase to support science, build NPS resiliency to climate change, and increase conservation efforts.
The FY 2023 budget request includes amounts to support several partnership programs. In FY 2023, the NPS plans to complement existing youth partnership programs by directing an additional $31.0 million to implement the Civilian Climate Corps (CCC).
The NPS also requests an additional $22.5 million to increase support of conservation partnership efforts through Research Learning Centers and Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units. The work of the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Program, for which the budget requests an increase of $16.0 million, provides vital resource data to park managers and research partners. Finally, the budget includes a $2.0 million increase to establish a permanent NPS Incident Management Team that will plan for and respond to emergencies including natural disasters, which have increased in severity and frequency due to the effects of climate change. To improve NPS climate adaptation and resilience efforts, the budget includes increases totaling $45.8 million for the Construction account. This includes a $10.0 million increase for abandoned mineral lands projects—supporting the President’s commitment to create jobs in some of the hardest hit communities in the Nation—while mitigating hazards, improving water quality, and restoring natural resources to their original condition. It also includes a $7.0 million increase for unscheduled projects that address damage from emergencies, critical system failures, and extreme environmental conditions as a result of increased threats from climate change. The proposal includes an additional $12.1 million for management planning related to climate change, including climate vulnerability assessments and compliance pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act. Also, as part of the conservation initiative, and in support of the President’s goal of transitioning to a fully Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Federal fleet, the NPS budget includes an increase of $16.7 million to acquire ZEVs and to deploy vehicle charging and refueling infrastructure. The Department of the Interior is coordinating all of these efforts to meet or exceed the ZEV-related goals set forth in the comprehensive plan developed pursuant to E.O. 14008, Section 205(a). This investment will be complemented by Department of Energy funding to provide technical assistance to agencies through the Federal Energy Management Program as the NPS builds and grows its ZEV infrastructure.
Navy and Marine Corps Installations and Quality of Life Update
- Lieutenant General Edward Banta, Deputy Commandant of Installations and Logistics for the Marine Corps, US Marine Corps
- Meredith Berger, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Environment, Installations and Energy, Department of the Navy
- Sergeant Major Troy Black, Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, US Marine Corps
- Master Chief Russel Smith, Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy, Department of the Navy
- Vice Admiral Ricky Williamson, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Fleet Readiness and Logistic, Department of the Navy
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. 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.
Fiscal Year 2023 United States Navy and Marine Corps Budget
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. 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.
Fiscal Year 2023 Budget Request for the Transportation Security Administration
- David Pekoske, Administrator, Transportation Security Administration
The President’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Budget Request includes a $9.7 billion request for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
In the surface transportation realm, TSA works closely with owners and operators to protect the critical surface transportation systems that connect cities, manufacturers and retailers and power our economy through more than 4 million miles of roadways; nearly 140,000 miles of railroad track; more than 470 tunnels; and over 2.8 million miles of pipeline.
Fiscal Year 2023 Budget Request for the Federal Trade Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission
- Gary Gensler, Chair, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Lina Khan, Chair, Federal Trade Commission
The SEC requests $2.149 billion in support of 5,261 positions and 4,808 full-time equivalents. The SEC’s funding is deficit-neutral, with any amount appropriated to the agency offset by transaction fees. The SEC is charged with overseeing approximately $118 trillion in annual securities trading on U.S. equity markets and the activities of more than 29,000 registered entities.
The SEC has proposed rule changes that would require registrants to include certain climate-related disclosures in their registration statements and periodic reports, including information about climate-related risks that are reasonably likely to have a material impact on their business, results of operations, or financial condition, and certain climate-related financial statement metrics in a note to their audited financial statements.
To maintain its high level of performance in FY 2023, the Federal Trade Commission is requesting $490,000,000 and 1,440 FTE/a>. This is an overall increase of $139,000,000 and 300 FTE above the FTC’s annual CR level for FY 2022. The FTC’s Truth in Advertising regulations include the Green Guides which govern environmental advertising claims such as carbon footprints.
A Review of the Fiscal Year 2023 President’s Budget for the Environmental Protection Agency
Chair: Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.)
Witness:- Michael S. Regan, Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Briefing Memorandum: The Biden Administration’s fiscal year (FY) 2023 funding request proposes $11.881 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in discretionary funding, a $2.3 billion increase from the Agency’s FY 2022 regular enacted appropriations. The President’s budget requests funding as follows for eight overarching goals for EPA.
- “Tackle the Climate Crisis with Urgency”—$100 million for grants for states and Tribes to reduce methane emissions and increase infrastructure resiliency; an additional $35 million over FY 2021 enacted levels to implement the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act to continue phasing out hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs); and $152.2 million for developing, implementing, and ensuring compliance with national vehicle emission standards
- “Restore Critical Capacity to Carry Out EPA’s Core Mission”—over 1,900 new Full Time Equivalents (FTE) to empower EPA to continue fulfilling its goals of reducing air, climate, and water pollution; advancing environmental justice; and protecting public health
- “Advance Environmental Justice”—$615.4 million across EPA to bolster environmental justice efforts, including a new Environmental Justice National Program Manager, and $100 million for air quality monitoring programs
- “Upgrade Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Nationwide”—$4.4 billion for water infrastructure
- “Protect Communities from Hazardous Waste and Environmental Damage”—includes $1.2 billion for the Superfund program and $215 million for Brownfields remediation projects, including for grants and technical assistance
- “Strengthen the Administration’s Commitment to Successfully Implement the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and Transform the Science of New Chemical Reviews”—provides $124 million and 449 FTE for EPA to carry out efforts under the TSCA program to protect Americans from hazardous chemicals, including completing chemical risk evaluations, issuing protecting regulations, and establishing a pipeline of prioritized chemicals for risk evaluation
- “Tackle Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Pollution”—includes $126 million for the study of PFAS on human health and the environment; restricting the use of PFAS to prevent air, land, and water contamination; and PFAS remediation
- “Enforce and Assure Compliance with the Nation’s Environmental Laws”—provides $213 million for civil enforcement efforts, with specific funding directed to increase prevention of illegal HFC importations, $7 million for a coal combustion residuals compliance program, $148 million for compliance monitoring focused on underserved and overburdened communities, and $69 million for criminal enforcement efforts
Fiscal Year 2023 Budget Request of the Department of the Interior's Office of Insular Affairs
On Wednesday, May 18, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. ET, in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building and via Cisco Webex, the Committee on Natural Resources Office of Insular Affairs will hold a hybrid oversight hearing on the Fiscal Year 2023 Budget Request of the Department of Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs.