Fiscal Year 2023 Budget Request for the Congressional Budget Office
In its budget request for fiscal year 2023, CBO requested appropriations of $64.6 million, up from $61 million requested for 2022.
Witness:- Phillip Swagel, Director, Congressional Budget Office
Corporate Profits are Soaring as Prices Rise: Are Corporate Greed and Profiteering Fueling Inflation?
- Robert B. Reich, Carmel P. Friesen’s Professor Of Public Policy, University of California, Berkley
- Lindsay Owens, Ph.D., Executive Director, Groundwork Collaborative
- Michael Faulkender, Ph.D., Dean’s Professor Of Finance, University of Maryland
FEMA Priorities for 2022 and the 2022-2026 Strategic Plan
At the hearing, members will hear testimony from Deanne Criswell, Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), about how FEMA can meet the challenges of the next five years.
Witness:- Deanne Criswell, Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency
A 2022 Review of the Farm Bill: Energy- Renewable Energy Opportunities in Rural America
- Xochitl Torres Small, Under Secretary for Rural Development, U.S. Department of Agriculture
- Dr. Karama Neal, Administrator, USDA Rural Business-Cooperative Service
- Chris McClean, Acting Administrator, USDA Rural Utilities Service
- Andy Olsen, Senior Policy Advocate, Environmental Law & Policy Center
- Bill Cherrier, Executive Vice President and CEO, Central Iowa Power Cooperative, on behalf of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association
- Dr. Patrick Gruber, CEO, Gevo, Inc, Englewood, CO
- Jay McKenna, CEO, Nacero, Houston, TX
Ensuring Transparency in Petroleum Markets
Rising gasoline and diesel pump prices, and wide disparity in pricing across the nation, have exposed the lack of transparency about how prices are set in the petroleum markets despite their profound impact on the U.S. economy and household budgets. This hearing will examine steps Congress can take to protect consumers from excessive gas prices, including increasing transparency and ensuring the Federal Trade Commission has the tools and authority necessary to monitor wholesale markets and investigate suspicious trading practices.
Witnesses- Robert McCullough, Principal, McCullough Research
- Kathleen Sgamma, President, Western Energy Alliance
Implementation of the Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act: Stakeholders’ needs and experiences
- Ras J. Baraka, Mayor, City of Newark, NJ
- Joshua Schimmel, Board member, National Association of Clean Water Agencies
- Susan Bodine, Partner, Earth and Water Law, LLC
- Mark Pepper, Executive Director, Wyoming Association of Rural Water Systems
It’s Electric: Developing the Postal Service Fleet of the Future
On Tuesday, April 5, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. ET, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, will hold a hearing to examine the benefits, opportunities, and challenges of electrifying the Postal Service fleet through the acquisition of the Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (NGDV).
Opening Statement Witnesses- Tammy L. Whitcomb, Inspector General, United States Postal Service
- Victoria K. Stephen, Executive Director, Next Generation Delivery Vehicle, United States Postal Service
- Jill M. Naamane, Acting Director, Physical Infrastructure Team, Government Accountability Office
- Joe Britton, Executive Director, Zero Emission Transportation Association
- Kenny Stein, Director, Policy, Institute for Energy Research
“It is critical for our environment and our future that the Postal Service rapidly transition to an electric fleet,” said Chairwoman Maloney. “The federal government should be leading the way, not falling behind private companies that are already moving ahead to save money and curb climate change by electrifying their fleets. I look forward to this critical hearing to examine how the Postal Service can acquire and deploy electric vehicles and the additional steps Congress can take to support the Postal Service’s transition to the fleet of the future.”
In February 2021, the Postal Service awarded Oshkosh Corporation a contract to build its NGDV, which requires Oshkosh to build up to 165,000 internal combustion engine or battery electric vehicles for the Postal Service over ten years. The Postal Service later announced it would purchase only 5,000 electric vehicles in its initial order.
On March 14, 2022, the Oversight Committee requested that the Postal Service Inspector General examine whether the Postal Service had met its environmental obligations in connection with this acquisition.
Ten days later, on March 24, 2022, the Postal Service announced its initial purchase order with Oshkosh for 50,000 NGDVs, of which at least 10,000 will be electric—twice the number of electric vehicles the Postal Service previously planned to purchase in its initial order.
The hearing will examine the significant domestic environmental and public health benefits, as well as valuable cost savings, of transitioning the Postal Service fleet to electric vehicles. Major private sector fleets are increasingly becoming electric because electric vehicles are more cost-effective in the long run due to lower maintenance and fuel costs.
Investing in Wildfire Management, Ecosystem Restoration, and Resilient Communities: Examining the Biden Administration’s Priorities for Implementation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), signed by President Biden on Nov. 15, 2021, provides $28.1 billion to the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) to restore critical habitats, address drought, assist with wildland fire management, support communities, and help them prepare for extreme weather events. The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) received approximately $5.5 billion.
This hearing will examine DOI’s and USFS’ implementation of BIL funding for wildfire management, with a particular focus on policies and investments that address climate change, support ecosystem restoration and reforestation, facilitate collaboration towards fire-adapted landscapes, and confront wildfire and public lands workforce needs.
Witnesses- Jeff Rupert, Director, Office of Wildland Fire, U.S. Department of the Interior
- Jaelith Hall-Rivera, Deputy Chief, State and Private Forestry, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
- Brian Ferebee, Chief Executive of Intergovernmental Relations, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
DC Climate Convergence
In addition to a panel of university leaders, the DC Climate Convergence at Howard University’s Cramton Auditorium will feature Keynote speakers Kari Fulton, Frontline Policy Coordinator for the Climate Justice Alliance, and the co-founder of Third Act and 350.org Bill McKibben.
Kari Fulton is an award-winning Environmental and Climate Justice organizer, advocate, educator, and writer. Her work has been featured in various media including Black Entertainment Television (BET), Teen Vogue, Essence Magazine, and Chinese Global Television Network (CGTN). Fulton serves as the Frontline Policy Coordinator with Climate Justice Alliance, a leading voice for a just transition to a regenerative economy. She is a proud alumna of Howard University (B.A. Communications and Culture) and Georgetown University (Master of Policy Management)
Bill McKibben is a contributing writer to The New Yorker, and a founder of Third Act, which organizes people over the age of 60 to work on climate and racial justice. He founded the first global grassroots climate campaign, 350.org, and serves as the Schumann Distinguished Professor in Residence at Middlebury College in Vermont. In 2014 he was awarded the Right Livelihood Prize, sometimes called the ‘alternative Nobel,’ in the Swedish Parliament. He’s also won the Gandhi Peace Award, and honorary degrees from 19 colleges and universities. He has written over a dozen books about the environment, including his first, The End of Nature, published in 1989, and the forthcoming The Flag, the Cross, and the Station Wagon: A Graying American Looks Back at his Suburban Boyhood and Wonders What the Hell Happened.
In addition to the keynote speakers, a representative from each university will give a 5 minute talk regarding climate focused initiatives on their campus.
University Speakers:- Dr. Simon Nicholson, Associate Professor and Director of the Center for Environment, Community, and Equity, American University
- Dr. Brooks Zitzmann, LCSW and Assistant Professor, The Catholic University of America
- Dan Guilbeault, Director of Sustainability for Campus and Community, Georgetown University
- Dr. Susan Anenberg, Associate Professor of Environmental, Occupational and Global Health, Director of the Climate Health Institute, The George Washington University
- Dr. Shizuka Hsieh, Associate Professor of Chemistry, Program Chair, Trinity Washington University
- Dr. Rubin Patterson, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, Howard University
- Dr. Kamran Zendehdel, Acting Director of the Center for Sustainable Development and Resilience, University of the District of Columbia
Registration for Georgetown University community
American University students: contact sustainability@american.edu for tickets