Climate-Related Disclosures
The meeting will be webcast on the Commission’s website at www.sec.gov.
MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED:
The Commission will consider whether to propose amendments that would enhance and standardize registrants’ climate-related disclosures for investors.
CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION: For further information and to ascertain what, if any, matters have been added, deleted or postponed, please contact Vanessa A. Countryman from the Office of the Secretary at (202) 551-5400
Climate Resiliency Assistance, Salmon, Right Whale, Marine Noise Legislation
On Thursday, March 17, 2022 at 1:00 p.m. ET, in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building and Cisco WebEx, the Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife will hold a legislative hearing on the following bills:
- H.R. 3431 (Rep. Chris Pappas, D-NH) Increasing Community Access to Resiliency Grants Act of 2021. To require the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to establish a website providing information about grants available to assist State, Tribal, and local governments with climate resiliency, adaptation and mitigation, and for other purposes.
- H.R. 6491 (Rep. Jared Huffman, D-CA) To require the identification of salmon conservation areas and salmon strongholds, and for other purposes. Salmon Focused Investments in Sustainable Habitats (FISH) Act.
- H.R. 6651 (Rep. Don Young, R-AK) To establish an Alaska Salmon Research Task Force. Alaska Salmon Research Task Force Act.
- H.R. 6785 (Rep. Seth Moulton, D-MA) To assist in the conservation of the North Atlantic right whale by supporting and providing financial resources for North Atlantic right whale conservation programs and projects of persons with expertise required for the conservation of North Atlantic right whales, and for other purposes. Right Whale Coexistence Act of 2022.
- H.R. 6987 (Rep. Rick Larsen, D-WA) [Introduced text attached] To establish programs to reduce the impacts of vessel traffic and underwater noise on marine mammals, and for other purposes.
Nomination of Dr. Kathryn Huff to be an Assistant Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Energy
The purpose of the hearing is to consider the nomination of Dr. Kathryn Huff to be an Assistant Secretary of Energy (Nuclear Energy).
Nominee:- Dr. Kathryn Huff, to be an Assistant Secretary of Energy (Nuclear Energy)
The health effects of exposure to airborne hazards, including toxic fumes from burn pits
- Dr. Terry Rauch, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Readiness Policy and Oversight
- Dr. Raul Mirza, Division Chief of Occupational and Environmental Medicine Clinical Public Health and Epidemiology U.S. Army Public Health Center
- Colonel (Dr.) Adam Newell, Commander, Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center
- Captain Brian Feldman, Commander, Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center
- Dr. Anthony Szema, Director, International Center of Excellence in Deployment Health and Medical Geosciences, Northwell Health Foundation
- Tom Porter, Executive Vice President, Government Affairs Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America
- Rosie Torres, Executive Director Burn Pits 360
- Steven Patterson, Former Environmental Science Officer, Combined Joint Task Force 101 Headquarters, Afghanistan, 2008-2009
Bioenergy Research and Development for the Fuels and Chemicals of Tomorrow
- Dr. Jonathan Male, Chief Scientist, Energy Processes and Materials, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)
- Dr. Andrew Leakey, Director, Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- Dr. Laurel Harmon, Vice President, Government Affairs, LanzaTech
- Dr. Eric Hegg, Professor, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University
Fighting Fire with Fire: Evaluating the Role of Forest Management in Reducing Catastrophic Wildfires
On Wednesday, March 16, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. ET, Rep. Ro Khanna, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Environment, will hold a hearing to examine the urgent need for the federal government to adopt better wildfire preparation measures, and discuss the human toll of wildfires that are becoming larger and more severe due to drought, global warming, and other climate stressors.
Forests stretch across approximately one-third of the land in the United States and hold important cultural significance, protect biodiversity, and promote recreation. Forests also mitigate climate change by sequestering and storing carbon, offsetting approximately 15% of annual U.S. carbon emissions from fossil fuels.
While wildfires are an important part of maintaining healthy forest ecosystems, careful prevention work is crucial to mitigating the damage from increasingly dangerous fires. The hearing will examine several strategies the Forest Service employs to prevent wildfires including prescribed burns, thinning, and commercial logging, as well as the challenges the Forest Service faces, such as a tight budget and an influential commercial logging industry.
Allowing Tribes and traditional ecological knowledge-holders to play a leading role in forest management can improve wildfire resilience and protect cultural resources. The Forest Service increasingly partners with Tribes on restoration projects through the Tribal Relations Program, but challenges persist in securing permits and local support for cultural prescribed burns.
This hearing will examine the Forest Service’s efforts and plans to mitigate and respond to wildfires, and hear from experts and environmental advocates, including internationally renowned singer and songwriter Carole King, about the urgent need to adopt better wildfire preparation measures in the face of intensifying fires due to climate change and human development.
Witnesses:- Randy Moore, Chief, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
- Carole King, Celebrated Singer-songwriter, Land Conservation Advocate
- Ali Meders-Knight, Mechoopda Tribal Member, Traditional Ecological Knowledge Practitioner
- Dr. Michael Gollner, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, Deb Faculty Fellow, Berkeley Fire Research Lab
- Dr. Dominick A. DellaSala, Chief Scientist, Wild Heritage, Project of Earth Island Institute
- James Hubbard (minority witness), Former Under Secretary, Natural Resources and Environment, Department of Agriculture
Markup of Tribes Consultation and Other Legislation
On Wednesday, March 16, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. ET via WebEx and in 1324 Longworth HOB Hearing Room and livestreamed on the Committee’s YouTube page, the Committee on Natural Resources will meet to consider the following bills:
- H.R. 1638 (Rep. Dusty Johnson), To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to transfer certain National Forest System land to the State of South Dakota, and for other purposes. Gilt Edge Mine Conveyance Act.
- H.R. 3587 (Rep. Grijalva), To prescribe procedures for effective consultation and coordination by Federal agencies with federally recognized Tribal Governments regarding Federal Government actions that impact Tribal lands and interests to ensure that meaningful Tribal input is an integral part of the Federal decision-making process. Requirements, Expectations, and Standard Procedures for Effective Consultation with Tribes Act or the RESPECT Act.
- H.R. 5093 (Rep. Herrera Beutler), To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to transfer certain National Forest System land in the State of Washington to Skamania County, Washington. Wind River Administrative Site Conveyance Act.
Oversight of the Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund Formula
- Jonathan Ramseur, Environmental Policy Specialist, Congressional Research Service
- Tom Sigmund, Executive Director of NEW Water, National Association of Clean Water Agencies
- Kyle Dreyfuss-Wells, Chief Executive Officer, Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District
- Laura Watson, Director, Washington State Department of Ecology
Proposals for a Water Resources Development Act of 2022: Members’ Day Hearing
The purpose of this hearing is to provide Members with an opportunity to testify before the Subcommittee on their WRDA priorities related to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps). This testimony will help to inform the drafting of a new WRDA for 2022, which the committee expects to approve this year.
Members submitting testimony:- Rick Allen
- Nanette Barragán
- Sanford Bishop
- Earl Blumenauer
- Earl L. “Buddy” Carter
- Luis Correa
- Jim Costa
- Rosa L. Delauro
- Lizzie Fletcher
- Sylvia Garcia
- Josh Gottheimer
- Brian Higgins
- Darrell Issa
- Marcy Kaptur
- Brenda L. Lawrence
- Susie Lee
- Elaine Luria
- Tracey Mann
- James P. McGovern
- Grace Meng
- Mary E. Miller
- Frank J. Mrvan
- Dan Newhouse
- Katie Porter
- Lisa Blunt Rochester
- Bradley S. Schneider
- Kurt Schrader
- Pete Sessions
- Mikie Sherrill
- Darren Soto
- Melanie A. Stansbury
- Paul D. Tonko
- Lori Trahan
- David Trone
- David G. Valadao
- Robert J. Wittman
A 2022 Review of the Farm Bill: The Role of USDA Programs in Addressing Climate Change
- Charles F. Conner, President and CEO, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, on behalf of the Food and Agriculture Climate Alliance, Washington, DC
- Kristin Weeks Duncanson, Owner and Partner, Duncanson Growers, on behalf of the AGree Economic and Environmental Risk Coalition, Mapleton, MN
- Heidi Heitkamp, Co-Chair, Bipartisan Policy Center’s Farm and Forest Carbon Solutions Task Force, Washington, DC
- Shakera Raygoza, Owner and Operator, Terra Preta Farm, on behalf of the National Young Farmers Coalition, Edinburg, TX
- Dr. Glenda Humiston, Vice President, University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, Davis, CA
- Dr. Joe Outlaw, Co- Director, Agriculture and Food Policy Center, Department of Agricultural Economics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX