SBA’s Role in Climate Solutions
The Committee on Small Business Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Regulations will hold a hybrid hearing titled: “SBA’s Role in Climate Solutions.” The hearing is scheduled to begin at 10:00 A.M. on Wednesday, July 21, 2021 in Room 2360 of the Rayburn House Office Building. Participating members can also join remotely via Zoom.
Climate change is increasingly becoming a threat to local economies, but small businesses can take steps to become more resilient and boost their competitiveness. The SBA can support efforts to facilitate access to capital for climate change mitigation investments and resilience efforts. This hearing will allow members to learn more about the role that small businesses can play in addressing climate change, and how federal programs and services support small businesses adapt, innovate, and thrive.
Witnesses- Laurel Walk, Chief Lending Officer, Colorado Lending Source, Ltd., Testifying on behalf of the National Association of Development Companies (NADCO)
- Rick Chapman, General Manager and Certified Marina Manager, Port of Sunnyside Club, Inc., Stillwater, MN, Testifying on behalf of the Midwest Marina Association in his role as President
- Dr. Lynn Abramson, President, Clean Energy Business Network
- Mark Glenn, Owner and Chief Executive Officer, FASTSIGNS, Carrollton, TX, Testifying on behalf of the International Franchise Association (IFA)
Silent Killer: The Rising Problem of Extreme Heat in the U.S.
- Dr. Vivek Shandas, Ph.D., Professor, Nohad A. Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning, Founder and Director, Sustaining Urban Places Research Lab, Portland State University
- Dr. Melissa Guardaro, Ph.D., Assistant Research Professor, Healthy Urban Environments & Knowledge Exchange for Resilience, Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation, Arizona State University
- Shimon Elkabetz, CEO, Co-Founder, Tomorrow.io
- Dr. Aaron Bernstein, MD, MPH, Interim Director, The Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Pediatrician, Boston Children’s Hospital, Fellow, Adrienne Arsht – Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center
Building Back with Justice: Environmental Justice Is Central to the American Jobs Plan
On Wednesday, July 21, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. ET, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, will hold a hybrid hearing with environmental justice leaders and activists to examine the Biden-Harris Administration’s Justice40 Initiative to direct 40 percent of the benefits of climate and clean infrastructure investments to the hardest hit communities. The Initiative is part of the American Jobs Plan and the Build Back Better Agenda.
The hearing will center the voices of environmental justice leaders while highlighting the Committee’s role in advancing the Justice40 Initiative, including by ensuring a whole-of-government response, strong federal data collection, and a voice for state and local partners.
Witnesses- Richard Moore, Co-Coordinator, Los Jardines Institute, National Co-Coordinator, Environmental Justice Health Alliance, Co-Chair, White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council
- Nicole Lee Ndumele, Vice President, Racial Equity and Justice, Center for American Progress
- Harold Mitchell, Founder and Executive Director, ReGenesis Community Development Corporation, Member, White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council
- Raya Salter, Esq., Member, New York State Climate Action Council
- Michael Leon Guerrero, Executive Director, Labor Network for Sustainability
- Shay Hawkins, Chairman and CEO, Opportunity Funds Association
Examining the Potential for a Civilian Climate Corps
- Tonya Gayle, Executive Director, Green City Force
- Chas Robles, Corps Director, Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps
- Scott Segerstrom, Executive Director, Colorado Youth Corps Association
- LaJuan D. Tucker, Environmental Program Coordinator, Wildlife Austin and the Austin Nature Preservation System
- Tate Watkins, Research Fellow, Property and Environment Research Center
Go Bigger! - Green New Deal Network Press Event
Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal, House Transportation and Infrastructure Chair Peter DeFazio, Rep. Barbara Lee, Rep. Debbie Dingell, Rep. Juan Vargas, Rep. Melanie Stansbury, Rep. Peter Welch, Rep. Seth Moulton, Rep. Yvette Clarke, Rep. Andy Levin and other members of Congress will join Green New Deal Network organizational principals, community leaders, and allies to push for Congress to “Go Bigger to Meet the Need” on climate, jobs, and justice.
“We are concerned that a $3.5 trillion infrastructure and jobs plan will not sufficiently tackle challenges, from extreme weather disasters to access to public transit and dignified care employment. After the Senate budget committee announced its proposal on July 13, eyes have turned to the House, which is developing its own approach, with an opportunity to go bigger to ensure the level of investment meets the need.”
Where: Union Square, (area 15 of US Capitol), 3rd Street NW b/w Constitution and Independence Avenues, Washington, DC, 89801
Other speakers include- Natalia Salgado, Working Families Party
- Keya Chatterjee, US Climate Action Network
- Ramon Cruz, Sierra Club
- Andy Kunz, US High Speed Rail Association
- Rahna Epting, MoveOn.org
- Ebony Martin, Greenpeace
- Lauren Manus, Sunrise Movement
- Basav Sen, Climate Justice Alliance
- Tashima Hawkins, American Federation of Teachers
- Ofelia Sanchez, Central Florida Jobs with Justice
21st Century Communities: Climate Change, Resilience, and Reinsurance
- Dr. Abdollah Shafieezadeh, Lichtenstein Endowed Professor Of Civil, Environmental And Geodetic Engineering And Director Of The Risk Assessment And Management Of Structural And Infrastructure Systems Lab, The Ohio State University
- Dr. Rachel Cleetus, Policy Director, Union of Concerned Scientists
- Frank Nutter, President, Reinsurance Association of America
- Roger Pielke Jr., Professor Of Environmental Studies, University of Colorado
- Jerry Theodorou, Director Of Finance, Insurance, And Trade, R Street Institute
Spectrum Needs for Observations in Earth and Space Sciences
- Andrew Von Ah, Director of Physical Infrastructure Issues, Government Accountability Office
- David Lubar, Senior Project Leader, Civil Systems Group, the Aerospace Corporation
- Dr. Jordan Gerth, Honorary Fellow, Space Science and Engineering Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Bill Mahoney, NCAR Associate Director and Director of the Research Applications Laboratory (RAL) at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), in Boulder, Colorado
- Jennifer Manner, Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, EchoStar Corporation / Hughes Network Systems LLC
Advancing Environmental Justice Through Climate Action
At 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 15, 2021, The House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis will hold a hearing titled “Advancing Environmental Justice Through Climate Action.” This hearing will take place remotely via Zoom video conferencing.
The hearing will review opportunities to advance environmental justice through climate action, including targeting infrastructure investments to environmental justice communities, understanding the impact of extreme heat on low-income workers and students, and supporting tribal investments in clean energy and climate resilience.
Witnesses:- Catherine Flowers, Founder, Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice (CREEJ). An internationally-recognized advocate for the human right to water and sanitation, Flowers works to improve access to clean air, water, and soil in marginalized rural communities within the context of climate change and through the lens of environmental justice. She is a member of the Board of Directors for the Climate Reality Project and the Natural Resources Defense Council, and serves as the Rural Development Manager for the Equal Justice Initiative. Flowers is a 2020 MacArthur Fellow and a member of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council.
- R. Jisung Park, Assistant Professor of Public Policy, Luskin School of Public Affairs, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Park is an expert in environmental economics, labor economics, and public finance. His research focuses on how market failures such as climate change affect social and economic outcomes. In particular, Park studies the labor and human capital impacts of climate change, the prospects for long-run climate adaptation, and environmental determinants of economic mobility.
- Nikki Cooley, Co-Manager of Tribes & Climate Change Program and Interim Assistant Director of the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP), Northern Arizona University. Cooley co-leads a program to help Tribal Nations as they address and prepare for climate impacts. She works with Tribal and Indigenous partners across the continental United States and Alaska on climate change adaptation, mitigation, and resilience planning. Cooley is of the Diné (Navajo) Nation and received a master’s degree in Forestry from Northern Arizona University.
- Derrick Hollie, Founder and President, Reaching America. Hollie is the founder of Global Advertising 1st and Reaching America, a non-profit organization with a focus on African American outreach. He has over 25 years of experience in advertising and marketing.