Nominations of Eric Lander to be OSTP Director, Pamela Melroy to be NASA Deputy Administrator, Carlos Alberto Monje, Jr. to be Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy, and Richard Spinrad to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere
U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), the Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, will convene an executive session at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, May 20, 2021, to consider the nomination of Eric S. Lander to be the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). Directly following the executive session, the committee will consider the presidential nominations of Pamela A. Melroy to be Deputy Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); Carlos A. Monje, Jr. to be Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy; and Richard W. Spinrad to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere.
Witnesses:- Col. Pamela A. Melroy (USAF, Ret.), of New York, to be Deputy Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Carlos A. Monje, Jr., of Louisiana, to be Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy
- Dr. Richard W. Spinrad, of Oregon, to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere
Powering Up Clean Energy: Investments to Modernize and Expand the Electric Grid
This hearing will explore the ways that upgrading and expanding the electric grid can create jobs, integrate higher levels of renewable energy, boost grid reliability, and protect public health.
Witnesses- Linda Apsey, President and CEO, ITC Holdings Corp. Apsey is responsible for the strategic vision and overall business operations of ITC, the largest independent electricity transmission company in the United States. Based in Michigan, the company owns and operates high-voltage transmission infrastructure in Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma, with plans underway to expand to Wisconsin.
- Donnie Colston, Director, Utility Department, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). Colston manages issues related to collective bargaining agreements, working conditions, safety-related work practices, and apprenticeship training. A utility lineman, he started his career in transmission and distribution construction before working as an electric troubleman. He has been a member of the IBEW Local Union 2100, which represents the employees of Louisville Gas and Electric Company (LG&E) and Kentucky Utilities Company (KU), for more than four decades.
- Michael Skelly, Founder and President, Grid United. Skelly is a renewable energy entrepreneur and pioneer in the U.S. wind industry who currently leads Grid United, an early-stage transmission development company. He was previously the founder and president of Clean Line Energy, a company that successfully permitted some of the longest transmission lines in the United States in the last 50 years.
- Emily Sanford Fisher, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary & Senior Vice President, Clean Energy Edison Electric Institute (EEI). Sanford Fisher manages EEI’s litigation and legal affairs at EEI, an association that represents all investor-owned electric companies in the United States. She also oversees and coordinates strategic clean energy engagement across EEI and across the federal government.
Military Infrastructure and Climate Resilience
- Richard Kidd, Deputy Assistant Secretary Of Defense For Environment And Energy Resilience
- Jack Surash, Senior Official Performing The Duties Of Assistant Secretary Of The Army For Installations, Energy, And Environment
- James Balocki, Deputy Assistant Secretary Of The Navy For Installations, Energy, And Facilities
- Mark Correll, Deputy Assistant Secretary Of The Air Force For Environment, Safety, And Infrastructure
Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Request for NASA
- Bill Nelson, Administrator, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Misuse of Taxpayer Dollars and Corporate Welfare in the Oil and Gas Industry
On Wednesday, May 19, at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time, the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, led by Chair Katie Porter (D-Calif.), will hold a virtual, fully remote oversight hearing on taxpayer benefits given to the oil and gas industry, what economic gains the public does or does not get in exchange for those benefits, and the accuracy of industry claims about job creation and job retention.
Witnesses:- Laura Zachary, Co-Director, Apogee Economics & Policy
- Michael Patrick Smith, Author and former oil field worker
- Tim Stretton, Policy Analyst, Project on Government Oversight
- Alex Epstein, Center for Industrial Progress
- Richard E. Muncrief, President and CEO Devon Energy Corporation
- William R. Thomas, Chairman and CEO, EOG Resources, Inc.
- Darren W. Woods, Chairman and CEO, ExxonMobil Corporation
- Kathleen Sgamma, President, Western Energy Alliance
- Tripp Parks, Vice President of Government Affairs, Western Energy Alliance
Accelerating Discovery: the Future of Scientific Computing at the Department of Energy
- Dr. J. Stephen Binkley, Acting Director, Office of Science, Department of Energy
- Dr. Georgia Tourassi, Director, National Center for Computational Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory
- Dr. Karen Willcox, Director, Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin
- Dr. Christopher Monroe, Co-Founder and Chief Scientist, IonQ, Inc.
- Dr. Seny Kamara, Associate Professor, Brown University
The Fiscal Year 2022 DOE Budget
- Jennifer M. Granholm, Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy
Global Climate Finance
- Mathew Haarsager, Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Development Finance and Policy, Department of the Treasury
- Jeffrey Haeni, Acting Director for Center for Environment, Energy, and Infrastructure, Bureau for Development, Democracy, and Innovation, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
- Jake Levine, Chief Climate Officer, U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC)
- Leo Martinez-Diaz, Senior Advisor to Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, Department of State
Examining Biodiversity Loss: Drivers, Impacts, and Potential Solutions
- Dr. Leah Gerber, Founding Director of the Center for Biodiversity Outcomes and Professor of Conservation Science at Arizona State University
- Edmund “Ed” Sullivan, Executive Officer of the Santa Clara Valley Habitat Agency
- Andy Treharne, Senior Director, Executive Affairs, Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation
- John E. Schmidt, Board of Directors, Partnerscapes