Generation Climate: Young Leaders Urge Climate Action Now
The House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis will hold its first hearing on Thursday, April 4th. In contrast to a typical Congressional hearing, the committee will hear from young leaders who are urging policymakers to take climate action now and finally address the climate crisis.
Witnesses- Aji Piper, Plaintiff, Juliana v. United States
- Chris J. Suggs, Student and activist, Kinston, NC
- Melody Zhang, Climate Justice Campaign Coordinator, Sojourners, Co-Chair, Young Evangelicals for Climate Action
- Lindsay Cooper, Policy Analyst, Office of the Governor of Louisiana, Office of Coastal Activities
Budget: Science, Energy, and Environmental Management Programs
Marcy Kaptur Opening Statement
The Subcommittee will come to order as we begin our hearing on the Department of Energy’s fiscal year 2020 budget request with respect to its energy, science, and nuclear cleanup programs. Thank you, to both Under Secretaries Mr. Menezes and Mr. Dabbar, for being here. DOE addresses our nation’s most pressing energy, environmental, and nuclear security challenges through transformative science and technology. But the Trump Administration’s budget request drastically reduces or eliminates the very programs necessary for the Department to pursue its mission.
DOE’s budget request is 11 percent below last year’s levels, with most cuts in the non-defense side of the Department. In fact, non-defense programs (relating mostly to the innovation programs) are cut by 37 percent while defense programs are increased by 4 percent.
As I said last week at our hearing with Secretary Perry, this request is riddled with wrongheaded proposals:- Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy funding is cut by 86 percent. EERE’s research over the last nearly four decades has invented the future – it has driven down the costs of clean energy technologies that save consumers money and reduce carbon pollution. For example, since 2008, the cost of wind energy has dropped by 75%, electric vehicle batteries by 79%, and LED light bulbs by 94%.
- Further, this budget yet again eliminates the Weatherization Program, which has a direct, positive impact on the lives and pocketbooks of Americans, particularly elderly and low-income Americans. At a time when one in five households have had to forego necessities to pay energy bills, the Weatherization Program saves average citizens – our taxpayers – hundreds of dollars per home annually.
- Funding for the Office of Science—the nation’s largest federal supporter of basic research in the physical sciences—is cut by over $1 billion. These programs invest in foundational science to address national needs, promote scientific discovery, and develop 21st Century tools. In fact, this research has yielded over 100 Nobel prizes. And its researchers have made key scientific advances ranging from solar energy and batteries, to inventing new materials, to decoding DNA. Those all are “wows” historically speaking.
- Finally, this request cuts Environmental Management by over $700 million and thus fails to meet our moral and legal obligation to clean up the nuclear legacy of nuclear weapons production and government research.
In addition to opposing these destructive cuts, I want to be clear that we will not support the use of budget gimmicks, in this case, the use of prior year balances to fund future projects. Last week we heard from Secretary Perry, who repeatedly committed to executing Congressional intent as directed. This means DOE must continue to execute its dollars appropriately and expeditiously. This Subcommittee will be closely monitoring this implementation.
The energy future of our country depends on DOE’s vital investments to solve our toughest energy challenges. The President’s budget request harms America’s energy future, our competitiveness, our consumers, and our economy. The Trump budget also falls short in meeting our obligations to the communities that have sacrificed, and still bear the brunt of costs borne from winning World War II.
With that, I’ll close my remarks. Thank you, Mr. Menezes and Mr. Dabbar, for being here today. We look forward to discussing the Department’s budget request and adapting it accordingly. I would like to turn to our Ranking Member, Mr. Simpson for his opening remarks.
Witnesses- Paul Dabbar, Under Secretary for Science, U.S. Department of Energy
- Mark Menezes, Under Secretary for Energy, U.S. Department of Energy
Review of the FY2020 Budget Request for FEMA
- Senator Shelley Moore Capito (Republican – West Virginia)
- Peter Gaynor, Acting Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency
Review of the FY2020 Budget Request for the Environmental Protection Agency
Hearing to review the Fiscal Year 2020 funding request and budget justification for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Member Statements- Senator Lisa Murkowski (Republican – Alaska)
- Andrew Wheeler, Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency
- Holly Greaves, Chief Financial Officer, Environmental Protection Agency
Lessons From Across the Nation: State and Local Action to Combat Climate Change
The Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee will hold a hearing on Tuesday, April 2, at 10 a.m. in the John D. Dingell Room, 2123 Rayburn House Office Building on how state and local leaders are responding to the climate crisis in the wake of President Trump’s intent to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement.
Witnesses
Panel I- Jay Inslee, Governor, State of Washington
- Steve Benjamin, Mayor, Columbia, South Carolina
- Jackie Biskupski, Mayor, Salt Lake City, Utah
- James Brainard, Mayor, Carmel, Indiana
- Daniel C. Camp III, Chairman, Beaver County Board of Commissioners, Beaver County, Pennsylvania
- Jerry F. Morales, Mayor, Midland, Texas
The Application of Environmental, Social, and Governance Principles in Investing and the Role of Asset Managers, Proxy Advisors, and Other Intermediaries
- Chairman Mike Crapo (R – ID)
- Ranking Member Sherrod Brown (D – OH)
- Phil Gramm, hedge fund advisor and lobbyist
- James R. Copland, Senior Fellow And Director Of Legal Policy, Manhattan Institute
- John Streur, President And Chief Executive Officer, Calvert Research and Management
The President's FY 2020 Budget Request for DOE
- Sen. Joe Manchin, Ranking Member
- Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Chairman
- Rick Perry, Secretary of Energy
How Climate Change Threatens U.S. National Security
- Sherri Goodman, Former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Environmental Security
- Vice Admiral Dennis V. McGinn (Ret.) , Former Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy, Installations and Environment
- Paul Weisenfeld, Executive Vice President, International Development, RTI International, Former Assistant to the Administrator for the Bureau for Food Security, U.S. Agency for International Development
- Barry Worthington, Executive Director, United States Energy Association
Protecting Coastal Communities from Offshore Drilling
- H.R. 1941 (Rep. Cunningham): To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to prohibit the Secretary of the Interior including in any leasing program certain planning areas, and for other purposes. “Coastal and Marine Economies Protection Act”
- H.R. 205 (Rep. Rooney): To amend the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 to permanently extend the moratorium on leasing in certain areas of the Gulf of Mexico. “Protecting and Securing Florida’s Coastline Act”
- H.R. 1149 (Rep. Van Drew): To prohibit the Department of the Interior from issuing certain geological and geophysical exploration permits under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, and for other purposes. “Atlantic Coastal Economies Protection Act”
Witness List
Panel I- Rep. Joe Cunningham, South Carolina, 1st District
- Rep. Jeff Van Drew, New Jersey, 2nd District
- Rep. Francis Rooney, Florida, 19th District
Panel II
- Jimmy Carroll, Mayor, Isle of Palms, SC
- Vipe Desai, Founding Member, Business Alliance for Protecting the Pacific Coast, Owner, HDX Mix, Huntington Beach, CA
- David Yates, Executive Director & CEO, Clearwater Marine Aquarium, Clearwater, FL
- Sharon Hewitt, Senator, Louisiana State Senate, District – 1, Baton Rouge, LA
Pipeline Safety: Reviewing the Status of Mandates and Examining Additional Safety Needs
WITNESS LIST
Member Panel- Lori Trahan, U.S. House of Representatives
- Seth Moulton, U.S. House of Representatives
- Howard “Skip” R. Elliott, Administrator, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)
- Jennifer Homendy, Member, National Transportation Safety Board
Panel II
- Carl Weimer, Executive Director, Pipeline Safety Trust
- Andrew Black, President and CEO, Association of Oil Pipe Lines
- Dan Eggleston, EFO, CFO, CMO, President and Chairman of the Board, International Association of Fire Chiefs
- Richard Kuprewicz, President, Accufacts Inc.
- Robin Rorick, Vice President, Midstream and Industry Operations, American Petroleum Institute
- Elgie Holstein, Sr. Director for Strategic Planning, Environmental Defense Fund