Provisions of H.R. 2419, the 2007 Farm Bill
From Pacific Views live coverage:
The first House Agriculture Committee markup session on the 2007 Farm Bill began with Rep. Collin Peterson’s opening statement, followed by everyone else’s. Peterson said that Americans were fortunate to enjoy low, stable food prices, and food that meets the highest standards of quality and safety.No markup, or voting on specific amendments, actually took place during today’s session. The last changes to the legislation weren’t made until late last night, and today was the first chance most members got to see the final versions, though Rep. Peterson said that the changes were minor in comparison to the version released a little over a week ago.
Peterson said that listening sessions all over the country indicated that the 2002 Farm Bill was popular and regarded as successful. Building from that as a platform, changes Peterson described as departing from 2002 policies included increased spending on research, investment in nutrition, and help for new farmers. He said it was also the first time there was dedicated baseline funding support for fruits and vegetables, as well as a hard cap on payments under the commodity and conservation programs, such that no one with an adjusted gross income of a million dollars or more is eligible.
Peterson further said that there would be a main version of the bill that strictly adhered to paygo, pay-as-you-go, budget guidelines. Other items not covered by this baseline funding would be included in a separate bill that would need to have budget offsets found for it.
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The nominations of Robert Boldrey to the Udall Scholarship and Excellence in National Environmental Policy Foundation, Kristine L. Svinicki to the NRC, and R. Lyle Laverty to be Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish and Wildlife
The nominations of Robert Boldrey, of Michigan, to be a Member of the Board of Trustees of the Morris K. Udall Scholarship and Excellence in National Environmental Policy Foundation, Kristine L. Svinicki, of Virginia, to be a Member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and R. Lyle Laverty, of Colorado, to be Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish and Wildlife
Agriculture Markup - FY 2008 Appropriations
Business meeting to markup proposed legislation making appropriations for the Department of Agriculture for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2008
Debate on 2008 Energy and Water Earmarks 1
The House will have the floor debate on the $1.1 billion in member earmarks to the FY 2008 Energy and Water Appropriations Bill (HR 2641) approved last week by the House Appropriations Committee in a voice vote.
The measure, House Report 110-185 Part 2 (full pdf), amounts to about 3 percent of the $31.6 billion the bill would provide to the Energy Department, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Interior Department’s Bureau of Reclamation and several independent agencies.
The committee estimates that $3.4 billion of the bill goes to elements dealing with climate change, $1 billion more than in the President’s budget request. More on the original bill below the fold.
Climate Change and Economic Growth
American Association for the Advancement of Science and the British Embassy will sponsor a discussion on climate change and its implications for maintaining economic growth. The speaker will be United Kingdom chief science adviser David King. Contact: Earl Lane at 202-326-6431 or elane@aaas.org
Plug-In Hybrid Cars 1
House Select Energy Independence and Global Warming Committee (Chairman Markey, D-Mass.) will hold a hearing on the potential of plug-in hybrid vehicles. Contact: Moulton, David – Democratic Staff Director at 202-225-4012 Note: There will be a hands-on demonstration of plug-in hybrids at New Jersey Ave S.E. between C and D Sts. after the hearing.
Witnesses:- Frank Gaffney – president, Center for Security Policy
- Rob Lowe – actor and adocate
- David Vieau – president and CEO, A123 Systems
- Will Wynn – mayor, Austin, Texas
The nominations of Clarence H. Albright, of South Carolina, to be Under Secretary of Energy, Lisa E. Epifani, of Texas, to be an Assistant Secretary of Energy (Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs), and James L. Caswell, of Idaho, to be Director of
The nominations of Clarence H. Albright, of South Carolina, to be Under Secretary of Energy, Lisa E. Epifani, of Texas, to be an Assistant Secretary of Energy (Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs), and James L. Caswell, of Idaho, to be Director of the Bureau of Land Management
The Kyoto Protocol: An Update
- Harlan Watson – special representative and senior climate negotiator, Bureau of Oceans and International Environment and Scientific Affairs, State Department Panel II
- Elliot Diringer – director of international strategies, Pew Center on Global Climate Change
- Margo Thorning – managing director, International Council for Capital Formation
National Renewable Portfolio Standard
The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to learn about national renewable electricity portfolio standards such as those that have been introduced in the Senate and are likely to be introduced in the House as part of the climate change legislative package Speaker Pelosi (D-CA) has called for this Fall. A Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) is a market-based mechanism that requires utilities to gradually increase the portion of electricity produced from renewable resources such as wind, biomass, geothermal, solar energy, incremental hydropower and marine energy. Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia have RPSs, covering 40 percent of the nation’s electrical load. A national RPS has passed the Senate in the last three Congresses, although it is not included in the recent Senate energy bill.