Hill Heat

A full committee classified briefing.

Witness:

• Brian Nichols, Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, U.S. Department of State

Full committee hearing entitled “Examining the Consequences of EPA’s Actions on American Agriculture”.

The purpose of the hearing is to consider the nomination of Shannon A. Estenoz to be Deputy Secretary of the Interior.

Witness:

• Shannon A. Estenoz, Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, Department of the Interior

Estenoz is currently Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks. Previously, Shannon served as Interior’s Director of Everglades Restoration Initiatives and Executive Director of the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force. Shannon’s twenty four-year career in conservation includes roles with the World Wildlife Fund and the National Parks Conservation Association, and appointments by three Florida Governors including to the Governing Board of the South Florida Water Management District. Shannon is a fifth generation native of Key West, Florida, and holds degrees in International Affairs and Civil Engineering from Florida State University.

Full committee hearing.

Witness:

• Michael Regan, Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Full committee hearing.

Witness:

• Eric Beightel, Executive Director, Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council

The Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (Permitting Council) was established in 2015 by Title 41 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST-41), charged with improving the transparency and predictability of the federal environmental review and authorization process for certain critical infrastructure projects. The Permitting Council is comprised of the Permitting Council Executive Director, who serves as the Council Chair; 13 federal agency council members (including deputy secretary-level designees of the Secretaries of Agriculture, Army, Commerce, Interior, Energy, Transportation, Defense, Homeland Security, and Housing and Urban Development, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Chairs of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation); and the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

The Permitting Council coordinates federal environmental reviews and authorizations for projects that seek and qualify for FAST-41 coverage. FAST-41 covered projects are entitled to comprehensive permitting timetables and transparent, collaborative management of those timetables on the Federal Permitting Dashboard. FAST-41 covered projects may be in the renewable or conventional energy production, electricity transmission, energy storage, surface transportation, aviation, ports and waterways, water resource, broadband, pipelines, manufacturing, mining, carbon capture, semiconductors, artificial intelligence and machine learning, high-performance computing and advanced computer hardware and software, quantum information science and technology, data storage and data management, and cybersecurity sectors.

Full committee markup of Fiscal Year 2025 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Agriculture, Rural Development, and Food and Drug Administration Bills and Revised Subcommittee Allocations.

Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies

• Full Committee Mark
• Democratic Fact Sheet
• Democratic Summary

Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies

• Subcommittee Mark
• Democratic Summary
• Democratic Fact Sheet

Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies

• Subcommittee Mark
• Democratic Summary
• Democratic Fact Sheet

This is a hearing of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials.

Witnesses:

• Dillon Olvera, President and Chief Executive Officer, Modesto and Empire Traction Company; on behalf of the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association
• Roger Nober, Director of GW Regulatory Studies Center and Professor of Practice at the Trachtenberg School, George Washington University
• Ural Yal, Senior Vice President – Corporate Preconstruction Group, Flatiron Construction; on behalf of the Associated General Contractors of California
• Heather Arias, Chief, Transportation and Toxics Division, California Air Resources Board

On Tuesday, July 9, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries will hold a legislative hearing on the following bills:

• Discussion Draft of H.R. ___ (Rep. Westerman), “ESA Amendments Act of 2024," to codify Trump administration rollbacks of the Endangered Species Act;
• H.R. 7544 (Rep. Maloy), “Water Rights Protection Act of 2024”, to ensure that federal action imposes no greater restriction or regulatory requirement on water rights than under applicable state water law;
• H.R. 8308 (Rep. Harder), “Nutria Eradication and Control Reauthorization Act of 2024”; and
• H.R. 8811 (Rep. Wittman), “America’s Conservation Enhancement Reauthorization Act of 2024”

Hearing memo

Witnesses:

• Stephen Guertin, Deputy Director for Program Management and Policy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, DC (all bills)
• Mauricio Guardado, General Manager, United Water Conservation District, Oxnard, CA (Westerman Discussion Draft)
• Dr. Kirk Havens, Director of the Center for Coastal Resource Management, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Gloucester Point, VA (H.R. 881)
• Dr. Brian Steed, Great Salt Lake Commissioner, Office of the Great Salt Lake Commissioner, Salt Lake City, UT (H.R. 7544)
• Ellen Richmond, Senior Attorney, Biodiversity Law Center, Defenders of Wildlife, Washington, DC (ESA Discussion Draft) [Minority witness]

On Tuesday, July 9, 2024, at 10:15 a.m., in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Subcommittee on Federal Lands will hold a legislative hearing on the following bills:

• H.R. 3283 (Rep. Miller-Meeks), “Facilitating the Deployment of Infrastructure with Greater Internet Transactions And Legacy Applications Act” or the “Facilitating DIGITAL Applications Act”, requires the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to periodically report on the development of online portals for processing communications use authorizations. Communications use authorizations are requests for easements, rights-of-way, leases, licenses, or other authorizations to locate or modify a transmitting device, support structure, or other communications facility on public lands or National Forest System land;
• H.R. 3299 (Rep. Cammack), “Deploying Infrastructure with Greater Internet Transactions And Legacy Applications Act” or the “DIGITAL Applications Act”, requires the Department of the Interior and the Forest Service to each establish an online portal for processing communications use authorizations;
• H.R. 5401 (Rep. D’Esposito), “9/11 Memorial and Museum Act”;
• H.R. 6012 (Rep. Carbajal), “Fire Safe Electrical Corridors Act of 2023”, to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to permit removal of trees around electrical lines on National Forest System land without conducting a timber sale;
• H.R. 7976 Rep. Holmes Norton), “Civil War Defenses of Washington National Historical Park Act”; and
• H.R. 8012 (Rep. Waltz), “Jackie Robinson Commemorative Site Act.”

Hearing memo

Witnesses:

• Chris French, Deputy Chief – National Forest System, U.S. Forest Service, Washington, D.C. [H.R. 3283, H.R. 3299, H.R. 6012]
• Mike Caldwell, Associate Director – Park Planning, Facilities, and Lands, National Park Service, Washington, D.C. [H.R. 3283, H.R. 3299, H.R. 5401, H.R. 7976, H.R. 8012]
• Joe Quinn, Visionary Network Member, National September 11 Memorial & Museum, New York City, New York [H.R. 5401]
• Michael Romano, Executive Vice President, NTCA—The Rural Broadband Association, Arlington, Virginia [H.R. 3283, H.R. 3299]
• Jim Jaworski, General Manager, Daytona Tortugas, Daytona Beach, Florida [H.R. 8012]

Full committee hearing.

Witness:

• Phillip Swagel, Ph.D., Director, Congressional Budget Office