Hill Heat

The purpose of this hearing is to examine the President’s budget request for the National Park Service for Fiscal Year 2024.

Sen. Angus S. King, Jr. (I-Maine) is the subcommittee chair and Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) is the ranking member.

Witnesses:

• Charles F. “Chuck” Sams III, Director, National Park Service
• Accompanied by: Jessice Bowron, Comptroller, National Park Service

The NPS $3.8 billion budget request includes $86.8 million programmatic increase to support science and build NPS resiliency to climate change and increase NPS conservation efforts, with $4.1 million for climate vulnerability studies, and $31 million for youth conservation corps

On Wednesday, May 10, 2023, at 10:00 a.m., the Subcommittee on Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials will hold an oversight hearing in 2123 Rayburn House Office Building, entitled, “The Fiscal Year 2024 Environmental Protection Agency Budget.”

Hearing memo

Witness:

• Michael S. Regan, Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency

On March 9, 2023, the President submitted his proposed budget for fiscal year 2024,2 requesting $12.083 billion and more than 17,000 full-time employees for the EPA. This request is a little over 19 percent – or almost $1.948 billion – more than Congress provided EPA in Fiscal Year (FY) 2023.

Statement by Administrator Regan on the President’s FY 2024 Budget:

Today, the Biden-Harris Administration released the President’s Budget for fiscal year 2024 to the Congress. The Budget requests over $12 billion in discretionary budget authority for the EPA in 2024, a $1.9 billion or 19-percent increase from the fiscal year 2023 enacted level. EPA will release the full Congressional Justification and Budget in Brief materials soon.

The President’s Budget makes historic investments to support the Agency’s ongoing work to tackle the climate crisis, advance environmental justice, protect air quality across the nation, invest in critical water infrastructure and increase support for our state and Tribal partners in their efforts to implement environmental laws, and continue to rebuild core functions at the Agency.

“EPA is at the center of President Biden’s ambitious environmental agenda and the FY 2024 Budget will ensure the Agency delivers bold environmental actions and economic benefits for all. Coupled with the President’s historic investments in America through significant legislative accomplishments, the Budget will advance EPA’s mission across the board, boosting everything from our efforts to combat climate change, to delivering clean air, safe water, and healthy lands, to protecting communities from harmful chemicals, and to the continued restoration of capacity necessary to effectively implement these programs,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “Importantly, the Budget also supports our work to center environmental justice across all of the Agency’s programs, ensuring that no family, especially those living in overburdened and underserved areas, has to worry about the air they breathe, the water they drink, or the environmental safety of their communities.”

Highlights of the President’s FY 2024 Budget include:

Tackling the Climate Crisis with Urgency. The EPA’s Budget prioritizes combatting climate change with the urgency that science demands. The Budget includes $5 billion, a $757 million increase over the 2023 enacted level, to support work reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, building resilience in the face of climate impacts, and engaging with the global community to respond to this shared challenge, while also providing resources to spur economic progress and create good-paying jobs. The Budget proposes a $64.4 million increase over the 2023 enacted budget to implement the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act to continue phasing out potent GHGs known as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). It also invests $7 million in wildfire smoke preparedness.

Advancing Environmental Justice. The Budget bolsters the Agency’s efforts to achieve environmental justice in communities across the Nation by investing nearly $1.8 billion across numerous programs in support of environmental justice efforts. This investment supports the implementation of the President’s Justice40 commitment, which ensures at least 40 percent of the benefits of Federal investments in climate and clean energy, as well as infrastructure work such as Superfund, Brownfields, and SRFs, reach disadvantaged communities, including rural and Tribal communities. Additionally, this Budget will support activities creating good-paying jobs, cleaning up pollution, advancing equity, and securing environmental justice for communities that often bear the brunt of toxic pollution and impacts of climate change. The Budget also includes $91 million for technical assistance to support capacity building for communities to advance equity and justice.

Upgrading Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure and Replacing Lead Pipes Nationwide. The Budget provides more than $4 billion for water infrastructure, an increase of $1 billion over the 2023 enacted level. These resources foster water infrastructure upgrades, with a focus on underserved and rural communities that have historically been overlooked. The Budget funds all authorizations in the original Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2021 and maintains funding for EPA’s State Revolving Funds at the total 2023 enacted level, which complements funds provided for water infrastructure programs in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The Budget also provides $219 million for two grant programs dedicated to reducing lead in drinking water and lead testing in schools (an increase of $163 million over the 2023 enacted level). It also funds other grants and loans to advance the goal of replacing all lead pipes. Ensuring Clean and Healthy Air for All Communities. The Budget allocates $1.4 billion to improve air quality and reduce localized pollution, reduce exposure to radiation, and improve indoor air for communities across the country. This includes $180 million to support the development and implementation of national emission standards to reduce air pollution from vehicles, engines and fuels. The Budget also supports $367 million to assist air pollution control agencies in the development, implementation, and evaluation of programs for the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and to establish standards for reducing air toxics.

Protecting Communities from Hazardous Waste and Environmental Damage. The prevention and cleanup of harmful environmental damage that poses a risk to public health and safety continues to be a top priority for EPA. In addition to an estimated $2.5 billion in Superfund tax revenue that will be available to EPA in 2024, the Budget provides over $350 million for the Superfund program to continue cleaning up some of the Nation’s most contaminated land and respond to environmental emergencies and natural disasters. The Budget also provides over $215 million for EPA’s Brownfields program to provide technical assistance and grants to communities, including overburdened and underserved communities, so they can safely clean up and reuse contaminated properties, as well as $20 million for the Alaska Contaminated Lands program. These programs support the President’s Cancer Moonshot initiative by reducing human exposure to harmful contaminants that are correlated with an increased risk for cancer.

Ensuring Safety of Chemicals for People and the Environment. The Budget provides an investment of $130 million, $49 million more than the 2023 enacted level to build core capacity to implement the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Under TSCA, EPA has a responsibility to ensure the safety of chemicals in or entering commerce. In FY 2024, EPA will focus on evaluating, assessing, and managing risks from exposure to new and existing industrial chemicals to advance human health protection in our communities. Another priority is to implement FIFRA to ensure pesticides pose no unreasonable risks to human health and the environment.

Tackling Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Pollution. The Budget provides approximately $170 million to combat PFAS pollution. PFAS substances are a group of chemicals that threaten the health and safety of all communities. This request allows the EPA to continue working toward commitments made under EPA’s 2021 PFAS Strategic Roadmap, including: increasing our knowledge of PFAS impacts to human health and ecological effects, restricting use to prevent PFAS from entering the air, land, and water, and remediating PFAS that have been released into the environment.

Enforcing and Assuring Compliance with the Nation’s Environmental Laws. The Budget provides $246 million for civil enforcement efforts, crucial funding for enforcement in communities with high pollution exposure, and for preventing the illegal importation and use of climate super-pollutant HFCs in the United States. The Budget also includes: $165 million for compliance monitoring efforts, including funds to conduct inspections in underserved and overburdened communities, and funds to rebuild the agency’s inspector corps; and $75 million for criminal enforcement efforts, which includes funding to increase outreach to victims of environmental crimes and develop a specialized criminal enforcement task force to address environmental justice issues in partnership with the Department of Justice. Restoring Critical Capacity to Carry Out EPA’s Core Mission. To position the Agency with the workforce required to address emerging and ongoing challenges, the Budget added nearly 2,000 Full Time Equivalents (FTEs) relative to the current level, for a total of more than 17,000 FTEs, to help rebuild the Agency’s workforce. Developing staffing capacity across the Agency would enable EPA to better protect our Nation’s health, while also providing avenues to strengthen and advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. Staffing resources would additionally fund a significant expansion of EPA’s paid student internship program to develop a pipeline of qualified staff.

The Budget makes these smart investments to address emerging and ongoing environmental challenges while creating good-paying jobs and improving our country’s long-term fiscal outlook.

Building on the President’s strong record of fiscal responsibility, the Budget more than fully pays for its investments — reducing deficits by nearly $3 trillion over the next decade by asking the wealthy and big corporations to pay their fair share.

The purpose of the hearing is to review the Administration’s Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) budget request for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The hearing will provide an opportunity to conduct oversight and review policy issues related to NIST. The hearing will also provide an opportunity to conduct oversight and review issues related to the implementation of the CHIPS for America Program.

Hearing charter

Opening Statements:

• Chairman Frank Lucas

Witness:

• Dr. Laurie E. Locascio, Director, National Institute of Standards and Technology

The FY24 budget request for NIST is $1.6 billion, an increase of $4.7 million, or up 29 percent from the FY23 enacted level.

Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability, +$5.5M: To assess the impact of carbon in the environment by expanding research efforts in strategies for CO2 removal and to develop greenhouse gas measurement tools and standards for a comprehensive approach that ensures accuracy and trustworthiness of carbon data

The budget for NIST is divided into three main accounts: Scientific and Technical Research and Services (STRS), Industrial Technology Services (ITS), and Construction of Research Facilities (CRF).

Overarching Questions

• Being known as “industry’s lab,” how is NIST responding to and meeting the ever-changing needs of industry as new opportunities arise and technology evolves?
• How far along are NIST and the Department of Commerce in the process of implementing the CHIPS for America Program and corresponding guardrails?
• What is the state of facilities on NIST campuses and what is the impact on NIST’s ability to carry out its mission?
• What role does NIST play in working with U.S. industry to build safe and trustworthy artificial intelligence systems? How has industry responded to NIST’s AI Risk Management Framework?
• How does the President’s budget request support U.S. leadership in Quantum Information Sciences?
• How is NIST working to ensure we have trustworthy and resilient domestic supply chains?

U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, will convene a full committee Executive Session on Wednesday, May 10, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. ET to consider the Railway Safety Act of 2023 and other important legislation, as well as Coast Guard promotions.

• S. 229 Securing Semiconductor Supply Chain Act of 2023
• S. 576 Railway Safety Act of 2023
• S. 1280 TRANQ Research Act of 2023
• S. 1284 TORNADO Act
• S. 1414 National Weather Service Communications Improvement Act
• S. 1416 NOAA Weather Radio Modernization Act

Full committee hearing to consider:

Nominee:

• Xochitl Torres Small, of New Mexico, to be Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, vice Jewel Hairston Bronaugh

Xochitl Torres Small was confirmed by the United States Senate to serve as the Under Secretary for Rural Development on October 7, 2021. In this role, she oversees loans and grants to provide infrastructure improvements; business development; affordable housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural, Tribal, and high-poverty areas. During her leadership, USDA Rural Development secured $2 billion to support rural broadband through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Prior to coming to Rural Development, Xochitl was a United States Representative for the fifth largest district in the country. As a Representative, Xochitl served as a member of the House Agriculture Committee, the House Armed Services Committee and as chairwoman of the Oversight, Management, and Accountability subcommittee of the House Homeland Security Committee. Xochitl was the first woman and first person of color to represent New Mexico’s second congressional district.

The granddaughter of farmworkers, Xochitl Torres Small grew up in the borderlands of New Mexico. She has worked as a field representative for Senator Tom Udall, a clerk for United States District Court Judge Robert C. Brack, and an attorney practicing water and natural resources law. Xochitl has a law degree from the University of New Mexico School of Law, an undergraduate degree from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, and an international baccalaureate from Waterford Kamhlaba United World College of Southern Africa. She’s happily married to her husband, New Mexico State Representative Nathan Small.

Subcommittee hearing to review the President’s budget request for Indian country.

Witnesses:

• Roselyn Tso, Director, Indian Health Service
• Bryan Newland, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior

Hearing on the nomination of Jeffery Martin Baran, of Virginia, to be a member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for another term.

Nominee:

• Jeffery Martin (Jeff) Baran, of Virginia, to be a member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission

The Honorable Jeff Baran was nominated by President Obama and sworn in as a Commissioner of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on October 14, 2014. He is currently serving a term ending on June 30, 2023.

Commissioner Baran is focused on ensuring the safety and security of the country’s civilian nuclear facilities. He is committed to openness and transparency in agency decision-making and to hearing and considering the perspectives of a broad range of stakeholders. He supports a strong focus on environmental justice. Commissioner Baran believes NRC has an important role to play in tackling climate change, including establishing the right regulatory framework for the safe licensing and operation of new technologies.

Since joining the Commission, Commissioner Baran has visited dozens of NRC-licensed facilities, including operating power reactors, a nuclear plant undergoing active decommissioning, research and test reactors, fuel cycle facilities, a low-level waste disposal facility, and a variety of facilities using radioactive materials for medical and industrial purposes. He also traveled to Fukushima Daiichi for a first-hand look at conditions and activities at the site.

Before serving on the Commission, Commissioner Baran worked for the U.S. House of Representatives for over 11 years. During his tenure with the Energy and Commerce Committee, oversight of NRC was one of his primary areas of responsibility. He worked to coordinate the efforts of six federal agencies, including NRC, and two Native American tribes to clean up uranium contamination in and around the Navajo Nation. In addition, he helped negotiate bills related to pipeline safety, energy efficiency, hydropower, electric grid reliability, and medical isotopes that were enacted with bipartisan support. From 2003 to 2008, he was counsel to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Prior to his work on Capitol Hill, Commissioner Baran served as a law clerk for Judge Lesley Wells of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.

Born and raised in the Chicago area, Commissioner Baran earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in political science from Ohio University. He holds a law degree from Harvard Law School.

Full committee hearing examining Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices with Attorneys General.

Witnesses and testimonies:

• Sean Reyes, Attorney General, Utah
• Steve Marshall, Attorney General, Alabama
• Michael Frerichs (Democratic Witness), Illinois State Treasurer

Full committee hearing on the reauthorization of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act.

The latest reauthorization, passed in 2019 as the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act includes the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response in the Department of Health and Human Services. ASPR includes the National Disaster Medical System, which provides personnel, equipment, supplies, and a system of partner hospitals that work together with state and local personnel to provide care in response to disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, pandemic disease, major transportation accidents, and terrorist attacks.

Witnesses:

Panel I

• Dawn O’Connell, Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, United States Department of Health and Human Services
• Rochelle Walensky MD, MPH, Director, United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Robert Califf MD, Commissioner, United States Food and Drug Administration

Panel II

• Reshma Ramachandran MD, MPP, MHS, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Yale School of Medicine
• Robert Weissman, President, Public Citizen
• Martin Makary MD, MPH, Professor, Johns Hopkins University

Full committee hearing on ambassadorial nominations.

Nominees:

• Stephanie Syptak-Ramnath, of Texas, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Career Minister, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Peru
• Arthur W. Brown, of Pennsylvania, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Ecuador
• Yael Lempert, of New York, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
• Roger F. Nyhus, of Washington, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Barbados, and to serve concurrently and without additional compensation as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines