Tag: capitol hill

DC Legislative Update: Feb 28–Mar 4, 2022 

Check here for the 2022 Senate Calendar
Check here for the 2022 House Calendar

Upcoming Congressional Hearings

  • Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
  • Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry Committee
    • Wednesday, March 2 at 10am EST: Hearing to consider the nominations of Christy Goldsmith Romero to be a commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Kristin Johnson to be a commissioner of the CFTC, Summer Mersinger to be commissioner of the CFTC, and Caroline Pham to be a commissioner of the CFTC.
  • Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
    • Wednesday, March 2 at 10am EST: Hearing on implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Pete Buttigieg, Secretary of Transportation, will testify.
  • House Agriculture Committee
  • House Homeland Security Committee
  • House Judiciary Committee
    • Tuesday, March 1 at 10am EST: Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties Subcommittee hearing on discrimination against Muslim, Arab, and South Asian American communities.
  • House Natural Resources Committee
  • House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology

Congressional News

  • With just under two weeks before government funding runs out on March 11th, details on an appropriations deal for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2022 remain scarce. Last week, President Biden requested an additional $6.4 billion to support Ukraine against the invasion by Russia. Congress could add this funding to a larger appropriations package, or we could see piecemeal funding bills passed up until the 11th. Given the amount of work on the appropriations committees’ plates, there could also be a very short funding extension to keep the government open beyond March 11th. Senator Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico remains absent from the Senate as he recovers from a stroke. His absence impacts Democrats’ ability to command a majority in the chamber. He is expected to recover and return to the Senate within a few weeks.

Administrative News

  • President Biden will provide his State of the Union address to Congress at 9pm EST on Tuesday, March 1. Even with the Russian invasion of Ukraine taking center stage, the President is expected to devote part of his speech to the need for climate action. The speech follows just a day after the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released its latest installment of the sixth climate assessment, focused on how changes will affect humans and natural ecosystems. You can view NWF’s press release on the report here.
  • On Friday, President Biden announced his selection of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as his nominee to succeed Justice Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court. Judge Jackson will begin meeting with Senators this week as the chamber prepares for her confirmation proceedings. A confirmation hearing with the Judiciary Committee is expected to come quickly, although the exact timeline has not been announced.
  • See here for additional White House resources, including a comprehensive list of Executive orders to address COVID, the climate crisis, and environmental justice, among other topics.

What’s Happening This Week

  • Both chambers of Congress are in session this week.
  • The House will begin by considering 8 bills under suspension, and will likely move later in the week to consider legislation related to toxic exposures for military servicemembers under a rule. Action on a Fiscal Year 2022 funding bill or emergency supplemental funding to provide aid to Ukraine is possible.
  • The Senate is in session and will open the week by moving to consider a House-passed bill that protects the right of Americans to receive an abortion. A vote on the motion to consider is expected to fail, after which the chamber will take up the Postal Service reform that has been before Congress for a few weeks.
  • NWF continues to work to advance our priorities on Capitol Hill, so please feel free to share NWF’s 117th Congress National Policy Agenda.
    The logo of the National Wildlife Federation is circular and features a raccoon wearing a ranger hat.
    www.nwf.org

D.C. Legislative Update: October 18-22, 2021

Check here for the 2021 Senate Calendar
Check here for the 2021 House Calendar

Upcoming Congressional Hearings 

  • Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
    • Tuesday, October 19 at 10am EST: “Full Committee Hearing to Consider Pending Nominations” including Mr. Willie L. Phillips, Jr. to be a Member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Mr. Brad J. Crabtree to be an Assistant Secretary of Energy (Fossil Energy and Carbon Management), and Charles F. Sams III to be Director of the National Park Service.
    • Tuesday, October 19 at 2:30pm EST: Public Lands, Forests, & Mining Subcommittee Legislative See here for the full list of pending legislation.
    • Thursday, October 21 at 10am EST: Hearing to consider pending legislation on topics including public lands, forests, and See here for the full list of bills.
  • Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
  • House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack
  • Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
  • House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
    • Wednesday, October 20 at 10am EST: Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation hearing on “Achieving Mission Balance: Positioning the Coast Guard for the Future.”
  • House Energy and Commerce Committee
  • House Natural Resources Committee
  • House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis
  • Senate Judiciary Committee
  • Senate Indian Affairs Committee
    • Wednesday, October 20 at 2:30pm EST: Roundtable discussion on “Investing in Economic Sovereignty: Leveraging Federal Financing for New and Sustained Development in Native Communities”
  • House Foreign Affairs Committee
    • Thursday, October 21 at 10am EST: Subcommittee: International Development, International Organizations and Global Corporate Social Impact hearing on “Preparing for COP26: United States Strategy to Combat Climate Change through International Development”
  • House Judiciary Committee
  • House Science, Space, and Technology Committee
    • Thursday, October 21 at 10am EST: Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight and Subcommittee on Energy hearing on “Judicious Spending to Enable Success of the Office of Nuclear Energy.”

Congressional News 

  • 2372, the Recovering Americas Wildlife Act, now has 29 Senate cosponsors. NWF will continue pushing for more cosponsors and advocating for this critical wildlife conservation bill.

Administrative News 

  • On Thursday, President Biden signed S. 1301, “which provides for authority to increase the debt limit by $480 billion, which is expected to be sufficient to allow the Federal Government to continue to meet its full commitments through early December.” The bill passed the Senate last week in a vote of 50-48.
  • See here for White House resources, including a comprehensive list of Executive orders to address COVID, the climate crisis, and environmental justice, among other topics.

What’s Happening This Week 

  • This week, the House and Senate are both back from recess.
  • The Senate is expected to focus on outstanding nominations this The Senate is also expected to vote on proceeding to consider the Freedom to Vote Act, which would advance critical reforms to ensure every American is able to exercise their right to vote, including by expanding early voting, making Election Day a federal holiday, and requiring states to have automatic voter registration.
  • The Senate Appropriations Committee released 9 of its 12 appropriations bills today, Monday 18, for the fiscal year 2022.
    • See the Committee’s website here for the full text of each bill. As a reminder, the House Appropriations Committee introduced and held markups on their versions earlier this year.
  • The House is expected to focus on a number of suspension bills.
  • As the White House and Congress continue work on the Build Back Better agenda, including the bipartisan infrastructure package and budget reconciliation, NWF continues to work to advance our priorities around these Please feel free to share NWF’s 117th Congress National Policy Agenda.

National Wildlife Federation Logo

D.C. Legislative Update: Sept 20-24, 2021

Check here for the 2021 Senate Calendar
Check here for the 2021 House Calendar

Upcoming Congressional Hearings 

  • House Foreign Affairs Committee
  • Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
    • Tuesday, September 21 at 10am EST: “Full Committee Hearing to Consider Pending Nominations” including Laura Daniel-Davis to be an Assistant Secretary of the Interior (Land and Minerals Management), Camille C. Touton to be Commissioner of Reclamation, and Sara Bronin to be Chairman of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
  • Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
    • Tuesday, September 21 at 3pm EST: Subcommittee on Tourism, Trade, and Export Promotion hearing on “Legislative Solutions to Revive Travel and Tourism and Create Jobs.”
  • Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
    • Wednesday, September 22 at 9:30am EST: “Business meeting to consider several of President Biden’s nominees, legislation to rename federal buildings, and several General Services Administration resolutions. Immediately following, the committee will hold a hearing on the importance of promoting a circular economy.”
  • Senate Finance Committee
    • Wednesday, September 22 at 10am EST: “Hearing to Consider the Nominations of Christi A. Grimm, of Colorado, to be Inspector General, Department of Health and Human Services and Neil Harvey MacBride, of Virginia, to be General Counsel for the Department of the Treasury”
  • Senate Judiciary Committee
  • House energy and Commerce Committee
  • House Agriculture Committee
  • House Science, Space, and Technology Committee
    • Thursday, September 23 at 10am EST: Subcommittee on Environment hearing on “Advancing Earth System Science and Stewardship at ” This hearing will feature witness testimony from the Honorable Richard W. Spinrad, Ph.D., Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, and Administrator, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
  • Senate Homeland Security Committee

Congressional News  

  • Last week, components of the Build Back Better Act (budget reconciliation) bill passed out of the Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce Committees. See here for NWF’s press release on passage through Ways and Means outlining support of the committee’s work to strengthen clean energy and technology. Additionally, see here for NWF’s tweet in support of the Energy and Commerce Committee’s work on the Build Back Better Act to advance climate action.
  • NWF sent this letter to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in support of Laura Daniel Davis’ nomination to be Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Lands and Minerals Management. Davis, NWF’s former s Chief of Policy and Advocacy, brings the leadership, skills, and experience needed for the role, and NWF supports her swift confirmation.

Administrative News  

  • Last week, NWF sent out a statement urging Congress to pursue needed and overdue reforms to the National Flood Insurance See here for NWF’s press release.
  • See here for White House resources, including a comprehensive list of Executive orders to address COVID, the climate crisis, and environmental justice, among other topics.

What’s Happening This Week  

  • Both chambers are in session this week. The House is expected to focused on a C.R. for FY2022 – to keep the government funded past the September 30 deadline and into, likely, December, 2021 – as well as the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
  • The Senate is expected to work on judicial nominations this In addition, we are expecting this week a cloture and full Senate vote on the nomination of Tracy Stone-Manning for Director of the Bureau of Land Management.
  • As Congress continues to work to advance budget reconciliation, infrastructure, and appropriations, please feel free to share NWF’s 117th Congress National Policy Agenda.

National Wildlife Federation Logo

DC Legislative Update April 19-23, 2021

 

NWF Legislative Update April 19-23, 2021

Check here for the 2021 Senate Calendar
Check here for the 2021 House Calendar

Congressional Hearings 

  • House Appropriations Committee
    • Tuesday, April 20 at 10am EST: Subcommittee on Interior, Environment hearing on the “Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Request for the Department of the Interior.”
  • Tuesday, April 20 at 10am EST: Subcommittee on Labor, Human Health, Education hearing on “Building Capacity, Building Community: Increasing Investments in Community Colleges.”
  • Wednesday, April 21 at 10am EST: Subcommittee on Interior, Environment hearing on the “Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Request for the Environmental Protection Agency.”
  • Wednesday, April 21 at 2pm EST: Subcommittee on Transportation, House and Urban Development hearing on “Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Request for the Department of Housing and Urban ”
  • House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis
    • Tuesday, April 20 at 12pm EST: Hearing on “Making the Case for Climate Action: Creating New Jobs and Catalyzing Economic Growth.”
  • House Natural Resources Committee
    • Tuesday, April 20 at 2:30pm EST: Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources hearing, “Building Back Better: Reducing Pollution and Creating Jobs Through Offshore Wind.”
  • Senate Appropriations Committee
    • Tuesday, April 20 at 10:30am EST: “Hearings to examine the American Jobs Plan, focusing on infrastructure, climate change, and investing in our nation’s ”
  • House Appropriations Committee
    • Tuesday, April 20 at 10:30am EST: Hearing on “The American Jobs Plan: Infrastructure, Climate Change, and Investing in Our Nation’s ”
      • Witnesses include Buttigieg, Secretary of Transportation, Regan, Administrator of the EPA, Raimondo, Secretary of Commerce, and Fudge, Secretary of HUD
    • Wednesday, April 21 at 2pm EST: Subcommittee hearing on “Fiscal Year 2022 Budget ”
  • House Foreign Affairs Committee
    • Tuesday, April 20 at 2pm EST: Subcommittee on Europe, Energy, the Environment and Cyber hearing on “Restoration of the Transatlantic Dialogue: The Global Fight Against Climate Change.”
  • Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
    • Wednesday, April 21 at 10am EST: Hearing to “consider the presidential nominations of Bill Nelson to be National Aeronautics and Space Administration Administrator and Lina Khan to be a Commissioner of the Federal Trade ”
  • House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
    • Wednesday, April 21 at 11am EST: Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment hearing on “Sustainable Wastewater Infrastructure: Measures to Promote Resiliency and Climate Adaptation and ”
  • Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee
    • Wednesday, April 21: Meeting to consider the nominations of Julie Su for Deputy Secretary of Labor, Cynthia Marten for Deputy Secretary of Education and James Kvaal for Undersecretary of
  • Senate Agriculture Committee

Congressional News 

  • On April 14, the Senate, in a bipartisan vote of 53-45, confirmed Brenda Mallory to serve as Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality. Mallory’s confirmation will ensure CEQ prioritizes environmental justice, climate, and policies that support people and wildlife. See NWF’s press release here.
  • Last week, Senators Luján (D-N.M.) and Cramer (R-N.D.) introduced the Revive Economic Growth and Reclaim Orphaned Wells (REGROW) Act of 2021. The bill focuses on clean-up of orphaned oil and gas wells and is a focus of NWF’s Public Land’s fly-in. See NWF’s press release here.

Administrative News  

  • On April 15, NWF and 15,000 members submitted public comments to the Department of Interior in response to their request for information on needs to reform the US oil and gas leasing system. See NWF’s press release here for more on the submission.
  • On April 16, Secretary Haaland issued secretarial orders to ensure widespread, improved management of public lands with a focus on climate Read NWF’s press release here.
  • The Administration released initial information about the President’s fiscal year 2022 discretionary budget request with specific provisions to highlight the all-of-government approach to climate change and related issues. The full budget request is expected later this spring. See the White House’s notice here.
  • See here for President Biden’s comprehensive list of Executive orders to address COVID, the climate crisis, and environmental justice, among other topics.

What’s happening this week? 

  • On Monday, President Biden is expected to meet with a bipartisan and bicameral group of Senators and Representatives, all former Governors and Mayors, to discuss the American Jobs Plan. NWF is working with Members and their staff to conduct virtual meetings, emphasizing recommendations from our Restoration and Resilience report – located here and in our press release here,
  • This week, the Senate is expected to consider and vote on the nomination of Lisa Monaco for Deputy Attorney General and the nomination of Gary Gensler to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
  • The Senate is expected to vote this week on The Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2021. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee voted unanimously last week to report the bill out of committee, see here for their press release.
  • Last Monday, the National Wildlife Federation, Atlantic Council Global Energy Center, and Reimagine Appalachia hosted a successful congressional briefing to discuss the role of climate infrastructure investments in Appalachia. Watch the briefing here.
  • NWF’s Public Lands team is continuing their virtual fly-in, hosting staff and affiliates in meetings with Members and their staff to discuss legislative and restoration and resilience priorities as part of upcoming legislation and larger infrastructure packages.

National Wildlife Federation Logo