This Week on the Hill
All eyes are on the Senate this week as supporters of efforts to cap carbon emissions are desperately trying to secure inclusion of modest provisions for a cap in an expected Senate energy bill. The legislation, being written by Senator Bingaman in the Energy and Natural Resources Committee will include measures on renewable energy, “green-tech” jobs, Gulf oil spill liability provisions, a tax incentive title, advanced automotive technology, and possibly language that caps greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. This last provision is all that remains from an ambitious economy-wide bill that was proposed by Sens. Lieberman and Kerry earlier this year. The debate is set to begin next Tuesday, so an agreement between Sens. Kerry-Lieberman, and the interested stakeholders (utilities and environmental groups) would likely have to occur this week. Without an agreement, there probably will not be any serious proposals to cap greenhouse gas emissions until next year, leaving regulation by EPA under the Clean Air Act as the primary driver of emissions reductions.
Much of the Committees’ focus will continue to be on the efforts in the Gulf. The Senate Commerce Committee will hold back-to-back hearings on the subject, first on the status of clean up efforts, followed by a mark-up of legislation on Thursday to reform federal oil spill response authorities. The House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on Tuesday to examine the Department of Interior’s role in regulating deep water wells, a hearing that could highlight partisan differences, as former Secretary Gail Norton and current Secretary Ken Salazar share the witness panel. Finally, on an unrelated topic, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hold a Wednesday hearing on Federal green building guidelines.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
The Oversight and Investigation Subcommittee and the Energy and Environment Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a joint hearing entitled “The Role of the Interior Department In The Deepwater Horizon Disaster.” The hearing will be held at 10:00 a.m. in Room 2123 of the Rayburn House Office Building. Witness include Interior Secretary Ken Salazar; former Interior Secretary Gale Norton; and former Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
The House Committee on the Judiciary will hold a full committee hearing entitled, “Ensuring Justice for Victims of the Gulf Coast Oil Disaster.” The hearing will be held at 10:00 a.m. in Room 2141 of the Rayburn House Office Building.
The Senate Energy And Natural Resources Committee will hold a markup hearing rescheduled from last week on batch of nine energy bills. The hearing will be held at 9:30 a.m. in room 366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.
The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry will hold a hearing entitled, “Empowering Rural Communities, the Status and Future of the Farm Bill’s Energy and Rural Development Programs.” The hearing will be held at 9:30 a.m. in Room 328A of the Russell Senate Office Building. Witnesses include Dallas Tonsager, USDA’s undersecretary for rural development; retired Gen. Wesley Clark, co-chairman of Growth Energy; Dave Tenny, president of the National Alliance of Forest Owners; Eric Zuber, dairy producer; Dennis Sternberg, executive director of the Arkansas Rural Water Association; JoAnne Bush, mayor of the City of Lake Village, Ark.; and Glenn English, CEO of National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.
The Senate Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard Subcommittee will be switching gears with regard to the Gulf oil spill and hold a hearing entitled, “Turning Ideas into Action: Ensuring Effective Clean Up and Restoration in the Gulf.” The hearing will be held at 10:00 a.m. in Room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will have its turn to hold a hearing examining the oversight of the Department of Interior’s role in the Gulf oil spill while also reviewing the reorganization of the Minerals Management System. The hearing will be held at 10:00 a.m. in Room 2154 of the Rayburn House Office Building. Witnesses include Interior Secretary Ken Salazar; Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement Director Michael Bromwich; Interior acting Inspector General Mary Kendall; Government Accountability Office Director for Natural Resources and the Environment Frank Rusco; and Project On Government Oversight executive director Danielle Brian.
EPA’s newly proposed “transport” rule will be discussed in a hearing by the Senate Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety. The hearing will be held at 10:00 a.m. in Room 406 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. Witnesses include Gina McCarthy, assistant administrator, Office of Air and Radiation, U.S. EPA; Eric Svenson Jr., vice president of environmental health and safety, PSEG; Jared Snyder, assistant commissioner, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation; Conrad Schneider, advocacy director, Clean Air Task Force; and Chris Korleski, director, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
Victims of the Gulf oil spill will also be discussed by the Senate this week in a “Part II” hearing entitled, “Ensuring a Financially Responsible Recovery” held by the Senate Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security. The hearing will be held at 10:00 a.m. in Room 342 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. Witnesses include Kenneth Feinberg, administrator, Gulf Coast Claims Facility; James Hackett, president and CEO, Anadarko Petroleum Corp.; and Naoki Ishii, president, MOEX Offshore 2007 LLC.