09.18.20

Livestreams Next Week: Hearings on Trump’s Energy Failures, Salton Sea Protection, Tribal Bills, Puerto Rico Status – Forums on Environmental Justice

Washington, D.C. – The Natural Resources Committee will hold six livestreamed events next week.

 

Tuesday, Sept. 22

The Committee is hosting two events on Tuesday.

Hearing on Trump’s renewable energy failures

Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.), chair of the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, will lead a subcommittee hearing titled Trump Administration Broken Promises on Renewable Energy.

The event will focus on the Trump administration’s empty promises for an “all of the above” energy strategy that supported renewable energy, and the environmental and economic consequences of those broken promises. Witnesses will discuss what governmental support for clean energy and a more sustainable economy should look like and the damage done by the administration’s obsession with propping up fossil fuels with taxpayer money.

 

Tuesday’s speakers include: 

  • Kate Kelly

Public Lands Director

Center for American Progress

  • Anne Reynolds

Executive Director

Alliance for Clean Energy New York

  • Dan Shugar

CEO and Founder

Nextracker

  • Aaron Smith (minority witness)

President and CEO

Offshore Marine Services Association

 When: 12:00 p.m. Eastern time 

Watch Live: https://bit.ly/32JaZ8Q (Facebook) or https://youtu.be/t0vLTkdOz_I (YouTube)

 

Environmental Justice Forum

 Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) will lead a livestreamed forum titled Environmental Justice Now Tour: Texas as part of his ongoing initiative with Rep. A. Donald McEachin (D-Va.) to highlight the community impacts of environmental damage and build support for their Environmental Justice for All Act. The bill continues to gather momentum, with Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) introducing a Senate companion bill on July 30.

 

Tuesday’s speakers include: 

  • Yvette Arellano

Policy Research and Grassroots Advocate

Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services

  • Juan Parras

Executive Director

Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services

  • Rebekah Hinojosa

Beyond Dirty Fuels Campaign Organizer

Sierra Club

 

The event will focus on the millions of Texans who face constant health challenges from nearby petrochemical and oil refineries, solid waste disposal facilities and other health hazards, and what the Grijalva-McEachin bill can do to restore power to those communities to protect their quality of life.

When: 2:30 p.m. Eastern time

Watch Live: https://bit.ly/3iKHR6q (Facebook) or https://youtu.be/PXbWL5cbikI (YouTube)

 

Wednesday, Sept. 23

On Wednesday, the Committee will host a forum titled Environmental Justice: HBCUs to hear from experts on the role that historically black colleges and universities have played and continue to play in educating frontline communities on remedies for environmental racism and segregation.

 

Wednesday’s speakers include: 

  • Dr. Beverly Wright

Executive Director

Deep South Center for Environmental Justice

  • Dr. Robert D. Bullard

Professor of Urban Planning and Environmental Policy

Texas Southern University 

  • Dr. N’Taki Obsorne Jelks

Assistant Professor of Environmental and Health Sciences

Spelman College

  • Joy Semien

Doctoral Student, Texas A&M University

Urban and Regional Sciences

When: 12:00 p.m. Eastern time

Watch Live: https://bit.ly/35NXoyF (Facebook) or https://youtu.be/uRqCwVBxNeA (YouTube)

 

Thursday, Sept. 24

The Committee is hosting two events on Thursday.

Salton Sea Hearing 

Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), chair of the Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife, will lead a hearing titled Federal and State Efforts to Restore the Salton Sea. The event will focus on federal and state agency efforts to mitigate health risks to Californians living near the Salton Sea, where receding sea levels have exposed residents to toxic dust with unsafe levels of selenium, arsenic and industrial runoff.  

Thursday’s speakers include: 

  • Wade Crowfoot

Secretary 

State of California Natural Resources Agency 

  • E. Joaquin Esquivel 

Chair 

California State Water Resources Control Board

 

The minority has not yet identified a witness for this hearing.

When: 12:00 p.m. Eastern time 

Watch Live: https://bit.ly/3hJHg3R (Facebook) or https://youtu.be/jC9cqP1nzBs (YouTube)

 

Tribal Legislative Hearing

Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), chair of the Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States, will lead a hearing on two bills.

  • H.R. 7565 (Rep. Darren Soto), To authorize the Seminole Tribe of Florida to lease or transfer certain land, and for other purposes.
  • H.R. 8255 (Rep. G.K. Butterfield), To clarify the status of gaming conducted by the Catawba Indian Nation, and for other purposes.

 

Thursday’s speakers include:

  • The Honorable Marcellus W. Osceola, Jr.

Chairman

Seminole Tribe of Florida

  • The Honorable William Harris

Chief

Catawba Indian Nation

  • The Honorable Scott Neisler

Mayor

Kings Mountain, NC

  • The Honorable Richard Sneed

Principal Chief

Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians

 

When: 2:00 p.m. Eastern time

Watch Live: https://bit.ly/3hQhL0Q (Facebook) or https://youtu.be/_SNwYswwbho (YouTube)

 

Friday, Sept. 25

Chair Grijalva will lead a hearing titled Puerto Rico’s Options for a Non-Territory Status and What Should Happen After November’s Plebiscite. The hearing will feature testimony from several experts on how to resolve Puerto Rico’s political status with proper input from the Puerto Rican people.   

 

Friday’s speakers include:

 

Panel One

  • Annette Martínez-Orabona

Director

Caribbean Institute of Human Rights

  • Christina D. Ponsa-Kraus

Professor

Columbia Law School

  • Efrén Rivera-Ramos

Professor

University of Puerto Rico School of Law

  • Rafael Cox-Alomar

Professor

University of the District of Columbia School of Law

  • Annabel Guillen (minority witness)

President

Igualdad Futuro Seguro

 

Panel Two

Speakers will be announced next week

 

When: 12:00 p.m. Eastern time

Watch Live: https://bit.ly/32K1d6d (Facebook) or https://youtu.be/1qMzYPlihYQ (YouTube)

Press Contact

Adam Sarvana

(202) 225-6065 or (202) 578-6626 mobile