04.16.21

Livestreams Next Week: Offshore Wind Job Creation on Tuesday, Native American Infrastructure and Public Lands Bills on Wednesday

Washington, D.C. – The Natural Resources Committee is holding three livestreamed hearings next week.

Tuesday, April 20

Offshore Wind Legislative Hearing

The Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee, led by Chair Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.), will hold a legislative hearing titled Building Back Better: Reducing Pollution and Creating Jobs Through Offshore Wind. The event will focus on the economic potential of the burgeoning offshore wind industry, with a focus on three bills:

  • H.R.  998 (Rep. Bill Keating) To establish an offshore wind career training grant program, and for other purposes. Offshore Wind Jobs and Opportunity Act
  • H.R. ____ (Rep. Paul Tonko) To reauthorize certain leasing on the Outer Continental Shelf, and for other purposes. Restoring Offshore Wind Opportunities Act
  • H.R. 1689 (Res. Cmmsr. Jenniffer González-Colón) To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to apply to territories of the United States, to establish offshore wind lease sale requirements, to provide dedicated funding for coral reef conservation, and for other purposes. Offshore Wind for Territories Act

The Biden administration in late March announced a series of federal investments and agency actions to support job creation in offshore wind production, a move Chair Grijalva hailed at the time as a positive contrast with the fossil fuel reliance and anti-environmental record of the Trump administration. Next Tuesday’s hearing marks Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Director Amanda Lefton’s first time testifying before Congress since taking on her new role, and the Committee’s first hearing with a witness from the Biden administration.

Witnesses include:

Panel I

  • Amanda Lefton

Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

Panel II

  • Heather Zichal

Chief Executive Officer, American Clean Power Association

  • Teaera Strum

Chief Operating Officer, Strum Contracting

  • Jason Walsh

Executive Director, BlueGreen Alliance

  • Erik Milito (Minority Witness)

President, National Ocean Industries Association

When: 2:30 p.m. Eastern time

Watch Live: https://bit.ly/3aiR0B3 (Facebook) or https://youtu.be/AG6hs7vyc08 (YouTube)

Wednesday, April 21

Native American Infrastructure and Job Creation Hearing

The Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States, led by Chair Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.), will hold a hearing titled Infrastructure in Indigenous Communities: Priorities for American Jobs Plan.

In a March 31 speech on the American Jobs Plan, President Biden specifically highlighted his administration’s intention to focus on basic infrastructure investments, like replacing lead pipes to ensure clean drinking water for every American, that would be especially helpful for Native American communities. Biden said the federal government will offer more contracts to “communities that have historically been left out of these investments: Black, Latino, Asian American, Native American, rural, small businesses, entrepreneurs across the country.” Many tribal nations disproportionately lack broadband access, well-maintained roads, utilities, and adequate housing.

The hearing will assess how federal investments can best create jobs and improve infrastructure in Indian Country.

Witnesses include:

  • Kevin Killer

President, Oglala Sioux Tribe

  • William J. Ail?, Jr.

Chairman, Hawaiian Homes Commission

  • Dr. Traci Morris

Executive Director, American Indian Policy Institute, Arizona State University

  • Walter W. Haase

General Manager, Navajo Tribal Utility Authority

  • Minority witness TBA

When: 10:00 a.m. Eastern time

Watch Live: https://bit.ly/3sxYyq5 (Facebook) or https://youtu.be/xk0G3cyVPd4 (YouTube)

Public Lands Legislative Hearing on Historic Representation

The Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands, led by Chair Joe Neguse (D-Colo.), will hold a legislative hearing on four bills:

  • H.R. 820 (Rep. Darin LaHood), To establish the New Philadelphia National Historical Park in the State of Illinois as a unit of the National Park System, and for other purposes. New Philadelphia National Historical Park Act.
  • H.R. 920 (Rep. James Clyburn), To amend the Act entitled "Act to provide for the establishment of the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site in the State of Kansas, and for other purposes" to provide for inclusion of additional related sites in the National Park System, and for other purposes. Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site Expansion Act.
  • H.R. 2497 (Rep. Joe Neguse), To establish the Amache National Historic Site in the State of Colorado as a unit of the National Park System, and for other purposes. Amache National Historic Site Act.
  • H.R. ___ (Rep. Robin Kelly), To redesignate the Pullman National Monument in the State of Illinois as the Pullman National Historical Park, and for other purposes. Pullman National Historical Park Act.

In recognition of National Park Week, the bills seek to broaden the National Park Service’s representation of culturally important moments and diversify the agency’s interpretation of American history.

Witnesses include:

Panel I

  • Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.)
  • Rep. Darin LaHood (R-Ill.)
  • Rep. James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.)
  • Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.)

Panel II

  • Dr. Robert “Bob” Y. Fuchigami

Amache survivor

  • Leslie Canaan

Senior Field Officer, National Trust for Historic Preservation

  • Philip E. Bradshaw

President, New Philadelphia Association

  • Michael A. Shymanski

Historic Pullman Foundation board member

Past president, Historic Pullman Foundation

When: 1:00 p.m. Eastern time

Watch Live: https://bit.ly/3trTzIq (Facebook) or https://youtu.be/Uu02UnGYMpY (YouTube)

Press Contact

Media Contact: Adam Sarvana

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