07.23.21

Livestreams Next Week: Toxic Mining on Tuesday, Federal Parity for U.S. Territories on Wednesday, Ocean Protection & Illegal Fishing Bills on Thursday

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

Tuesday, July 27

Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources

The Subcommittee, led by Chair Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.), will hold an oversight hearing titled The Toxic Legacy of the Mining Law of 1872. Hardrock mining is the top source of toxic pollution in the U.S., and the industry still operates under the long-outdated Mining Law of 1872. The law is irrelevant to modern mining practices and remains almost unchanged since it was enacted nearly 150 years ago.

While minerals like copper, lithium, and nickel are essential for our clean energy future, there is no need to allow the industry to inflict permanent damage to sacred places, wilderness, recreation access, or public health.

Lowenthal and Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) wrote a letter with 15 other House Democratic colleagues on April 27 to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack urging them to modernize federal mining regulations and set a groundbreaking standard for tribal consent in permitting future mining projects. Chair Grijalva intends to introduce comprehensive mining reform legislation later this year.

Witnesses

  • Samuel Penney

Chairman, Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee

  • Kathy Bancroft

Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, Lone Pine Paiute–Shoshone Reservation

  • Paolo Natali

Principal, Climate Intelligence, RMI

  • Lauren Duncan

Abandoned Mine Restoration Project Manager, Trout Unlimited

Member, Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board

  • Jim Cress (minority witness)

Counsel, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner 

  • Debra Struhsacker (minority witness)

Co-founder and Director, Women’s Mining Coalition

When: 10:00 a.m. Eastern time

Watch Live: https://youtu.be/zGYAZe7f1X8

Wednesday, July 28

The full Committee, led by Vice Chair Gregorio Sablan (D-CNMI), will hold an oversight hearing titled The President's FY22 Budget Priority for the Territories: Medicaid, SSI, and SNAP Parity. The hearing will focus on the need for U.S. citizens and U.S. residents to receive benefits from these key federal programs equal to those enjoyed by residents on the mainland.

Currently, Americans residing in the five U.S. territories – American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands – face barriers that limit or exclude them from equal access to Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. President Biden’s fiscal year 2022 budget calls for parity in these programs between the states and the territories. The expansion of these programs to residents of territories is essential to carrying out the mission of advancing equity among underserved communities ordered by President Biden.

Witnesses

  • The Hon. Donna Christensen

Former U.S. Representative, U.S. Virgin Islands (At Large)

  • Judith Solomon

Senior Fellow, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

  • Rodney Jacob

Partner, Calvo Fisher & Jacob, LLP

  • The Hon. Christina Marie Sablan

Chair, Committee on Health and Welfare

Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands House of Representatives

  • Minority witness TBA

When: 1:00 p.m. Eastern time

Watch Live: https://youtu.be/LE2gXPAtHZI

Thursday, July 29

Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife

The Subcommittee, led by Chair Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), will have a legislative hearing on the bills listed below.

Illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing is often linked to slave labor and other human rights abuses, contributes to overfishing, and damages U.S. ocean and habitat health. Rep. Huffman’s Illegal Fishing and Forced Labor Prevention Act addresses these pressing issues.

Many of the bills under consideration provide resources for protecting or restoring key vulnerable species groups or ecosystems. The package of bills under consideration directly address the climate crisis and biodiversity crisis imperiling our planet.

  • H.R. 273 (Rep. Don Young, R-AK), To prevent the escapement of genetically altered salmon in the United States, and for other purposes. Prevention of Escapement of Genetically Altered Salmon in the United States Act
  • H.R. 274 (Rep. Don Young, R-AK), To prohibit the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce from authorizing commercial finfish aquaculture operations in the Exclusive Economic Zone except in accordance with a law authorizing such action. Keep Finfish Free Act
  • H.R. 1569 (Rep. Jared Huffman, D-CA), To assist in the conservation of critically endangered species in foreign countries, and for other purposes. Critically Endangered Animals Conservation Act of 2021
  • H.R. 1983 (Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-CA), To encourage and facilitate efforts by States and other stakeholders to conserve and sustain the western population of monarch butterflies, and for other purposes. MONARCH Act of 2021
  • H.R. 2026 (Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-NY), To assist in the conservation of highly endangered amphibian species in foreign countries, and for other purposes. Global Amphibian Protection Act of 2021
  • H.R. 2325 (Rep. Ted Lieu, D-CA), To conserve global bear populations by prohibiting the importation, exportation, and interstate trade of bear viscera and items, products, or substances containing, or labeled or advertised as containing, bear viscera, and for other purposes. Bear Protection Act of 2021
  • H.R. 2773 (Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-MI), To amend the Pittman Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act to make supplemental funds available for management of fish and wildlife species of greatest conservation need as determined by State fish and wildlife agencies, and for other purposes. Recovering America's Wildlife Act of 2021
  • H.R. 2793 (Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, D-NY), To reauthorize the Highlands Conservation Act, to authorize States to use funds from that Act for administrative purposes, and for other purposes. Highlands Conservation Reauthorization Act of 2021
  • H.R. 2848 (Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-FL), To amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to reauthorize and modify the John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grant Program, and for other purposes. Marine Mammal Research and Response Act of 2021
  • H.R. 2872 (Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-PA), To establish an integrated national approach to respond to ongoing and expected effects of extreme weather and climate change by protecting, managing, and conserving the fish, wildlife, and plants of the United States, and to maximize Government efficiency and reduce costs, in cooperation with State, local, and Tribal Governments and other entities, and for other purposes. SAFE Act
  • H.R. 3075 (Rep. Jared Huffman, D-CA), To address seafood slavery and combat illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing, and for other purposes. Illegal Fishing and Forced Labor Prevention Act
  • H.R. 3128 (Rep. Don Young, R-AK), To establish the American Fisheries Advisory Committee to assist in the awarding of fisheries research and development grants, and for other purposes. American Fisheries Advisory Committee Act of 2021
  • H.R. 3135 (Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-OR), To amend the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 to prohibit importation, exportation, transportation, sale, receipt, acquisition, and purchase in interstate or foreign commerce, or in a manner substantially affecting interstate or foreign commerce, or possession, of any live animal of any prohibited primate species. Captive Primate Safety Act
  • H.R.3396 (Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-AZ), To create dedicated funds to conserve butterflies in North America, plants in the Pacific Islands, freshwater mussels in the United States, and desert fish in the Southwest United States, and for other purposes. Extinction Prevention Act of 2021
  • H.R. 4458 (Rep. Jared Huffman, D-CA), To establish a grant program within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to award grants to eligible entities for the purpose of carrying out projects on the conservation, restoration, or management of kelp forest ecosystems. KELP Act

Witnesses

Panel I: Congressional Panel

Members of Congress to be announced

Panel II: Administration Panel

  • Janet Coit

Assistant Administrator, National Marine Fisheries Service

Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere

Deputy Administrator, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

  • Stephen Guertin

Deputy Director for Policy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Panel III: Expert Panel

  • Nathan Rickard (H.R. 3075)

Trade Counsel, Southern Shrimp Alliance

  • Dr. Erika Zavaleta (H.R. 1569, H.R. 1983, H.R. 2026, H.R. 2773, H.R. 2872, and H.R. 3396)

Faculty Director, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

University of California, Santa Cruz

  • Collin O’Mara (H.R. 1983, H.R. 2773, H.R. 2848, H.R. 2872, H.R. 3396, HR. 4458)

President and Chief Executive Officer, National Wildlife Federation

  • Minority witness to be announced

When: 10:00 a.m. Eastern time

Watch Live: https://youtu.be/ZWw7xzD01TE

Press Contact

Media Contact: Adam Sarvana

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