03.25.22

LIVESTREAMS NEXT WEEK: Wildlife and International Conservation Bills on Tuesday, Legacy Pollution Clean-Up Programs and Tribal Bills on Thursday

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

TUESDAY, MARCH 29

Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife

The Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife, led by Chair Huffman (D-Calif.), will hold a legislative hearing on the following bills:

  • H.R. 6427 (Johnson), To amend the Red River National Wildlife Refuge Act to modify the boundary of the Red River National Wildlife Refuge, and for other purposes. Red River National Wildlife Refuge Boundary Modification Act.
  • H.R. 6734 (Jeffries), A bill to amend the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 to reauthorize the volunteer services, community partnership, and refuge education programs of the National Wildlife Refuge System, and for other purposes.
  • H.R. 7025 (Grijalva), To prohibit the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service from funding entities that commit, fund, or support gross violations of internationally recognized human rights, and for other purposes. Advancing Human Rights-Centered International Conservation Act.

Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Ranking Member Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) recently introduced H.R. 7025, the Advancing Human Rights-Centered International Conservation Act, which will strengthen human rights standards for the U.S. Department of the Interior’s international conservation grants. 

Witnesses

Panel I: Congressional Panel

  • Rep. Mike Johnson, Louisiana, 4th District

Panel II: Administration Panel

  • Mr. Stephen Guertin (all bills), Deputy Director for Policy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Panel III: Expert Witness Panel

  • Mr. John Knox (H.R. 7025), Professor of International Law at Wake Forest University, Former UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment
  • Ms. Caroline Brouwer (H.R. 6427, H.R. 6734), Vice President of Government Affairs, National Wildlife Refuge Association
  • Ms. Joan Patterson (H.R. 6427, H.R. 6734), President, Coalition of Refuge Friends and Advocates
  • Mr. Ed Penny (H.R. 6427), Director of Public Policy, Ducks Unlimited, Southern Region

When: 2:00 p.m. Eastern time

Watch Live: https://youtu.be/U4ToeHh9fPY

 

THURSDAY, MARCH 31

Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources

The Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, led by Chair Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.), will hold an oversight hearing titled, Benefits of the Legacy Pollution Clean-Up Programs in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

As a result of decades of coal, oil, and gas extraction, there are over 100,000 documented orphaned oil and gas wells and more than 850,000 acres of abandoned coal mine lands located across the United States. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes a historic $16 billion investment to clean up these sites, which will create thousands of jobs for former fossil fuel workers, reduce local pollution and methane emissions, and restore lands so they can be used for other purposes, including ranching, farming, recreation, and renewable energy projects.

By providing historic investments in communities facing a changing energy landscape, legacy pollution clean-up programs can be leveraged for economic transition and support America’s transition to a clean-energy economy.

Witnesses

Panel I

  • Dr. Steven H. Feldgus, Ph.D., Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management, U.S. Department of the Interior

Panel II

  • Mr. Uduak-Joe Ntuk, State Oil and Gas Supervisor, California Geologic Energy Management Division
  • Ms. Rebecca Shelton, Director of Policy and Organizing, Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center
  • Mr. Adam Peltz, Senior Attorney, Energy Transition, Environmental Defense Fund
  • (Minority Witness)

When: 10:00 a.m. Eastern time

Watch Live: https://youtu.be/7zqLABkwKvE

 

Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States

The Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States, led by Chair Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.), will hold a legislative hearing on the following bills:

  • H.R. 4715 (Mullin), To authorize appropriations to the Secretary of the Interior to make payments to certain members of the Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma in accordance with the recommendation of the United States Court of Federal Claims. Quapaw Tribal Landowner Settlement Act of 2021.
  • H.R. 5715 (Grijalva), To reauthorize the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Trust Fund, and for other purposes.
  • H.R. 6707 (Golden), To amend the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act of 1980 to advance equality for Wabanaki nations, and for other purposes. Advancing Equality for Wabanaki Nations Act.

Witnesses

  • The Honorable William J. Nicholas, Sr (H.R. 6707), Chief, Passamaquoddy Tribe
  • The Honorable Edward Peter-Paul (H.R. 6707), Chief, Aroostook Band of Mi’kmaq Indians
  • The Honorable Clarissa Sabattis (H.R. 6707), Chief, Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians
  • The Honorable Kirk Francis (H.R. 6707), Chief, Penobscot Nation
  • The Honorable Joseph T. Byrd (H.R. 4715), Chairman, Quapaw Nation
  • Mr. Charles P. Rose (H.R. 5715), Chair, Board of Trustees, Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation

Other witnesses to be announced

When: 1:00 p.m. Eastern time

Watch Live: https://youtu.be/4veMvFWek88

Press Contact

Media Contact: Lindsay Gressard

(202) 225-6065 or (202) 740-4715 mobile