Congressional Schedule The House and Senate are both in session. Tuesday, March 17th House Committee on Appropriations • Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies budget hearing on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. • Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies budget hearing on the National Park Service. • Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies budget hearing on the Department of Energy, Applied Energy Programs. • Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies budget hearing on the Department of Energy, Office of Science. • Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies budget hearing on Department of Agriculture Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services. • Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies budget hearing on the National Science Foundation. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure • Full Committee hearing on the “Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill: Laying the Foundation for U.S. Economic Growth and Job Creation Part II.” • Subcommittee on the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation hearing on “An Overview of the U.S. Coast Guards Missions.” House Committee on Natural Resources • Subcommittee on Federal Lands Oversight hearing on “Examining the Spending Priorities and Missions of the National Park Service in the President’s FY 2016 Budget Proposal.” • Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources oversight hearing “Examining the Spending Priorities and Missions of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), and the Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR) in the President’s FY 2016 Budget Proposals.” House Committee on Energy and Commerce • Subcommittee on Energy and Power hearing on the “EPA’s Proposed 111d Rule for Existing Power Plants: Legal and Cost Issues.” House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology • Full Committee hearing entitled, “Reality Check: The Impact and Achievability of EPA’s Proposed Ozone Standards.” House Committee on Agriculture • Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry hearing on Waters of the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations • Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies hearings to examine proposed budget estimates and justification for FY 2016 for the Department of Agriculture. • Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies hearing to examine proposed budget estimates and justification for FY 2016 for the military services. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources • Full Committee hearing to examine the state of technological innovation related to the electric grid. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works • Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife hearings to examine S. 659, to protect and enhance opportunities for recreational hunting, fishing, and shooting. Wednesday, March 18th House Committee on Appropriations • Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Public and Outside Witness Hearings (2). • Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies budget hearing on the Department of Energy, Environmental Management. • Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies budget hearing on the Department of Agriculture, Rural Development. • Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies budget hearing on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. House Committee on Agriculture • Subcommittee on “The Important of Trade to U.S. Agriculture.” House Committee on Energy and Commerce • Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy hearing on H.R.___, the Improving Coal Combustion Residuals Regulation Act of 2015. House Committee on Natural Resources • Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources oversight hearing on the “Effect of the President’s FY 2016 Budget and Legislative Proposals for the Office of Surface Mining on Private Sector Job Creation, Domestic Energy Production, State Programs and Deficit Reduction.” • Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs oversight hearing on "Funding Priorities for and the United States' Responsibilities concerning Indians, Alaska Natives, and Insular Areas in the President's FY 2016 Budget Request for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Indian Health Service, Office of Insular Affairs, and Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians." House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure • Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment hearing on the President’s FY 2016 Budget: Administration Priorities for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works • Full Committee hearing to examine S. 697, to amend the Toxic Substances Control Act to reauthorize and modernize that Act. Senate Committee on Appropriations • Subcommittee on the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies hearings to examine proposed budget estimates and justification for FY 2016 for the Forest Service. Thursday, March 19th House Committee on Natural Resources • Subcommittee on Federal Lands and Subcommittee on Water, Power, and Oceans Joint hearing on “Examining the Spending Priorities and Missions of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the President’s FY 2016 Budget Proposal.” House Committee on Appropriations • Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies budget hearing on the Bureau of Land Management. • Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies budget hearing on Surface Transportation Programs. • Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies budget hearing on the Department of Agriculture, Farm and Foreign Agriculture Services. House Committee on Energy and Commerce • Subcommittee on Energy and Power hearing on H.R. 906, to Modify the Efficiency Standards for Grid-Enabled Water Heaters. Senate Energy and Natural Resources • Full Committee hearing to examine U.S. crude oil export policy. News: House/Senate Water and Ag Subcommittees Plan Oversight Hearings on WOTUS Rulemaking On Wednesday of this week, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee will hold an oversight hearing on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA's) FY2016 budget request for its water and hazardous waste programs. EPA's top water official, Ken Kopocis, is scheduled to testify, and the “waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS) rulemaking is likely to be the top topic. Also this week, the House Agriculture Committee's Conservation and Forestry Subcommittee will be holding its rescheduled hearing from two weeks ago on the water rule this Tuesday. It will be the first hearing of a congressional agriculture committee specifically on the WOTUS rule, even though the subcommittee does not have jurisdiction over the WOTUS issue. Although the issue has come up during a number of committee hearings over the past year, only the interpretive rule for agriculture that EPA and the Army Corps released in consultation with the Department of Agriculture (and which was recently withdrawn due to language in the FY2015 CRomnibus spending bill) has received an official hearing from the House Agriculture Committee. The Senate Agriculture Committee is also preparing to hold a hearing on the overall WOTUS rule. A hearing entitled “Waters of the United States: Stakeholder Perspectives on the Impacts of EPA’s Proposed Rule” will be held at 10:00am on Tuesday, March 24, 2015 in Washington D.C., with witnesses still to be determined.
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