This week on the Hill…

This week, the House continues its examination of the fiscal year 2013 President’s budget request.

Tuesday:

US Fish & Wildlife Service, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration FY13 budget hearing
House Natural Resources Committee
March 6 — 9:30am; B-308 Rayburn

US Geological Survey FY13 budget hearing
House Appropriations Committee — Interior & Environment Subcommittee
March 6 — 1pm; B-308 Rayburn

US Environmental Protection Agency, NOAA FY13 budget hearing
House Science, Space & Technology Committee — Energy & Environment Subcommittee
March 6 — 2pm; 2318 Rayburn

Wednesday:

NOAA FY13 budget hearing
Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee
March 7 — 2:30pm; 253 Russell

White House Council on Environmental Quality FY 13 budget hearing
House Natural Resources Committee
March 7 — 10am; 1324 Longworth

Agriculture conservation FY13 budget hearing
House Appropriations Committee — Agriculture Subcommittee
March 7 — 10am; 2362-A Rayburn

US Army Corps of Engineers FY13 budget hearing
House Appropriations Committee — Energy and Water Development Subcommittee
March 7 — 2pm; 2362-B Rayburn

Thursday:

Department of Energy FY13 budget hearing
House Energy & Commerce Committee — Energy & Power Subcommittee
March 8 — 10am; 2123 Rayburn

Friday:

Farm bill field hearing
House Agriculture Committee
March 9 — 9am; Saranac Lake, NY

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This week on the Hill…and in Ohio

The US House of Representatives is scheduled this week to take up a bill (H.R. 1837) that could have broad implications for the Endangered Species Act and water law and management.

Monday:

Natural gas development and jobs field hearing
House Natural Resources — Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee
February 27 — 9am; Steubenville, Ohio

Tuesday:

Farm bill conservation hearing
Senate Agriculture Committee
February 28 — 10am; 216 Hart

Interior department FY13 budget hearing
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
February 28 — 10am; 366 Dirksen

Water infrastructure hearing
Senate Environment & Public Works Committee — Water & Wildlife Subcommittee
February 28 — 10am; 406 Dirksen

Water infrastructure hearing
House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee — Water Resources & Environment Subcommittee
February 28 — 10am; 2167 Rayburn

Environmental Protection Agency FY13 budget hearing
House Energy & Commerce Committee — Energy and Power Subcommittee
February 28 — 10am; 2123 Rayburn

Energy department FY13 budget hearing
House Appropriations Committee — Energy & Water Development Subcommittee
February 28 — 2pm; 2359 Rayburn

Wednesday:

Interior department FY13 budget hearing
Senate Appropriations Committee — Interior & Environment Subcommittee
February 29 — 9:30am; 124 Dirksen

National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration FY13 budget hearing
House Appropriations Committee — Commerce, Justice, Science Subcommittee
February 29 — 10am; H-309 Capitol Building

EPA FY13 budget hearing
House Appropriations Committee — Interior & Environment Subcommittee
February 29 — 1pm; 2359 Rayburn

Thursday:

Fish & Wildlife Service FY13 budget hearing
House Appropriations Committee — Interior & Environment Subcommittee
March 1 — 9am; B-308 Rayburn

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Senate farm bill hearings announced

Yesterday, Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (MI) announced a schedule for a series of Senate Agriculture Committee farm bill hearings.  The hearings will take place every two weeks beginning February 15.  A hearing on farm bill conservation programs is scheduled for February 29.

The farm bill is a five-year bill and was last passed in 2008; it is set to expire this year.

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Quick appropriations update

This week, House and Senate conferees completed consideration of the first “minibus” package of appropriations bills (H.R. 2112), which includes funding for the Commerce, Agriculture and Transportation departments.  The House is set to vote on the final package later this week, perhaps tomorrow, and the Senate will follow thereafter.  The bill includes a continuing resolution to fund the federal government at current fiscal year 2011 levels through December 16.  Report language can be found on the House Rules Committee website.

• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration would receive nearly $5 billion.  Agency funding increases are directed primarily at climate and weather satellites (page 12 of the report).
• The agriculture department’s Wetlands Reserve Program would be capped at 185,800 acres and the Open Fields program would be eliminated.  The bill also provides $5,000,000 for the Conservation Delivery Streamlining Initiative (page 75 of the report).

Meanwhile, the Senate is struggling with another minibus, and was unable to include the Energy and Water Development spending bill in that package.  The Senate began solo consideration of the EWD bill (H.R. 2354) yesterday and continues today.

It is unclear exactly how many minibuses there will ultimately be–and how the Interior and Environment bill fits into the current scenario.

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Hearings and [appropriations] events this week…

Congress returns from recess this week, and attention will likely turn to trimming the budget and advancing fiscal year 2012 appropriations.  Yesterday, the Energy & Water Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee marked up the FY2012 Energy & Water Development spending bill.  The Senate draft — $57 million below enacted FY2011 E&WD numbers — provides $25.549 billion for the US Department of Energy and $4.864 billion for the US Army Corps of Engineers.

The FY12 Agriculture spending bill–nearly $200 million below FY11 figures–would cut the Natural Resources Conservation Service by more than $40 million.

Wednesday:

FY2012 Energy & Water Development, Agriculture Appropriations markup
Senate Appropriations Committee
September 7 — 3pm; 106 Dirksen

Bill reports are here.

Thursday:

President Obama will address a joint session of Congress to deliver a speech on a plan for jobs and the economy. 7pm.

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FY12 appropriations update

Over the last few weeks, the House Appropriations Committee has been working on appropriations legislation for the 2012 fiscal year.  So far, the committee has addressed Defense, Financial Services, Energy & Water and Agriculture spending.

Energy and Water
On June 15, the full House Appropriations Committee cleared an Energy & Water spending bill that provides the US Army Corps of Engineers with nearly $4.77 billion:  $1.566 billion for construction, $2.366 billion for operations and maintenance,  all slightly above the President’s request for FY12.  The bill includes some emergency funding for recent flooding events, and a provision that blocks the administration’s attempt to develop guidance for federal wetland jurisdiction.  Because of the earmark ban, the usual long list of Congressionally-directed project requests is absent this year, but appropriators left additional funding for the Corps to allocate to projects funded in recent years (report, page 30).

Chesapeake Bay oyster recovery is funded in the bill at $4.53 million, a slight decrease from years past.  Work at Poplar Island will be cut by about $1 million to $10.873 million.

In the Department of Energy title of the bill, appropriators included language that would require DoE’s new hydraulic fracturing panel to include increased industry representation:  “no less than one-third of panel members should be industry representatives who actively work in the natural gas industry.”

The corrected bill will be marked up in the full committee tomorrow, June 23.

Agriculture
On June 16, the House approved an FY12 Agriculture Appropriations bill that cuts US Department of Agriculture funding by $2.6 billion relative to FY11 numbers.  The bill makes significant cuts to conservation programs:  the Environmental Quality Incentives Program is cut by $350 million, the Conservation Stewardship Program by $171 million.  The budget for the Natural Resources Conservation Service is cut by $99 million.  The committee provided a boost of $15 million to the “watershed rehabilitation” program, which was not requested in the President’s budget.

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Hearings and events this week…

Wednesday:

Clean water federalism bill (H.R. 2018) markup
House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee
June 22 — 9:30am; 2167 Rayburn

Farm bill conservation program oversight hearing
House Agriculture Committee — Subcommittee on Conservation, Energy and Forestry
June 22 — 10am; 1300 Longworth

Thursday:

Algae bloom and hypoxia bill markup
House Science, Space and Technology Committee — Subcommittee on Energy & Environment
June 23 — 10am; 2318 Rayburn

Farm bill accountability hearing
Senate Agriculture Committee
June 23 — 9:30am; G50 Dirksen

Friday:

EPA nutrient policy oversight hearing
House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee — Water Resources Subcommittee
June 24 — 10am; 2167 Rayburn

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Hearings and events this week…

Tuesday:

The House will meet at 12:00 p.m. for legislative business and is expected to begin consideration of H.R. 2112 – Agriculture, Rural Development, Food & Drug Administration and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2012.  Significant cuts to conservation programs are expected.

Wednesday:

Energy & Water Development Appropriations legislation markup
House Appropriations Committee
June 15 — 9:30am; 2359 Rayburn

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Hearings and events this week…

Tuesday:

EPA and Interior Energy hearing (includes fracking discussion)
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee
May 24 — 9am; 2154 Rayburn

Agriculture appropriations markup
House Appropriations Committee — Agriculture subcommittee
May 24 — 4pm; 2362A Rayburn

Thursday:

National Wildlife Refuge System backlog hearing
House Natural Resources Committee — Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans Subcommittee
May 26 — 1pm; 1334 Longworth

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Hearings and events this week…

Tuesday:

Agriculture conservation budget hearing
House Appropriations Committee — Agriculture, Rural Development, FDA Subcommittee
April 5 — 10am; 2362-A Rayburn

Wednesday:

National flood insurance bill markup
House Financial Services Committee — Insurance, Housing Subcommittee
April 6 — 10am; 2128 Rayburn

Thursday:

Chesapeake Bay crosscut budget bill hearing
House Natural Resources Committee — Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans & Insular Affairs Subcommittee
April 7 — 10am; 1334 Longworth

Friday:

The current FY-11 continuing resolution expires.

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