Senator Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV), Chair of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), has scheduled a hearing on the Nomination of Lee Zeldin to be Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for Thursday, January 16, at 10:00 a.m. The hearing will be held in room 406 of the Senate Dirksen Office Building and will be viewable by webcast as well. It will be interesting to hear what Mr. Zeldin shares about...
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January 6, 2025
The 119th Congress — Day 1 — A Tale of Two Legislative Bodies and the Beginning of a Busy Year
The opening hours of the 119th Congress provided an interesting look at the two bodies of Congress, the United States House of Representatives (House) and the United States Senate (Senate), and offered a glimpse of what to expect from the leaders of those bodies during the next two years. While Republicans control the House and the Senate, their slim majorities will present challenges in legislating during the 119th Congress. In the House, it will take...
On December 5, 2024, the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Subcommittee on Chemical Safety, Waste Management, Environmental Justice, and Regulatory Oversight held a hearing on “Examining the Public Health Impacts of PFAS Exposures.” The Subcommittee heard from the following witnesses (written testimony is not available at this time): A transcript of the hearing is available online. Schaider testified that there needs to be a comprehensive strategy to address all per- and...
December 6, 2024
Final Election Results; Slim Majorities Will Test Republican Unity in the 119th Congress
While Election Day was November 5, 2024, the final results of the races for Congress were announced on Tuesday, December 3, 2024. Representative-elect Adam Gray (D-CA) narrowly defeated Representative John Duarte (R-CA), resulting in one of the smallest margins in history (220-215) to begin the 119th Congress on January 3, 2025. That narrow margin will shrink by three seats in several steps beginning January 3, 2025. Former-Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) resigned from the 118th Congress...
December 3, 2024
Senate Subcommittee to Hold December 5 Hearing on Public Health Impacts of PFAS Exposures
The Subcommittee on Chemical Safety, Waste Management, Environmental Justice, and Regulatory Oversight of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works will hold a hearing on December 5, 2024, titled “Examining the Public Health Impacts of PFAS Exposures.” The Subcommittee will hear from the following witnesses: As reported in our October 9, 2024, blog item, this hearing, which was originally scheduled for September 26, 2024, was postponed September 25, 2024, when Congress...
On April 30, 2024, the House Appropriations Subcommittee for Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies held a hearing on the fiscal year (FY) 2025 budget request for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee for the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies held a separate hearing on EPA’s FY 2025 budget request on May 1, 2024, and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held its own hearing on May 8, 2024. On...
The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies will hold a hearing on May 1, 2024, to review President Biden’s fiscal year (FY) 2025 budget request for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Subcommittee will hear from EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. As reported in our March 15, 2024, Monthly Federal Developments Memorandum, according to EPA’s March 11, 2024, statement on President Biden’s FY 2025 budget, the $11 billion proposed for...
The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works will hold a hearing on March 20, 2024, on “Examining PFAS as Hazardous Substances.” The scheduled witnesses include:...
January 22, 2024
Senate Committee Will Hold Hearing on January 24, 2024, on Oversight of Implementation of the TSCA Amendments
The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works is scheduled to hold a hearing on January 24, 2024, on “Oversight of Toxic Substances Control Act Amendments Implementation.” The only scheduled witness is Michal Freedhoff, Ph.D., Assistant Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP). The Committee held a similar hearing on June 22, 2022, the sixth anniversary of the enactment of the Frank R. Lautenberg...
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton On July 24, 2023, Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and Pete Ricketts (R-NE) introduced the Biomanufacturing and Jobs Act to strengthen the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) BioPreferred program. According to Klobuchar’s July 24, 2023, press release, the bill would: Strengthen markets for farmers while also supporting well-paying manufacturing jobs; Allow the Secretary of Agriculture to set...