Monday, May 11, 2009
The Office of Legislative and Congressional Affairs puts out weekly reports on hearings, new legislation and other activities on the Hill. The following is the May 8th summary.
In order to obtain the full text of any of the bills that appear below, click on the following link: http://thomas.loc.gov/ . That will take you to Thomas, the Library of Congress legislative tracking system. Enter the bill number in the âSearch Bill Textâ block, being sure to also click on the âBill Numberâ option below the block.
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New Public Laws
No new laws.
Floor Action
No floor action.
Committee Activity
On May 5th, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a confirmation hearing on the nomination of Rhea S. Suh to be Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management, and Budget.
On May 5th, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands (Grijalva) held a hearing on H.R. 980 (Maloney), to designate certain National Forest System lands and public lands under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior in the States of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming as wilderness, wild and scenic rivers, wildland recovery areas, and biological connecting corridors, and for other purposes. The bill would designate approximately 23 million acres of wilderness, including previously recommended wilderness within Glacier, Grand Teton, and Yellowstone National Parks. The Departmentâs testimony said that many of the lands identified in the bill deserve special designation, but that certain proposed designations may present serious conflicts with important public uses. The Departmentâs witness was Michael Nedd, Acting Deputy Director, Bureau of Land Management.
New Bills Introduced
The following bill of interest to the NPS was introduced:
- H.R. 2330 (Lamborn, R-CO) - To direct the Secretary of the Interior to carry out a study to determine the suitability and feasibility of establishing Camp Hale as a unit of the National Park System.
Upcoming Hearings
On May 11th, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources (Costa) will hold an oversight field hearing on "Solar Energy Development on Federal Lands: The Road to Consensus" at 9:00 a.m. at the University of California at Riverside, Palm Desert Graduate Center, Palm Desert, CA. The witness is Jim Abbott, Acting California State Director, Bureau of Land Management.
May 13 â The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies will hold a hearing on the DOI Budget for FY 2010. The hearing is scheduled at 9:30 a.m. in Room 2359 Rayburn. The witness is Secretary Ken Salazar.
May 14 â The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies will hold a hearing on the National Park Service Budget for FY 2010. The hearing is scheduled at 9 a.m. in Room B-308 Rayburn. The witness is Acting Director Dan Wenk.
May 14 - The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands will hold a hearing on the following bills of interest to the National Park Service: H.R. 1471 (Bishop, S.), To expand the boundary of the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site in the State of Georgia, to redesignate the unit as a National Historical Park, and or other purposes; and H.R. 1641 (Inslee), Cascadia Marine Trail Study Act. The hearing is scheduled at 10 a.m. in Room 1324 Longworth. The DOI witness is Steve Whitesell, Associate Director for Park Planning, Facilities, and Lands.
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For additional information, please visit the Legislative and Congressional Affairs Office website at http://www.nps.gov/legal/
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Ruby: 1.8.7, Rails: 1.1.6