Capitol Hill This Week - What to Watch For

Below are the U.S. House and Senate activities currently scheduled this week that relate to Mississippi River Basin natural resources. Where available, links are provided to the relevant Committee and legislation pages on the Internet. Many of the proceedings are webcast live (follow the appropriate link).  All times are Eastern, except for the Monday field hearing.

Monday (field hearing):

• House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power oversight field hearing on “Stopping Federal Land and Water Grabs: Protecting Property Rights from Washington, DC Edicts;”  1:00 PM CDT; Theater of the West Plains Civic Center, 110 St. Louis St., in West Plains, Missouri 

Tuesday

• Senate Energy and Natural Resources Public Lands, Forests and Mines Subcommittee hearing to receive testimony on a variety of public lands bills, including S. 1294, to designate as wilderness certain public land in the Cherokee National Forest (Tennessee); and S. 1300, to amend the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to provide for the conduct of stewardship end result contracting projects; 10:00 AM; room SD-366 Dirksen Senate Office Building 

Wednesday

• House Appropriations Committee's markup of the fiscal 2014 Interior and Environment spending bill; 10:30 AM; room 2359 Rayburn House Office Building
• Senate Energy and Natural Resources National Parks Subcommittee hearing to receive testimony on a variety of National Parks bills, including S. 1151, to reauthorize the America's Agricultural Heritage Partnership (Iowa); S. 1339, to reauthorize the Ohio & Erie Canal National Heritage Canalway; and S. 1328, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study of the archaeological site and surrounding land of the New Philadelphia town site (Illinois); 2:30 PM; room SD-366 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Thursday

• House Natural Resources Committee oversight hearing on “Transparency and Sound Science Gone Extinct?: The Impacts of the Obama Administration's Closed-Door Settlements on Endangered Species and People;” 10:00 AM; room 1324 Longworth House Office Building
• Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Oversight, Federal Rights and Agency Action hearing on "Justice Delayed: The Human Cost of Regulatory Paralysis;” 2:00 PM; Room 226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building (this hearing is noteworthy in that it is the inaugural hearing for this new subcommittee, and this Senate subcommittee may in the end serve to blunt House GOP measures that would limit Federal regulations coming out of the House)