This Week's Mississippi River Basin Related House and Senate Committee Action

Several House Appropriation subcommittees will meet this week to interview Obama administration department and agency heads on their budget requests (to be released today by the Obama Administration).  Three with particular relevance to Mississippi River Basin water resource issues include:

• House Appropriations Interior subcommittee, budget hearing on the Department of the Interior Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Proposal (Interior Secretary Ken Salazaar to testify) February 16, 1:30 PM,  2359 Rayburn House Office Building
• House Appropriations Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies subcommittee, budget hearing on the Department of the U.S. Forest Service Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Proposal (Tom Tidwell, chief, Forest Service; Susan Spear, acting director, budget to testify) February 17, 9:30 AM, B-308 Rayburn House Office Building
• House Appropriations Agriculture subcommittee, budget hearing on the Department of the Agriculture Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Proposal (Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan, USDA chief economist Joseph Glauber and USDA budget officer Michael Young to testify) February 17, 10 AM, 2362A Rayburn House Office Building

Meanwhile, two other Congressional panels will hold River Basin-relevant hearings this week:

• The House Natural Resources Committee Oversight hearing on "Department of the Interior Spending and the President’s Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Proposal" Wednesday, February 15, 10:00 AM, 1324 Longworth House Office Building.
• The Senate Agriculture Committee will kick off its 2012 farm bill hearings with a hearing on rural energy and economic programs on Wednesday, February 15 at 9:30 AM in room G50 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.