‘Green New Deal’ vote overshadows slate of hearings, E&E News | Nick Sobczyk
House lawmakers have scheduled a slate of climate-related hearings, as Republicans set up a full-court press against the “Green New Deal.” Committees will hold at least six climate hearings, beginning with two tomorrow at 10 a.m. and concluding Thursday with an Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change hearing on the Paris agreement. Meanwhile, the Senate could vote on the “Green New Deal” as soon as this week, a move by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to put moderates in a tough spot and force Democrats to vote on a measure Republicans will inevitably use to brand them as extreme socialists. […] Perhaps the highest-profile House hearing will come tomorrow morning, with an oversight hearing on climate research in the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee. […] Also tomorrow morning, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will hold a hearing on “Examining How Federal Infrastructure Policy Could Help Mitigate and Adapt to Climate Change.” Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) is hoping to move quickly on an infrastructure bill, a high priority for Democratic leadership. […] Then, on Wednesday, the Science, Space and Technology Subcommittee on Environment will hear from another round of climate scientists in a hearing dubbed “Sea Change: Impacts of Climate Change on Our Oceans and Coasts.” […] The Natural Resources Committee, meanwhile, will address climate in two hearings tomorrow. The Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee will examine “the denial playbook,” a hearing that will feature testimony from former National Football League player Chris Borland. The idea is to link climate science denial to the tactics used by the NFL to tamp down concerns about chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a neurological condition that has been linked to repetitive blows to the head. The other Natural Resources meeting, in the Water, Oceans and Wildlife Subcommittee, will highlight the pressures on Western water supplies. Finally, the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change will round out the week with a hearing on the Trump administration’s withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement.
