Fridays Overnight Energy & Environment – Welcoming YouThe Hill is your source for the most recent news on energy, the environment, and beyond. Subscribe here:thehill.com/newsletter-signup.
Today we are examining the House passage of the comprehensive climate and social spending bill, and the Senate confirmation of Charles Sams as the head of the National Park Service. We also examine the protections for the Tongass Forest that will be forthcoming.
Rachel Frazin was the Hill’s editor and Zack Budryk was its reporter. Send tips to us at [email protected], [email protected]. Follow us on twitter: @RachelFrazinAnd @BudrykZack.
Lets jump in.
Sweeping Democratic Measure Clears House
House Democrats approved Friday’s massive climate and social spending plan in 220-213, a huge victory for the party ahead the Thanksgiving break. It also gave a boost to their fundraising efforts. President Biden
Joe BidenSenate confirms Rahm emanuel will be Japan ambassador. NY governor plans for booster shot to increase the definition of a ‘fully immunized’ Photo of the Week: Tornado aftermath. Medal of Honor. And soaring super heroes MOREHis administration was in a turbulent time.
The vote was held half-day late than originally scheduled due to delays caused by the House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy
Kevin McCarthyPhotos of The Week: Tornado aftermath, Medal of Honor, and soaring superhumans Trump allies call for McCarthy to remove Kinzinger & Cheney from House GOP Conference GOP election objectors rake cash in corporate cash(R-Calif.), who occupied the floor for eight hours Thursday night with a speech protesting legislation that he said would lead to an economic downturn.
Now that the legislation passed the House, it moves to the Senate. It faces a somewhat uncertain future because Democrats in that chamber can’t afford to lose even one vote.
Let’s take a look back at the past 24 hours.McCarthy refusing to give up the floor, Democratic leaders scrapped plans to vote Thursday night. The chamber reconvened Friday morning and passed the roughly 2 trillion dollar bill in a close party-line vote. Rep. Jared Golden
Jared GoldenOn the Money Senate risks Trump’s ire over debt ceiling deal Democratic concerns grow over politics of SALT caps Sunday shows preview: Boosters are open to all US adults; House Dems approve spending plan for Senate MOREMaine Democratic centrist, was the only lawmaker who crossed the aisle and joined every Republican in opposing this package.
To move the bill, most of Goldens centrist peers, wary about the countrys growing debt, had to support it despite a last minute cost analysis showing that the package would add approximately $160 billion to deficit over the next 10 years.
Enjoy this interlude on finance policy:Thursday’s Congressional Budget Office (CBO), assessment was released. It contradicted Biden’s promise that the legislation would be fully funded. There has been much confusion and debate about how much the bill will ultimately cost.
CBO estimates that the package will allocate $1.64 trillion to federal spending over the next ten years. However, unlike the White House’s initial $1.75 trillion budget, the budget office doesn’t include tax credits in that top-line number. If these credits were added to the CBO’s spending tally, it would jump into the $2.4 trillion region well above Biden’s initial $1.75 trillion.
However…The White House quickly dismissed the CBO’s figures. It claimed that the scoring agency had underestimated revenues that would come from increased IRS enforcement. The administration also scrambled top officials, including Brian Deese
Brian DeeseBiden administration announces efforts to increase trucking workforce. Overnight Energy & Environment: Top land management staffers return to DC Energy chief: We’re ‘not considering’ an oil export banBiden’s chief economic advisor will meet with moderate holdouts in order to win their support.
Rep. Stephanie Murphy
Stephanie MurphyDemocratic fears grow over politics SALT cap The Hill’s Morning Report – Presented to Uber – Omicron test vaccines; Bob Dole passes away at 98 Florida Republicans debate the best way to push congressional remap MORE(D. Fla.), a cochair of the moderate Blue Dog Coalition. I have enough information to understand how Treasury comes up with their estimate. They are the ones who implement the IRS provisions.
What’s next?The Senate is currently considering the bill, where Sen. Joe Manchin
Joe ManchinPhotos of Week: Tornado aftermath and Medal of Honor. Harris and Charlamagne Tha God get into heated exchanges about Harris”real president’. Krysten Sinema is more of a strategic policymaker than a political enigma.(D-W.Va.), is raising concerns. He also objected to an electric vehicle tax credit provision which provides an extra $4500 for union-built vehicles earlier in the week.
He opposed a fee on oil and gas for methane emissions in the past. However, this has been modified to include incentives. It is unclear whether hell will ultimately support the revised measure.
Senate confirms Park Service director
Late Thursday, Charles Sams III was confirmed by the Senate to lead the National Park Service. He is the first Senate-confirmed director of the National Park Service since the Obama Administration.
Sams served most recently on the Northwest Power and Conservation Council. He is an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation’s Cayuse and Walla Walla tribes. He is also the first Native American to head the National Park Service.
He was confirmed through a voice vote. This signifies that a nominee has been confirmed.
This is the story so farAfter the agency was run for many years by acting heads, Trump’s confirmation is a welcome development.
During the Trump administration, NPS had four acting directors. Sams is the first Senate confirmation to a director since 2009, when Jonathan Jarvis was confirmed. Jarvis was able to remain in his position until January 2017, when he resigned.
Wyden has words of praise “Chuck Sams is the right candidate to lead the National Park Service in its efforts to address these challenges. Chuck is a friend of mine. He is hardworking. Sen. Ron Wyden
Ronald Lee WydenPressure builds on Biden before student loan cliff Senate approves Uyghur bill; confirms China ambassador Democrats lack backplan with expanded child credit set to expire MORE(D-Ore.), who asked the Senate for unanimous consent to pass Samss’ nomination, said Thursday night.
“Chuck is a role-model in the stewardship American land, waters, wildlife, and history. Wyden said that Congress and park-goers will now have someone to rely upon in the coming years, thanks to the unanimous Senate vote to confirm his nomination.
Sams will report directly to the Interior Secretary as NPS Director. Deb Haaland
Deb HaalandNevada governor apologises for state’s role with indigenous schools The Hill’s 12:30 Report: Biden will announce increased measures for micron The Hill’s Morning Report, Presented by Facebook – Biden speaks up about the bright side underneath the omicron’s cloud, was the first Native Senate-confirmed Cabinet Secretary.
Find out more about the confirmation.
Biden proposes Tongass forest protections
The Biden administration is soon to propose restoring protections for more than 9 million acres in Tongass National Forest in Alaska, which were removed by the Trump Administration.
The Agriculture Department oversees the U.S. Forest Service and announced late Thursday that it will propose to repeal the Trump-era rule early next week. This would again block logging in the region.
The Clinton administration first established protections for large swathes in the Tongass National Forest, approximately 17 million acres, in 2001 with the promulgation a rule called the Roadless Rule. This rule prevented the logging on a total of more than 58 million acres across different Forest Service lands.
But that’s not the end of the story.However, the question of whether Tongass National Forest should become part of the rule has been a long-running partisan battle; George W. Bush also sought to exempt the Tongass National Forest.
Restoring the Tongass Roadless Protections supports the advancement economic, ecological, and cultural sustainability of Southeast Alaska in a way that is guided local voices, Agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack
Tom VilsackUSDA – Farm-to-School Programs Help Schools Serve Healthier Meals OVERNIGHT MONEY : House poised To Pass Debt-Ceiling Bill MORELate Thursday, the statement was made. The rule proposal is in consideration of Alaska’s Tribal Nations and community input and builds on the region’s economic drivers of tourism, fishing, and other activities.
The Biden administration indicated earlier this year that they would be expanding Tongass National Forest protections. This includes adopting a rulemaking process to strengthen protections that were enacted under the Clinton administration. Small-scale timber sales are not allowed.
Environmentalists are concerned that logging could cause more carbon to enter the atmosphere.
Learn more about the fight for the forest here.
RE-DESIGN OF INTERIORS
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced Friday the creation of a process for reviewing and replacing racially derogatory words used in the names or places on federal lands.
Haaland, the nation’s first Native American Cabinet secretary declared the term “squaw”, a derogatory term for Indigenous women, to be derogatory and ordered the creation procedures to replace all federal uses. According to data from the Board on Geographic Names, the word appears in the names of more than 650 federal land unit names.
The secretary also announced the establishment of a federal committee to examine other derogatory names placed on federal land. According to the statement, the department will consult with the public, as well as tribal representatives, about possible changes through the newly created Derogatory Geographic Names Task Force.
“Racist terms do not belong in our vernacular, nor on our federal lands. Haaland stated in a Friday statement that the nation’s lands and waters should be places for celebrating the outdoors and our cultural heritage, and not perpetuate oppression. Today’s actions will accelerate a process to reconcile derogatory name places and mark a significant step towards honoring our ancestors who have stewarded these lands since the beginning of time.
The department has taken similar steps over the years, including eliminating place names that contained slurs for Black or Japanese people in the 1960s/70s. Minnesota, Oregon, Maine, and Montana have all passed laws banning the use of squaws in place names.
You can read more about the announcement here.
WHAT WAS READING
Lastly, today’s lighter click CityLab developed a game in which you can design the climate policy.
That’s all for today. Thank you for reading. Check out The Hills Energy & Environment PageFor the most recent news and coverage. We look forward to seeing you Monday.
