{"id":17937,"date":"2021-03-08T19:09:38","date_gmt":"2021-03-08T19:09:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/?p=17937"},"modified":"2021-03-08T19:58:16","modified_gmt":"2021-03-08T19:58:16","slug":"special-policy-news-4-the-transition-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/2021\/03\/08\/special-policy-news-4-the-transition-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Special Policy News 4: The Transition"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this issue<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Senate Confirms Agriculture, Energy and Commerce Secretaries, Advances Interior Nomination<\/a>
\n<\/strong>Tom Vilsack, Jennifer Granholm and Gina Raimondo join Biden\u2019s cabinet. Rep. Deb Haaland (D-NM)\u2019s confirmation appears likely.<\/p>\n

House Democrats Introduce Bill to Reach Net-Zero Emissions by 2050<\/a><\/strong>
\nThe legislation is similar to a bill introduced in 2020.<\/p>\n

Congress<\/a><\/strong>
\nCongress passed $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package including $600 million for NSF and gives funds to the USFWS for invasive species.<\/p>\n

Executive Branch<\/a><\/strong>
\nInterior Department rescinds \u2018Secret Science\u2019 Secretarial Order.<\/p>\n

Courts<\/a><\/strong>
\nBiden administration drops defense of Trump administration\u2019s legal interpretation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.<\/p>\n

Scientific Community<\/a><\/strong>
\nNEON is seeking members for the Science, Technology and Education Advisory Council.<\/p>\n

Upcoming Events<\/a><\/strong>
\nESA webinar: Connecting with the 117th Congress on March 11 at 12:00pm.<\/p>\n

What We\u2019re Reading<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Opportunities to Get Involved<\/a><\/strong>
\nFederal Register Opportunities.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Senate Confirms Agriculture, Energy and Commerce Secretaries, Advances Interior Nomination<\/strong><\/h2>\n

<\/a>
\nThe full Senate confirmed Tom Vilsack as the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture (USDA) in the Biden administration. Vilsack previously led the USDA for the entire Obama administration and he formerly was Iowa\u2019s governor. Vilsack quickly announced the creation of an equity commission to address racism in USDA programs. Dewayne Goldmon was appointed to the newly created position of racial equity advisor. Most recently, Goldmon was the executive director of the National Black Growers Council and he formerly worked for Monsanto as the director of stakeholder relations.<\/p>\n

The Senate also confirmed former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm as Secretary of Energy and former Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo to be Secretary of Commerce. Granholm is expected to prioritize clean energy research, development, and deployment in this position. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a confirmation hearing for Biden\u2019s pick to be Granholm\u2019s deputy, David Turk, on March 4. Raimondo\u2019s portfolio as Commerce secretary includes the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.<\/p>\n

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted 11-9 to advance Rep. Deb Haaland (D-NM)\u2019s nomination to be Secretary of the Interior to the full Senate. Haaland\u2019s nomination is expected to pass the full Senate with Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Susan Collins (R-ME) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) all supporting Haaland\u2019s confirmation. If confirmed, Haaland would be the first Native American Cabinet secretary.<\/p>\n

The full Senate is expected to take up Haaland\u2019s nomination and Michael Regan\u2019s nomination to be EPA administrator this week.<\/p>\n

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a confirmation hearing<\/a> for Brenda Mallory, Biden\u2019s pick to lead the White House Council on Environmental Quality, and Janet McCabe who is Biden\u2019s pick to be EPA deputy administrator. Republican Senators, including Committee Ranking Member Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), questioned McCabe about her role in drafting the Obama administration\u2019s Clean Power Plan. McCabe served as the assistant administrator for the EPA Office of Air and Radiation from 2013 to 2017. Both the Clean Power Plan and the Trump administration\u2019s replacement, the Affordable Clean Energy rule, have been held up in the courts. Lawmakers also questioned Mallory\u2019s plans to revisit the Trump administration\u2019s changes to the National Environmental Policy Act regulations. Biden has directed the White House to examine these policies.<\/p>\n

Biden Names New Agency Hires<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Jaime Pinkham, the former executive director of the Columbia River Basin Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, was appointed to be the Army\u2019s principal deputy assistant secretary for civil works \u2013 one of two political positions at the Army Corps of Engineers. Pinkham is a member of the Nez Pearce Tribe and is a well-regarded expert in tribal water and fishing treaties. The Army Corps, along with the Environmental Protection Agency, is responsible for wetland permitting and Clean Water Act implementation.<\/p>\n

The Biden administration picked Nada Culver to be the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) deputy director of policy and programs. She will be the second-in-charge at the BLM and her position does not require Senate confirmation. The Trump administration never filled the Senate-confirmed BLM director position. Trump\u2019s acting BLM Director William Perry Pendley officially served as the agency\u2019s deputy director for policy and programs. Culver is an attorney who most recently worked for The National Audubon Society and previously worked for The Wilderness Society.<\/p>\n

House Democrats Introduce Bill to Reach Net-Zero Emissions by 2050<\/strong>
\n<\/a><\/h2>\n

House Democrats, led by House Energy and Commerce Chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and committee leaders Paul Tonko (D-NY) and Bobby Rush (D-IL), introduced the Climate Leadership and Environmental Action for our Nation\u2019s (CLEAN) Future Act (H.R. 1512<\/a>). The bill establishes a goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The bill\u2019s interim goal is to reduce greenhouse gas pollution by no less than 50 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. Among other measures, the over 600-page bill calls on federal agencies and states to draft climate plans to reach this goal and establishes a national climate bank to fund climate mitigation efforts.<\/p>\n

Environmental justice provisions in the bill establish a climate justice grant program and create an Office of Energy Equity in the Department of Energy that would reduce or stabilize energy costs in underserved or disadvantaged communities. The bill would also aim to stop air pollution permitting in areas that are already disproportionately impacted by pollution.<\/p>\n

This bill is similar to legislation introduced by Reps. Pallone, Tonko and Rush in 2020. One notable difference between this bill and the 2020 version of the bill is that the new bill commits to a goal of a carbon-free power sector by 2035\u2014the 2020 previous bill aimed for a carbon-free power sector by 2050. The 2035 commitment matches campaign promises from President Biden.<\/p>\n

Congress<\/strong><\/h2>\n

<\/a>
\nCoronavirus Relief: <\/strong>Congress approved a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill. The package includes $600 million for the National Science Foundation to \u201cfund or extend new and existing research grants, cooperative agreements, scholarships, fellowships, and apprenticeships\u201d and to respond to coronavirus. This amount falls short of the $3 billion for the National Science Foundation included in the RISE Act (H.R. 869<\/a>), a major priority for the research community that was not passed by Congress or added to the $1.9 trillion bill.<\/p>\n

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) receives $90 million. This funding includes $45 million for research to strengthen the early detection, rapid response and management of wildlife disease outbreaks before they become pandemics and support wildlife health monitoring to enhance early detection of diseases that can jump the species barrier. The bill calls for the USFWS to create a wildlife disease database. Lawmakers also included $10 million for the USFWS to identify and designate wildlife species as injurious under the Lacey Act if they transmit a pathogen that could pose a risk to human health and for the USFWS to develop regulations to develop a process to make emergency listings for injurious species. These U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service bill provisions are similar to language previously included in the Heroes Act passed by the House in May 2020, but it never advanced in the Senate. ESA and the National Environmental Coalition on Invasive Species have supported<\/a> the Heroes Act provisions.<\/p>\n

Higher education institutions receive<\/a> $40 billion. At least half of the funds given to colleges and universities must be spent on emergency grants to students. President Biden is expected to sign the bill into law.<\/p>\n

Science Agencies: <\/strong>Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced that he is directing Senate Democrats to draft technology legislation and set a goal for the Senate to pass the new legislation this spring. This legislative package will include Schumer\u2019s Endless Frontiers Act.\u00a0 Schumer, Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) and Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Mike Gallagher (R-WI) first introduced the Endless Frontiers Act in May 2020. These sponsors have not re-introduced this bill in the current 117th Congress.<\/p>\n

The version of the Endless Frontiers Act introduced in the 116th Congress changed the name of the National Science Foundation to the National Science and Technology Foundation and created a new Directorate of Technology. The new directorate would address ten \u201ckey technology focus areas:\u201d<\/p>\n