{"id":9716,"date":"2013-12-20T11:43:32","date_gmt":"2013-12-20T16:43:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/?p=9716"},"modified":"2013-12-20T11:43:32","modified_gmt":"2013-12-20T16:43:32","slug":"esa-policy-news-december-20","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/2013\/12\/20\/esa-policy-news-december-20\/","title":{"rendered":"ESA Policy News: December 20"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here are some highlights from the latest ESA Policy News by Policy Analyst Terence Houston.\u00a0 Read the full Policy News\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

BUDGET: CONGRESS APPROVES BILL ON SPENDING LEVELS FOR FY 2014, 2015<\/strong><\/p>\n

In its last major legislative achievement before the holiday recess, Congress passed a bipartisan budget bill (H.J.Res. 59) that sets overall federal spending levels for Fiscal Year 2014 and 2015. The deal passed the House by a vote of 332-94 and the Senate 64-36. President Obama will sign the measure.<\/p>\n

The deal allows for $1.012 trillion in federal spending for FY 2014 and $1.013 trillion for FY 2013. The bill partially relieves sequestration for defense and non-defense discretionary spending programs through fee increases and increased pension contributions for federal workers as well as extending existing mandatory spending cuts through FY 2023.<\/p>\n

The agreement meets about half way between the House Republican proposed budget of $967 billion and the Senate proposed budget of $1.058 trillion. Total deficit reduction in the bill amounts to $85 billion, providing a $45 billion increase in federal spending FY 2014 and $20 billion in FY 2015, equally divided between defense and non-defense discretionary programs.<\/p>\n

The budget does not allocate funding for specific government agencies and programs, which will be tackled through the appropriations process when lawmakers return in January. The existing continuing resolution to fund the government runs through Jan. 15, 2014. The agreement also does not address the debt ceiling which will need to be raised again in February.<\/p>\n

Addition information on the agreement is available\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

HOUSE: KEY REPUBLICAN ADVOCATE FOR SCIENCE TO RETIRE IN 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

On Dec. 17, the House Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) and Related Agencies Chairman Frank Wolf (R-VA) announced he will retire from Congress at the end of his 17th\u00a0term.<\/p>\n

The northern Virginia location of his district led Wolf to be a champion of federal workers, often breaking with his party on matters related to federal worker pay. Most recently, he penned a letter to House and Senate Budget Committee leaders urging them to stop proposing budget cuts that disproportionately impact federal workers. \u201cI cannot, in good conscience, support a budget agreement that asks the federal workforce to once again disproportionately feel the brunt of Washington\u2019s failure to share the pain,\u201d wrote Wolf in a Dec. 3 letter. Rep. Wolf ultimately voted for the budget deal on Dec. 12 when it was considered on the House floor.<\/p>\n

Wolf has also been an advocate for federal investment in science \u2013 specifically the National Science Foundation (NSF), in part out of concern for the US\u2019s leadership in scientific discovery and innovation falling behind other countries such as China. During Chairman Wolf\u2019s tenure, NSF has often been spared the sharp cuts several other federal agencies have endured in recent years.<\/p>\n

To view the Wolf letter, click\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

CLIMATE: SUBCOMMITTEE EXAMINES LINK BETWEEN EXTREME WEATHER, WARMING<\/strong><\/p>\n

On Dec. 11, the House Science, Space and Technology Subcommittee on Environment held a hearing entitled \u201cA Factual Look at the Relationship Between Climate and Weather.\u201d Republican lawmakers held the hearing in an effort to refute the notion of a link between climate change and extreme weather events.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdministration officials and the national media regularly use the impacts from hurricanes, tornadoes, droughts, and floods to justify the need for costly climate change regulations,\u201d asserted Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) in his opening statement. \u201cInstead of trying to scare the American people and promote a political agenda, the administration should try to protect the lives and property of our nation\u2019s residents from extreme weather by better weather forecasting,\u201d Smith continued. \u201cPoliticians and others should rely on good science, not science fiction, when they discuss extreme weather.\u201d Smith also stated that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has found that while some parts of the US are experiencing more drought, the reverse is occurring in other areas of the country.<\/p>\n

Environment Subcommittee Chairwoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) countered, however, that looking broadly long-term, the IPCC and other scientific organizations agree that the world will be warmer, leading to more drought in some areas and an increase in the frequency in tropical storms in other areas. \u201cThe oceans will be warmer and that may well produce stronger or more frequent tropical storms,\u201d stated Bonamici. \u201cTo focus only on the question of whether there will be more extreme events misses the point that by the end of this century much of the world as we know it, in our districts and states, will be considerably altered by the weather effects of climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n

View the full hearing\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

EPA: LAWMAKERS REQUEST CLARIFICATION OF CLEAN WATER ACT JURISDICTION<\/strong><\/p>\n

On Dec. 16, 89 House Democrats sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy requesting her agency expedite issuance of a rule clarifying federal jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act (CWA).<\/p>\n

In the past decade, two Supreme Court decisions created uncertainty over the precise jurisdiction the federal government had over the nation\u2019s waterways. Collectively, the decisions in\u00a0Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. US Army Corps of Engineers<\/i>\u00a0and\u00a0Rapanos v. the United States\u00a0<\/i>called into question whether wetlands and isolated intrastate waters can be included in the CWA\u2019s definition of \u201cnavigable waters\u201d under federal regulatory jurisdiction. The lawmakers request EPA issue a rule that clarifies federal jurisdiction over all US waterways under CWA.<\/p>\n

The letter also references a recent scientific report that affirms a chemical and biological link between streams and certain wetlands and larger bodies of water such as downstream rivers. Environmental advocates hope this link will help reinforce a broader interpretation of CWA jurisdiction by EPA.<\/p>\n

To view the House Democrats letter, click\u00a0here<\/a>.\u00a0To view the EPA science report, click\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

INTERIOR: CLIMATE CHANGE RESEARCH FUNDING AWARDED<\/strong><\/p>\n

On Dec. 18, the US Department of Interior announced its eight regional climate science centers are awarding $7 million to universities and other stakeholders for research into methods to help communities adapt to the various impacts of climate change. The initiative is part of President Obama\u2019s climate action plan.<\/p>\n

The eight climate science centers are coordinated through the National Climate Change and Wildlife Center at the United States Geological Survey headquarters. The centers will work with state governments, Indian tribes, universities and other partners to determine where research is needed.<\/p>\n

The full list of awarded projects is available\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY: EPA SEEKS INPUT ON MANUFACTURED CHEMICALS<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced a funding opportunity to advance scientific understanding of the ecological impacts associated with the use of manufactured chemicals.<\/p>\n

As part of its Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program, EPA is seeking applications to better understand the impacts manufactured chemicals have on ecosystems. This research would include study of ecological resilience and adverse impacts on biological organisms and populations, including humans. The research will be used to inform risk management practices that minimize unintended ecological consequences of chemical use.<\/p>\n

The solicitation closing date is noon,\u00a0March 4, 2014. For additional information on the initiative and how to apply, click\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here are some highlights from the latest ESA Policy News by Policy Analyst Terence Houston.\u00a0 Read the full Policy News\u00a0here. BUDGET: CONGRESS APPROVES BILL ON SPENDING LEVELS FOR FY 2014, 2015 In its last major legislative achievement before the holiday recess, Congress passed a bipartisan budget bill (H.J.Res. 59) that sets overall federal spending levels for Fiscal Year 2014 and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":9330,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,91],"tags":[158,1170,206,60,134,93,66,179,1439,1095],"class_list":["post-9716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ecology-in-policy","category-policy-news","tag-budget","tag-chemicals","tag-clean-water-act","tag-climate-change","tag-congress","tag-epa","tag-national-science-foundation","tag-president-obama","tag-sequestration","tag-weather"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9716","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9716"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9716\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}