U.S. House To Consider Handful of FY 2023 Spending Bills
This week the U.S. House of Representatives will consider six of its twelve annual appropriations bills for FY 2023. The six bills include: the Agriculture and Rural Development bill; the Energy and Water Development bill; the Financial Services and General Government bill; the Interior and Environment bill; the Military Construction and Veterans bill; and the Transportation and Housing and Urban Affairs bill.
It is expected that the House will take up the remaining six appropriations bills next week before recessing for its summer break.
Recent reports have indicated that the Senate Appropriations Committee likely will not mark up its annual FY 2023 bills, but rather will release the drafts of the bills by the end of the month.
NEMWI will continue to monitor the Congressional appropriations process as it unfolds. A tracker with key accounts and programs critical to the region can be found here.
SCOTUS Case of West Virginia vs. EPA To Impact the Great Lakes
The Supreme Court’s ruling on West Virginia vs. EPA, limiting the agency’s ability to restrict power plant emissions, has major implications for environmental protection including in the Great Lakes. The majority ruling, written by Chief Justice Roberts, asserted that the Clean Air Act does not give the Environmental Protection Agency explicit authority to regulate carbon emissions of power plants and therefore that it cannot do so. Referring to the “major questions” doctrine, Roberts argued that Congress must grant agencies power to regulate major issues such as climate change by passing explicit legislation.
Although the EPA can continue to regulate vehicle emissions, oil, and gas, the ruling restricts the EPA from enacting ambitious policies that are necessary to fight climate change. The responsibility now falls on Congress to pass more explicit legislation and on states to transition their power grid from harmful nonrenewable power plants to renewable sources of energy.
Many states issued statements regarding their power plant policies after the decision was released. The Energy News Network reports that Midwestern states such as Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan’s power plants will mostly be unaffected by the ruling. Although power plants in some Great Lakes states will continue to switch to renewable energy, curbing overall carbon emissions is still crucial to the region.
The Great Lakes region is experiencing the detrimental effects of climate change more rapidly and harshly than other parts of the United States. A climate report by scientists and universities from the Great Lakes region found that “Between 1901-1960 and 1985- 2016, the Great Lakes basin has warmed 1.6°F in annual mean temperature, exceeding average changes of 1.2°F for the rest of the contiguous United States.” The scientists are anticipating more heat waves, flooding, soil erosion, extinction of distinct species only found in the Great Lakes region, degradation of water infrastructures, and economic damage to the region’s farming, fishing, and tourism industry. Ambitious and speedy policies are needed to prevent these further damages, and the latest Supreme Court decision has halted the EPA from enacting such policies, pushing the states
in the Great Lakes area to implement their own.
U.S. House Active with Potential Great Lakes Legislation
The U.S. House of Representatives continues to work on new environmental protection legislation, including bills affecting the Great Lakes.
Most recently, the House has made progress on H.R. 2794, the Boundary Waters Wilderness Protection and Pollution Prevention Act. On July 13, the House Committee on Natural Resources held a mark-up session for HR 2794. The bill also has been referred to the Committee on Natural Resources where it may be amended and given further consideration.
HR 2794 is important because it would protect the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and federal lands that include Voyageurs National Park within the Rainy River Watershed in Minnesota. The bill was introduced by Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D-MN-4).
For further information on HR 2794 and similar legislation, check out NEMWI’s Great Lakes and Water Legislative Tracker which can be found here.
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