ABOUT:
Defense policy analysis, commentary and discussion.Lauren Gardner covers energy and environment policy as a staff writer at CQ, following a two-year stint on CQ’s legislative action team tracking markups and floor votes. Before joining CQ, she covered the IRS for BNA’s Daily Tax Report. Lauren graduated from American University, where she received bachelor’s degrees in French/print journalism and international studies. A Philadelphia native with the accent to prove it, she currently lives in Old Town Alexandria.
Peter A. DeFazio of Oregon won the contest Thursday to become ranking Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, after Arizona Democrat Raúl M. Grijalva surprised colleagues with his decision to withdraw from consideration.
Peter A. DeFazio of Oregon bested Raúl M. Grijalva of Arizona in a hard-fought contest for the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee’s endorsement for the job of ranking member on the House Natural Resources Committee, setting up a final showdown before the full caucus on Thursday.
A push by a group of senators to divert more offshore oil and gas royalties to coastal states presents a new challenge — but potentially a fresh opportunity — for defenders of the beleaguered Land and Water Conservation Fund.
Over the almost 50 years since its creation, most Land and Water Conservation Fund dollars have been doled out to federal agencies for land acquisition. But conservation advocates say funding is increasingly being steered toward alternatives that can protect outdoor spaces without expanding federal real estate ownership.
Both sides in the fight over a proposed hard-rock mine near Alaska’s Bristol Bay are ratcheting up their public relations efforts, as the EPA’s comment period for a draft ecological risk assessment of the watershed draws to a close at the end of June.
The EPA has only used its Section 404(c) “veto” authority 13 times; twice in the 21st century. The power was exercised most frequently during the Reagan administration. Here are some highlights of proposals regulators blocked:
The fight for one of Rep. Edward J. Markey’s plum committee slots may come down to whether issue and identity politics trump the time-honored seniority system.
Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial start to the summer driving season — and in recent years that has meant steadily rising gas prices. But for the second consecutive year, drivers filling their tanks for holiday road trips paid less at the pump on average than a year earlier.
To mark National Skin Cancer Awareness Month, a group dedicated to educating schoolchildren about the hazards of too much sun exposure will hold a reception Wednesday to honor winners of its annual poster contest.
SunWise isn’t the only EPA education program on the budget chopping block.
Louisiana Democrat Mary L. Landrieu has revamped her amendment to freeze flood insurance rates for five years, removing the biggest obstacle to final Senate action this week on legislation to authorize federal projects for flood control, navigation and environmental restoration.
The musical chairmanship game set off by Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus’ retirement could put one of the Democrats’ biggest oil and gas industry boosters in charge of the Energy panel — and simultaneously improve her re-election chances.
In addition to its status as a carbon-free energy source that can provide baseload electricity, hydropower also offers a window into a future where variable renewables — such as wind and solar — can be more widely integrated into the grid.
In February, the House did something rare: It passed an energy bill unanimously. Unlike the previous Congress’ standard fare of anti-EPA, pro-drilling measures, the first energy bill of the 113th Congress promoted small-scale hydropower projects and the electrification of existing dams.
The effects of transporting tar sands oil via the infrastructure currently in place are not the only questions the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration will address in the coming months. The regulatory agency also must grapple with the new pipeline networks that will be needed to carry natural gas from booming shale plays to market.
An oil pipeline rupture on March 29 poured thousands of barrels of heavy crude petroleum into the streets of Mayflower, Ark., focusing the environmental debate over the Keystone XL oil pipeline back on the risks of spills.
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus announced a $10 million outreach initiative Sunday to better convey the party’s message to voters, particularly minorities.
As lawmakers in both chambers prepare to debate competing budget plans this week, much space remains between Democrats and Republicans on the best way to spur job growth while staving off a debt crisis.
Speaker John A. Boehner said Sunday that his views on gay marriage are unlikely to shift despite a home-state ally’s recent change of heart on the issue.
President Barack Obama’s nominee to lead the EPA during his second term is familiar to many on Capitol Hill, has some bipartisan credentials from past stints in New England state governments and was previously confirmed by the Senate for her current post as head of the agency’s air office.
President Barack Obama on Monday nominated Gina McCarthy to lead the Environmental Protection Agency and MIT professor Ernest J. Moniz to serve as Energy secretary during his second term.
A long-awaited State Department environmental assessment found that the Keystone XL pipeline is unlikely to have a “substantial impact” on developing the western Canada tar sands, a conclusion that rejects opponents’ claims that the project would dramatically increase greenhouse gas emissions.
Among the many roadblocks that have prevented offshore wind farms from proliferating off the Atlantic coast is how to get the electricity generated from the Outer Continental Shelf to the mainland.
More than two years after the Interior Department launched an initiative to speed up and simplify its permitting process, there are still no commercial-scale wind projects up and running in federal waters.
Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman signed off Tuesday on the segment of the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline that would run through his state, placing the onus back on the White House to reach a decision on the politically charged issue.
Want Roll Call on your doorstep?
SIGN UPAlready a subscriber?
Sign up to have the print PDF emailed to you.
Roll Call has launched a new feature, Hill Navigator, to advise congressional staffers and would-be staffers on how to manage workplace issues on Capitol Hill. Please send us your questions — anything from office etiquette, to handling awkward moments, to what happens when the work life gets too personal. Submissions will be treated anonymously.
