The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved the Conference Accountability Act of 2014 to limit the travel of federal employees to conferences.

The Senate Committee on Appropriations released a committee report to accompany their Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill on August 1. Committee reports allow legislators to make their views on funding levels public at a time when the Senate appropriations process has come to a halt, and it is unclear whether specific appropriations bills will be voted on in committee and on the Senate floor.

A list of notices from the federal register for July 2014 from agencies including the Department of the Interior, EPA, FEMA, USGS and more.

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July 2014

Budget

On July 22, the House failed to achieve the two-thirds majority vote required to pass the Securing Energy Critical Elements and American Jobs Act of 2013 (H.R. 1022), which supported federal investment in research and development for energy critical materials.

The Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee held a hearing on July 23 to discuss the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which is up for reauthorization in 2017. The hearing covered recent changes to legislation aimed at increasing the NFIP’s solvency and plans to update Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) across the country.

Senate Democrats introduced a bill that would fund science research and education and reauthorize the 2010 Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science (COMPETES) Reauthorization Act on July 31.

A subcommittee of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee met on July 29 to review the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP). Committee members and witnesses agreed that reauthorization for NEHRP, which expired in 2009, is critical.

President Obama announced the launch of the 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) on July 16. The 3D Elevation Program, a partnership program led by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), aims to map the lower 48 states, Hawaii, and the U.S. territories with a laser technology called lidar (light detection and ranging) in an eight-year period.

Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA) and Rep. Don Young (R-AK) recently announced the formation of a new bipartisan caucus designed to bring more attention to Arctic issues in Congress.