Lawmakers are attempting to pass legislation to reimburse states that funded the reopening of National Parks during the partial government shutdown that occurred October 1 through October 17 of this year.

In further moves at the Department of the Interior (DOI), President Obama is nominating Rhea Suh to be Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, and intends to nominate Tommy Beaudreau to take Rhea Suh’s position as Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget.

President Obama announced plans to nominate Janice Schneider to Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management within the Department of Interior.

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) accepted public feedback on the new National Plan for Observing our Earth.

Witnesses:
The Honorable Jonathan B. Jarvis
Director of National Park Service
The Honorable Greg Bryan
Mayor of Town of Tusayan
Ms. Anna Eberly
Managing Director, Claude Moore Colonial Farm. McLean, Virginia
Mr. Myron Ebell
Director, Center for Energy and Environment, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Ms. Lisa Simon

Witnesses:
Edmund Fogels
Deputy Commissioner, Alaska Department of Natural Resources
State of Alaska Representative, Interstate Mining Compact Commission
Sheldon Maier
President, Fortymile Mining District
Chris Hamilton
Senior Vice President, West Virginia Coal Association
Norman Van Vactor
Chief Executive Officer, Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation

Witnesses: 
The Honorable Rush Holt 
Representative for the 12th Congressional District of New Jersey
The Honorable Danny Werfel
Controller, U.S. Office of Management and Budget
Cynthia Metzler
Chief Administrative Officer, U.S. General Services Administration

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is hosting eleven public listening sessions across the country to solicit ideas and input from the public regarding the best Clean Air Act approaches to reducing carbon pollution from existing power plants. Power plants are the nation’s largest stationary source of carbon pollution, responsible for about one-third of all greenhouse gas pollution in the United States. The EPA hopes to enforce stricter regulations on existing power plants that would cut emissions by 26% by 2020.