| With the summer season’s arrival, the push to August recess, and the elections approaching, the window for Congress to move legislation forward is rapidly closing. Though the clock is ticking on the legislative calendar, there are numerous bills that we hope make it across the finish line. This includes several pieces of legislation aimed at balancing natural resource protections and our nation’s energy needs, including the Alaska Right to Produce Act, and the Western Economic Security Today Act, which passed the US House earlier this month thanks to the work of Roosevelt Conservation Caucus (RCC) members Rep. Stauber (R-MN), Rep. Westerman, (R-AR), and Rep. Curtis (R-UT). We are also hopeful that bipartisan efforts led by RCC member Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) to help facilitate the deployment of next-generation nuclear energy technologies through the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act, and by RCC member Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) to provide resources for states to recover threatened or endangered species – the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (RAWA) - make it to the President’s desk. Additionally, while consensus remains elusive, we continue to support legislative efforts aimed at implementing commonsense reforms to accelerate the government approval processes that currently hamper critical infrastructure and clean energy projects. We sat down last week with the 2023 recipient of our Congressional Champions Award, Senator Tillis. During the discussion, we covered a range of topics including the importance of conservation leadership, RAWA, clean energy investment and development, and the Inflation Reduction Act. It was a great discussion and worth a listen. Check it out by clicking here. The summer tends to be peak season in the US for natural disasters. As part of the SmarterSafer coalition, we advocate for pre-disaster mitigation and resiliency solutions, and policies that promote these measures. To that end, we joined a recent letter to the House Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management, commenting on a recent hearing held to examine disaster mitigation, specifically focusing on the effectiveness and costs of FEMA's resilience programs. You can read that letter here. Last, but certainly not least, we are pleased to announce the appointment of two new members – Neil Chatterjee and Todd Myers - to our Board of Directors, and welcome former ConservAmerica President Rob Sisson back to the team as a Senior Fellow. We remain as committed as ever to our mission of promoting conservative values and protecting clean air and water, and having Neil, Todd, and Rob join us in this pursuit only makes us stronger. We’ll leave you with these tips from the National Park Service on planning your summer visits. As the warm days approach, we encourage you to embrace the sunshine and explore the great outdoors. Here's to a season filled with adventure! |
