The House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee will hold a Nov. 2 hearing focused on Central Takeaways from the Unprecedented 2017 Hurricane Season. Details have not been posted yet, but check back here in a few days.
You can still listen to the roundtable discussion the committee held on Friday the 27th by clicking here. This event focused on Concepts for the Next Water Resources Development Act. As I said in my previous update, my next blog post will focus on what was not discussed during the 2 ½ hour roundtable. Hint: It will focus on Common Sense.
Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney has told Congress that the Administration will ask for spending cuts to offset the significant additional post-disaster funding (including funds for Corps project repairs) that has yet to be sent to Congress. See his remarks here. One of the cuts he proposed would take over $700 million of post-Sandy O&M and FCCE money that remains unspent and wipe it off the books.
Repeating an alert I sent previously, the General Accountability Office, an investigative arm of Congress, has released a significant report which provides insight into the anticipated costs to the U.S. of climate change. You can find the report on the main WaterLog webpage under Latest Policy Alerts & Bulletins. It’s an amazing report since those of us who deal with Congress are told not to use phrases such as climate change, global warming, and coastal resilience because of the negative response they get from people in Congress and the Administration.
What has been called “a major coastal storm” will hit the East Coast from Virginia to Maine on Sunday and Monday. Read more here. It appears to be the result of a Midwest storm that has brought heavy snowfall to Minnesota and, as it moves eastward, drawing a disturbance in the Caribbean that may become Tropical Storm Philippe. Lots of rain is anticipated. Stay safe, my friends.
Are you following me on Twitter? I don’t tweet often but I do pass on significant developments on coastal resilience that you may not read elsewhere. Follow me @HDMarlowe (please!).
Finally, there’s some legislation moving in Congress that may be of interest to you. Stay tuned for my next update where I cover a measure that would reduce sue-and-settle arrangements that are used by environmental organizations to encourage the issuance of regulations.
