Senate Agriculture holds a hearing on drought

On Wednesday, the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Climate, Forestry, and Natural Resources held a hearing in Colorado to discuss the threat of drought to western states. Witnesses described how drought impacts soil health and leads to aquifer depletion and noted the need to improve climate-smart practices to help sustain western agriculture. A recording of the hearing can be found here.

House Appropriations marks up FY2025 EPA funding bill

On Thursday, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act released the text of its FY2025 appropriations bill, which includes the funding for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The proposal includes a 20% decrease in funding for the EPA compared to last year’s enacted levels. It also includes a provision directing the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers to provide a documentation on how the two agencies are implementing regulations for waters of the United States (WOTUS). Early Friday morning, the Subcommittee marked up the bill, which was approved on a party-line vote. It now moves to the full Committee. The full Committee is currently intending to mark up both this bill and the USDA funding bill the week of July 8. Bill text for the EPA funding bill can be found here and a recording of the Subcommittee markup can be found here.