The Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee held a business meeting in Washington, D.C., advancing several nominations, committee resolutions, and bipartisan legislation. The session was led by Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), the committee’s chairman.
During the meeting, the EPW Committee voted to favorably report seven nominees for key federal positions. These include Jeffrey Hall and Douglas Troutman for assistant administrator roles at the Environmental Protection Agency; Ho Nieh for membership on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; and Mitch Graves, Jeff Hagood, Randall Jones, and Arthur Graham for seats on the Tennessee Valley Authority Board of Directors.
Capito commented on these actions: “I want to thank my colleagues for attending today’s business meeting to vote on seven nominations, three committee resolutions, and eight pieces of legislation.
“First, we will consider the nominations pending before the Committee of Jeffrey Hall and Doug Troutman to be assistant administrators at the Environmental Protection Agency; Ho Neih to be a member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; and four nominees to the Tennessee Valley Authority Board of Directors, which will return the board to a working quorum. Each of these nominees is well qualified and I urge my colleagues to support their nominations.”
In addition to considering nominations, the committee approved three General Services Administration prospectuses related to repairs and alterations at the Ronald Reagan Building complex in Washington. Two prospectuses address urgent repair needs in building systems such as fire alarms and curtain walls. The third concerns converting space in the Ronald Reagan Federal Office Building into a new consolidated headquarters for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Federal Bureau of Investigation.
“This approach addresses the needs and mission of the FBI and utilizes an existing federal building with a reasonable investment and renovation, instead of significant expense and time waiting for new construction. I believe the GSA’s plan is a responsible and efficient way to address this year’s long problem,” Capito said during her opening statement.
The committee also advanced eight legislative measures covering issues such as nuclear fuel management (Nuclear REFUEL Act), diesel emissions reduction (Diesel Emissions Reduction Act), legacy mine cleanup efforts (Legacy Mine Cleanup Act), marine debris infrastructure programs reauthorization (Save Our Seas 2.0), water reuse initiatives (REUSE Act), Great Lakes fishery research funding reauthorization (Great Lakes Fishery Research Reauthorization Act), recognition of Marcella LeBeau (Marcella LeBeau Recognition Act), and naming a federal building in Tucson after Raul M. Grijalva.
“Finally, the bills we will consider today are largely bipartisan measures drafted by a variety of members of the committee…I want to thank all our members for their work on these bills, and I am proud that this Committee can continue its bipartisan work on passing legislation,” Capito added.
