House committee sets vote on public land, wildlife bills

February 14, 2022

The House Natural Resources Committee will vote on several bills this week, including proposals to address wildlife trafficking, promote biking on public lands and address a mistake in the bipartisan infrastructure law.

H.R. 1546, from Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.), would direct the Presidential Task Force on Wildlife Trafficking to recommend ways of addressing wildlife trafficking on the internet and on social media. The legislation would also task the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development to develop a strategy to tackle wildlife trafficking online (Greenwire, Jan 21).

Also on the agenda is H.R. 6435 from Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), to address a mistake in the bipartisan infrastructure law, which reauthorized the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act (E&E Daily, Feb. 4). The program compensates counties with federal land.

Other bills on the agenda:

• H.R. 6337, from Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) and a bipartisan group of lawmakers, would push for long-distance bike trails on federal land.

• H.R. 3525, from Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), to establish the Commission to Study the Potential Creation of a National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture.

• H.R. 3540, from Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.), to reauthorize the Chesapeake Bay Office at NOAA.

• H.R. 4458, from Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), to establish a grant program at NOAA to help kelp forest ecosystems.

• H.R. 4677, from Rep. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), to restore and protect New York-New Jersey watersheds and estuaries hydrologically connected to New York-New Jersey Harbor.

• H.R. 5973, from Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), to reauthorize the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act of 1990.

• H.R. 6023, from Rep. Jim Costa (D-Calif.), to require the Postal Service to continue selling the Multinational Species Conservation Funds Semipostal Stamp until all remaining stamps are sold.

• H.R. 6142, from Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), to study the feasibility of designating the Buckeye Trail as a national scenic trail.

• H.R. 6199, from Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.), to revise the boundary of the Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park in Missouri.

• H.R. 6201, from Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.), to establish a commemorative work to honor enslaved and free Black persons who served in the American Revolution.

• H.R. 6434, from Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.), to establish the Japanese American World War II History Network.

Schedule: The markup is Wednesday, Feb. 16, at 10 a.m. via webcast.


By:  Manuel Quiñones
Source: E&E Daily