<[link removed]> Clock Ticking on Congress The arrival of May begins a traditional countdown in Congress to the August recess and the typical polarization that characterizes the midterm elections. Lawmakers have roughly 30 legislative days before the August break – and even less floor time – to consider conservation and clean energy bills in the Senate. If legislation isn’t drafted and ready to go by early June, it’s probably not going to pass this year. And so that is why ConservAmerica is making a renewed push to achieve real results. One day after Congress returned from its April recess, for instance, we hosted a bipartisan group of nearly a dozen Senators for dinner. The constructive discussion centered on specific bills - such as the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act and the Growing Climate Solutions Act - that have widespread bipartisan support, as well as how to construct a package that would strengthen America’s energy security and economic prosperity while advancing the transition to cleaner sources of energy. Meanwhile, many of the same Senators who attended our dinner are also participating in discussions led by West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin and Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, co-chair of the Roosevelt Conservation caucus (RCC). That group is looking at policies that would create U.S.-based jobs while reducing carbon dioxide emissions and supporting the transition to cleaner energy sources. According to press reports, those policies include a carbon border adjustment, which has been proposed by North Dakota Senator and RCC member Kevin Cramer and updating the National Environmental Policy Act to streamline the review process, which has been pushed by Alaska Senator and RCC member Dan Sullivan. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, now going on its third month, has focused the attention of Congress on the strategic importance of ensuring the nation has secure domestic energy supplies. Congressional action is the best way to achieve long-term, long-lasting results. We encourage these bipartisan discussions, and we also hope that the Biden administration will work with the Senate to permit new infrastructure and reduce barriers to private capital investment in new domestic energy projects. April Highlights ConservAmerica President Jeff Kupfer spent Earth Day (April 22) in Dallas at the EarthX <[link removed]> Congress of Conferences and Expo, where he also spoke at the EarthX Energy Summit. The multi-day event attracts thousands of people interested in conservation, the environment, and clean energy. EarthX is a nonprofit environmental organization dedicated to educating and inspiring people and organizations to take action toward a more sustainable future worldwide. Founder Trammell S. Crow, who is a long-time member of ConservAmerica’s board, notes that the event is the largest environmental expo, conference, and film festival in Executive board members Bruce Fogerty and Andy Sabin, as well as advisory board member Amos Eno also helped to organize and then spoke at the event. <[link removed]> Rep. Brian Mast Delivers Earth Day Message from the Roosevelt Conservation Caucus <[link removed]> On Earth Day, Congressman Brian Mast, R-Florida 18th District, offered a positive message on the importance of conservation and working toward commonsense policies to support clean air and clean water. Rep. Mast is a co-chair of the House Congressional Roosevelt Conservation Caucus. The bicameral Roosevelt Conservation Caucus is committed to advancing pro-market policies that protect the environment and conserve America’s treasures for future generations. Read More <[link removed]> <[link removed]> ConservAmerica Applauds Advancement of Bipartisan Recovering America's Wildlife Act <[link removed]> ConservAmerica commended the members of the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee for advancing bipartisan legislation to strengthen local approaches to protecting at-risk fish and wildlife populations. The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (RAWA <[link removed]> ) would provide additional federal funding under the Wildlife Restoration Act to states, territories and tribal governments to protect at-risk fish and wildlife populations and habitat. The legislation was advanced Thursday out of committee on a 15-5 vote. It now goes to the full Senate for consideration. “Strengthening protections for at-risk species through state-based management is among our highest priorities,” said ConservAmerica Vice President Todd Johnston. “We applaud the committee for advancing this important legislation on a bipartisan basis. RAWA will provide a stable source of funding for states, territories and tribes to protect wildlife before they must be listed on the Endangered Species Act.” ConservAmerica sent a letter <[link removed]> to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee at the end of last year supporting RAWA. Read More <[link removed]> <[link removed]> Webinar: Removing Barriers to Cleaning up Abandoned Mines <[link removed]> ConservAmerica hosted an online discussion on bipartisan efforts in Congress to address legal disincentives to private sector efforts to address the chronic problem of pollution from abandoned hardrock mines. The Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act of 2022 <[link removed]> would limit liability provisions under the Clean Water Act that have hampered cleanup efforts by conservation and other Good Samaritan organizations. Sens. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, and Martin Heinrich, D-New Mexico, co-sponsors of the bill, joined ConservAmerica’s Brent Fewell during the webinar to discuss the importance of addressing the unlimited liability issue that has kept most Good Samaritan cleanup efforts from getting off the ground. Although there is no comprehensive database on the number of abandoned hardrock mines in the United States, estimates range from 140,000 to 500,000 legacy mining sites on public and private lands. Many of these abandoned mines pose safety and environmental hazards. Read More <[link removed]> Please consider supporting our work with a tax-deductible donation. With your help, we can continue to provide leadership on environmental and conservation issues based on the principles of respect for free markets, property rights, and personal responsibility. Donate <[link removed]> In Case You Missed It Congressman Bruce Westerman, R-Arkansas, introduced the No Timber From Tyrants Act <[link removed]> to prohibit imports of forest products from Russia and Belarus while ramping up responsible harvesting of U.S. timber to create new jobs, produce more sustainable wood products, and make federal lands more fire resilient. “We applaud Ranking Member Westerman and members of the House for introducing the No Timber From Tyrants Act. As the brutal assault on Ukraine continues, we must use all possible means to isolate Russia’s economy and limit its ability to wage war,” ConservAmerica President Jeff Kupfer said last month. “Amid reports that Russia is now defaulting on its foreign debts, now is the time to increase the pressure. This legislation could keep an additional half-a-billion dollars out of Putin’s hands while simultaneously opening economic opportunities in rural communities for America’s wood products industry.” President Biden signed the Modernizing Access to Our Public Land (MAPLand) Act <[link removed]> . The new law increases public access to federal lands by directing federal land management agencies to digitize mapping records and make this information more accessible. The Department of Energy (DOE) has announced more than $3 billion in funding for domestic battery manufacturing and supply chain projects. The funding, which will support efforts to increase production of electric vehicles and energy storage, was authorized by Congress under the bipartisan infrastructure law. The move, which is also designed to boost domestic production of lithium and other raw materials used in the manufacturing of batteries and other clean energy tech, is a down payment on the energy transition and shoring up the nation’s energy security. DOE expects to fund up to 30 grants under the program. The Department of Energy at the end of April announced <[link removed]> the availability of more than $8 billion in loans from its Loan Programs Office (LPO) and the Western Area Power Administration to expand and improve the nation’s transmission grid. Expanding and modernizing our existing electricity transmission infrastructure is key to accelerating the transition to a low-carbon economy. LPO also offered a $504 million loan guarantee to the Advanced Clean Energy Storage Project <[link removed]> , a first-of-its-kind clean hydrogen production and storage facility capable of providing long-term seasonal energy storage. The Utah facility will combine alkaline electrolysis with salt cavern storage for grid scale energy conversion and storage using hydrogen as the energy carrier. ConservAmerica President Kupfer recently spoke with Jigar Shah, the director of DOE’s Loan Programs Office, about the federal government’s efforts to champion large domestic energy infrastructure projects, including providing debt financing for commercially deployable projects through the LPO. Check out the webinar <[link removed]> with Shah and Monolith CEO Rob Hanson for more on DOE’s loan program. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland visited the remote fishing community of King Cove during a trip to Alaska in April. The primarily Aleut residents of King Cove have for decades sought a land exchange that would allow them road access to an all-weather airport on the other side of the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge. Air access to the community is limited by nearby mountains and weather conditions at the far end of the Alaska Peninsula can force King Cove’s small landing strip to close more than 100 days a year. Secretary Haaland must determine whether the land exchange is in the public interest, which is why Alaska’s Sen. Murkowski and Sen. Dan Sullivan invited her to the community to hear directly from residents. Alaska’s Juneau Empire recently published an excellent commentary on how the hyperbolic language of politicians and environmentalists has dehumanized the people of King Cove <[link removed]> over the years. For more on King Cove, check out the webinar <[link removed]> we hosted last year with King Cove City Administrator Gary Hennigh. Speaking of Alaska, the House of Representatives passed three bills <[link removed]> introduced by the late Rep. Don Young. Congressman Young, a member of the Roosevelt Conservation Caucus, died March 18 <[link removed]> traveling back to the state he represented in Congress for 49 years. God Speed DY. Finally, if you’re visiting our nation’s Capital, save some time to visit the newly renovated Interior Museum at the Department of the Interior. The museum reopened May 2 after being closed for two years due to the pandemic. During the downtime, the museum added roughly 2,000 square feet of gallery space and launched a new exhibition of Thomas Moran’s paintings, including “The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone <[link removed]> ” (1872) and “The Chasm of the Colorado” (1873-1874). Visit the Interior Museum website <[link removed]> for more details. <[link removed]> <[link removed]> <[link removed]> <[link removed]> ConservAmerica, 1455 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 400, Washington DC, United States Unsubscribe <[link removed]>