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Hearings

Legislative Hearing on H.R. 4235 , H.R. 4353 , H.R. 4717, H.R. 5582, H.R. 5665, H.R. 6070 and Discussion draft of H.R. _ (Rep. Westerman) the “BIOCHAR Act” | Federal Lands Subcommittee

Tuesday, November 14, 2023 | 2:00 PM

On Tuesday, November 14, 2023, at 2:00 p.m., in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Subcommittee on Federal Lands will hold a legislative hearing on the following bills:

  • H.R. 4235 (Rep. Kim of CA), “Wildfire Technology Demonstration, Evaluation, Modernization, and Optimization Act” or the “Wildfire Technology DEMO Act”;
  • H.R. 4353 (Rep. Salinas), “Civilian Conservation Center Enhancement Act of 2023”;
  • H.R. 4717 (Rep. Lamborn), “Locally Led Restoration Act of 2023”;
  • H.R. 5582 (Rep. Barr), “White Oak Resilience Act”;
  • H.R. 5665 (Rep. Stansbury), “Promoting Accessibility on Federal Lands Act of 2023”; 
  • H.R. 6070 (Rep. Amodei), To amend the Military Lands Withdrawal Act of 1999 to clarify the authority of Department of Defense to conduct certain military activities at the Nevada test and training range, and for other purposes; and
  • Discussion draft of H.R. ____ (Rep. Westerman),“Biochar Innovations and Opportunities for Conservation, Health, and Advancements in Research Act” or the “BIOCHAR Act”.

Witnesses and Testimony

Panel I (Members of Congress): 

To Be Announced

Panel II (Administration Officials): 

Mr. Jeff Rupert
 Director
Office of Wildland Fire
U.S. Dept. of the Interior
Washington, D.C. [All bills] 

Ms. Jaelith Hall-Rivera
 Deputy Chief
State, Private, and Tribal Forestry, Forest Service, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture
Washington, D.C. [All bills] 

Mr. Edwin Oshiba
 Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Energy, Installations, and Environment
Dept. of the Air Force
Washington, D.C. [H.R. 6070]

Panel III (Expert Witnesses): 

The Hon. Dwayne McFall
 Commissioner –District 3
Fremont County, CO [H.R. 4717] 

Mr. Pat Sherren
 Director – New Product Development and Sales
Metzler Forest Products
Reedsville, PA [Westerman Discussion Draft] 

Mr. Jim Topoleski
 Division Chief for Air and Wildland Division
San Bernardino County Fire Department
Redlands, CA [H.R. 4235] 

Mr. Jason Meyer
 Executive Director
White Oak Initiative
Grand Rapids, MI [H.R. 5582] 

Ms. Linda Goodman
 Fmr. Regional Forester and Forest Service Job Corps National Director
National Job Corps Association
Washington, D.C. [H.R. 4353] [Minority witness] 

Ms. Janessa Goldbeck
 CEO
Vet Voice Foundation
Portland, OR [H.R. 5664] [Minority witness]