Washington, D.C. - The Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee will hold three full committee hearings, two subcommittee hearings, and a business meeting next week.

The full committee will hold a hearing on Tuesday, February 14 at 10:00 a.m. in room SD-366.  The purpose of this hearing is to discuss the Energy Information Administration’s 2006 Annual Energy Outlook on trends and issues affecting the United States’ energy market. 

Invited Witness:
     
Mr. Guy Caruso
Administrator
Energy Information Administration

The full committee will hold a hearing on Tuesday, February 14 at 2:30 p.m. in room SD-366.  The purpose of this hearing is to receive testimony on S. 2197, to improve the global competitiveness of the United States in science and energy technology, to strengthen basic research programs at the Department of Energy, and to provide support for mathematics and science education at all levels through the resources available through the Department of Energy, including at the National Laboratories. 

Invited Witnesses Include:

Panel 1

The Honorable Raymond L. Orbach
Director of the Office of Science
U.S. Department of Energy

Panel 2

Dr. Charles M. Vest
President Emeritus
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA 

Dr. Luis Proenza
President
The University of Akron
Akron, OH
 
The full committee will hold a business meeting on Wednesday, February 15 at 11:00 a.m. in room SD-366 to consider the following items:

To consider views and estimates on the President’s FY07 Budget.
  
The public lands and forests subcommittee will hold a hearing on Wednesday, February 15 at 2:30 p.m. in room SD-366.  The purpose of this hearing is to review the progress made on the development of interim and long-term plans for use of fire retardant aircraft in Federal wildfire suppression operations.

Invited Witnesses Include:

Panel 1

The Honorable Mark Rey
Undersecretary
Natural Resources and the Environment
Department of Agriculture

Accompanied by
Mr. Tom Harbour
U.S. Forest Service
Director of Fire and Aviation Management
 
The Honorable Nina Rose Hatfield
Deputy Assistant Secretary
Policy, Management and Budget
Department of the Interior

Panel 2

Mr. James Hall
Hall and Associates LLC
Washington, DC
Co-Chairman of Blue Ribbon Report of Aerial Fire Fighting Safety
 
Mr. James Hull
Texas State Forester
College Station, TX
Co-Chairman of Blue Ribbon Report of Aerial Fire Fighting Safety

The full committee will hold a hearing on Thursday, February 16 at 10:00 a.m. in room SD-366.  The purpose of this hearing is to receive testimony regarding S. 2253, to require the Secretary of the Interior to offer certain areas of the 181 Area of the Gulf of Mexico for oil and gas leasing. 

Invited Witnesses are TBD and will be announced at a later date.

The national parks subcommittee will hold a hearing on Thursday, February 16 at 2:30 p.m. in room SD-366.  The purpose of this hearing is to receive testimony on the following bills: S. 1870, a bill to clarify the authorities for the use of certain National Park Service properties within Golden Gate National Recreation Area and San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park; S. 1913, a bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to lease a portion of the Dorothy Buell Memorial Visitor Center for use as a visitor center for the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore; S. 1970, a bill to amend the National Trails System Act to update the feasibility and suitability study originally prepared for the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail and provide for the inclusion of new trail segments, land components, and campgrounds associated with that trail; H.R. 562, a bill to authorize the Government of Ukraine to establish a memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia to honor the victims of the manmade famine that occurred in Ukraine in 1932-1933; H.R. 318, a bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to study the suitability and feasibility of designating Castle Nugent Farms located on St. Croix, Virgin Islands, as a unit of the National Park System; and S.J. Res. 28, a joint resolution approving the location of the commemorative work in the District of Columbia honoring former President Dwight D. Eisenhower.  
  
Invited Witnesses Include:

Panel 1

Mr. John Parsons
Associate Regional Director for Lands, Resources and Planning
National Park Service
Washington, DC

Panel 2

Chief Chad Smith
Principal Chief Cherokee Nation
Tahlequah, Oklahoma