McCollum Hosts Field Hearing to Gather Testimony for Interior-Environment Appropriations Bill

Congresswoman Betty McCollum (DFL-Minn.), Chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, held a field hearing in St. Paul on Monday, Feb. 25, 2020, to gather testimony from stakeholders on funding priorities for Fiscal Year 2021.

Chair McCollum heard testimony from two dozen witnesses representing academia, tribes, government entities, and community groups. A recap of the witness testimony is below.

Tribal Affairs, State & Local Government

Chairman Michael Fairbanks, White Earth Nation
Greta Gauthier, Assistant Commissioner, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (Testimony)
Bob Meier, Assistant Commissioner, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (Testimony)
Dr. Harvey Thorleifson, Director, Minnesota Geological Survey (Testimony)

Commissioner Victoria Reinhardt, Ramsey County (Testimony)
Commissioner Fran Miron, Washington County (Testimony)
Mary Hurliman, Public Works Director, City of Woodbury (Testimony)

University of Minnesota

Dr. Chris Cramer, Vice President for Research (Testimony)
Dr. Jessica Hellmann, Director, Institute on the Environment (Testimony)
Dr. Peter Larsen, Assistant Professor, Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences (Testimony)

Nonprofit, Business, and Labor

Wendy Caldwell, Executive Director, Monarch Joint Venture (Testimony)
Greg Lais, Executive Director, Wilderness Inquiry (Testimony)
Tom Landwehr, Executive Director, Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters (Testimony)
Whitney Clark, Executive Director, Friends of the Mississippi River (Testimony)
Deb Ryun, Executive Director, St. Croix River Association (Testimony)

Marty Wangensteen, Vice President, Bay West, Inc. (Testimony)
Deanna White, Minnesota Director, Clean Water Action (Testimony)
Jesse Green, President, North Star Chapter of American Association of Radon Scientists & Technologists (Testimony)
Justin Perpich, Legislative Affairs, American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO (Testimony)
Nancy Gibson, Board Member, International Wolf Center
Lori Blair, Executive Director, Rural Water Association (Written testimony)

Arts & Humanities

Sue Gens, Executive Director, Minnesota State Arts Board (Testimony)
Sheila Smith, Executive Director, Minnesota Citizens for the Arts (Testimony)
Kent Whitworth, Director and CEO, Minnesota Historical Society (Testimony)
Kevin Lindsey, CEO, Minnesota Humanities Center (Testimony)

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