As the House moves into its last week before a five-week recess, its members seek to reach agreement with the Senate on an extension of highway and transit funding before the existing authorization expires this Friday (the Senate is in session two more weeks). The Senate worked over the weekend to move along its six-year bill, with the goal of allowing the House to consider the bill this week before members depart. Regional groups and members raised concerns with one of the offsets to pay for the Senate bill, which would have taken away funds designated for addressing foreclosed housing and neighborhood blight. The House passed a five-month extension of the Highway Trust Fund on July 15.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday will consider several bills, including an Energy Policy Modernization Act that would in part permanently reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund, adding spending set-asides for recreation purposes and requiring federal officials to consider conservation easements (meeting details below). The Land and Water Conservation Fund Program provides matching grants to States and local governments for the acquisition and development of public outdoor recreation areas and facilities, as well as funding for shared federal land acquisition and conservation strategies.

Hearings scheduled for this week include:

Tuesday

• House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources oversight hearing on "Federal Implementation of the Coastal Zone Management Act," including a discussion of the level of national preparedness for sea level rise; 10:00 AM, room 1334 Longworth House Office Building.
• Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee business meeting to consider several bills, including the Energy Policy Modernization Act (permanently reauthorizing the Land and Water Conservation Fund), and S. 593, to require the Department of Interior to submit to Congress a report on the efforts of the Bureau of Reclamation to manage its infrastructure assets; 10:00 AM, room 366 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
• House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing on law enforcement policies and tactics in the Interior Department and U.S. Forest Service, 10:30 AM, room 1324 Longworth House Office Building.
• House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee policy discussion roundtable on "Innovations in Pipeline Technology"; 10:30 AM, room 2167 Rayburn House Office Building.

Registration is still open for the National Brownfields Training Conference, which will take place in Chicago, September 2-4, 2015. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and International City/County Management Association co-sponsor this three-day event focused on practical and innovative training and education, business networking, and information sharing. Decision makers from all stakeholder categories can gather to hear about the strategies and tools for beneficially reusing abandoned and underutilized properties and creating more sustainable, livable, and economically vibrant communities. More details and registration information is available here. Additionally, a number of pre-conference workshops are still open for registration. The Sustainable Community Development Group will host a workshop, the first of a series, on "Equitable Development: The Role of Brownfields Renewal, Workforce Strategies and Entrepreneurship." The workshop will take place September 1 from 9am-3pm. More information is available here.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced the availability of funding for the HOPE VI Main Street Program. The purpose of the program is to provide grants to small communities to assist in the renovation of an historic or traditional central business district or "Main Street" area by replacing unused commercial space in buildings with affordable housing units. Applications are due August 27, 2015.