WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.940 Welcome back. I want you to think for a second 00:00:02.940 --> 00:00:05.139 about your daily routine. Like, think about the 00:00:05.139 --> 00:00:07.459 physical asphalt you drove over on your way to 00:00:07.459 --> 00:00:10.300 work. Or the water. The water that flowed right 00:00:10.300 --> 00:00:11.859 out of your kitchen faucet when you made your 00:00:11.859 --> 00:00:14.699 coffee this morning. Yeah, exactly. Or, you know, 00:00:14.720 --> 00:00:17.960 consider the incredibly complex safety grid surrounding 00:00:17.960 --> 00:00:21.079 the regional nuclear power plants, the ones that 00:00:21.079 --> 00:00:23.440 ensure your lights actually turn on when you 00:00:23.440 --> 00:00:26.519 flip the switch. We move through this highly 00:00:26.519 --> 00:00:29.839 engineered reality every single day and we just 00:00:29.839 --> 00:00:33.280 we take the scaffolding. holding it up completely 00:00:33.280 --> 00:00:35.659 for granted. We really do. We just assume it 00:00:35.659 --> 00:00:37.939 all magically works. Right. It's just the background 00:00:37.939 --> 00:00:40.460 noise of modern life. It's so easy to view it 00:00:40.460 --> 00:00:43.140 that way. I mean, we rarely stop to ask who is 00:00:43.140 --> 00:00:45.039 actually maintaining the blueprint for all of 00:00:45.039 --> 00:00:47.340 it. And that is exactly what our mission is for 00:00:47.340 --> 00:00:49.659 this deep dive. We are exploring a fascinating 00:00:49.659 --> 00:00:53.439 Wikipedia article today that details a very specific, 00:00:53.640 --> 00:00:57.079 almost hidden note of that power. The United 00:00:57.079 --> 00:00:59.380 States Senate Committee on Environment and Public 00:00:59.380 --> 00:01:03.100 Works. Frequently called the EPW. The EPW, right. 00:01:03.619 --> 00:01:07.040 Our goal today is to extract the surprising history, 00:01:07.239 --> 00:01:10.340 the structural evolution, and the immense quiet 00:01:10.340 --> 00:01:13.340 authority held by a group of just 19 people. 00:01:13.579 --> 00:01:16.879 19 people. And before we dive into the actual 00:01:16.879 --> 00:01:18.340 mechanics of this committee, I want to establish 00:01:18.340 --> 00:01:20.659 a quick operational ground rule for you. Could 00:01:20.659 --> 00:01:22.879 I do? Because our source material today is a 00:01:22.879 --> 00:01:25.640 detailed look at government infrastructure. It 00:01:25.640 --> 00:01:28.079 inherently lists political figures from major 00:01:28.079 --> 00:01:32.230 parties. So we are keeping this deep dive. strictly 00:01:32.230 --> 00:01:34.989 impartial. We aren't taking any sides. None at 00:01:34.989 --> 00:01:37.590 all. And we absolutely aren't endorsing any political 00:01:37.590 --> 00:01:39.670 viewpoints or policies from either the left -wing 00:01:39.670 --> 00:01:41.810 or right -wing parties. We are simply acting 00:01:41.810 --> 00:01:44.930 as your guides to the factual content, the historical 00:01:44.930 --> 00:01:47.790 timelines, and the institutional structure laid 00:01:47.790 --> 00:01:49.709 out in the original text. Okay, let's unpack 00:01:49.709 --> 00:01:52.530 this. Because when you open up the document detailing 00:01:52.530 --> 00:01:55.629 the EPW committee's jurisdiction, the sheer scale 00:01:55.629 --> 00:01:57.890 of it is genuinely staggering. It really is. 00:01:58.030 --> 00:02:00.569 The specific responsibilities of these 19 senators 00:02:00.569 --> 00:02:03.730 are defined in something called Rule XXV. That's 00:02:03.730 --> 00:02:06.090 of the standing rules of the Senate. Which is 00:02:06.090 --> 00:02:09.210 basically the Senate's internal official rulebook 00:02:09.210 --> 00:02:11.949 for who gets to control what. Exactly. And looking 00:02:11.949 --> 00:02:14.229 at their list of responsibilities, I mean, it 00:02:14.229 --> 00:02:17.189 feels less like a legislative committee and more 00:02:17.189 --> 00:02:20.469 like they are overseeing the physical reality 00:02:20.469 --> 00:02:22.889 of the entire country. What's fascinating here 00:02:22.889 --> 00:02:25.629 is the fundamental juxtaposition baked right 00:02:25.629 --> 00:02:28.219 into their mandate. If you look closely at the 00:02:28.219 --> 00:02:30.860 language in the text, their jurisdiction explicitly 00:02:30.860 --> 00:02:33.419 covers both the natural environment and the built 00:02:33.419 --> 00:02:35.560 environment. Which seems like a massive operational 00:02:35.560 --> 00:02:38.060 friction point. Oh, it is. They aren't just a 00:02:38.060 --> 00:02:40.419 committee looking at untouched wilderness. They 00:02:40.419 --> 00:02:43.659 are actively responsible for how human infrastructure 00:02:43.659 --> 00:02:46.419 collides with that wilderness. They have to oversee 00:02:46.419 --> 00:02:50.379 resource conservation while simultaneously overseeing 00:02:50.379 --> 00:02:53.020 the physical construction of the nation's infrastructure. 00:02:53.629 --> 00:02:55.830 And when you look at the specific policy areas 00:02:55.830 --> 00:02:58.069 listed in the text, you start to see how wild 00:02:58.069 --> 00:03:00.169 that balancing act really is. Like in one line, 00:03:00.250 --> 00:03:02.509 you have them overseeing air and noise pollution. 00:03:02.629 --> 00:03:04.669 Right. But then right next to that, they are 00:03:04.669 --> 00:03:07.110 managing ocean dumping, the environmental aspects 00:03:07.110 --> 00:03:09.449 of outer continental shelf lands and deep water 00:03:09.449 --> 00:03:12.590 ports. Not to mention the handles solid waste 00:03:12.590 --> 00:03:16.509 disposal and recycling. Yes. And then. Casually 00:03:16.509 --> 00:03:19.629 tucked into the middle of this massive list is 00:03:19.629 --> 00:03:22.569 the non -military environmental regulation of 00:03:22.569 --> 00:03:25.030 nuclear energy. Just casually in there. And throw 00:03:25.030 --> 00:03:27.270 in regional economic development just for good 00:03:27.270 --> 00:03:31.009 measure. It's practically a master list of everything 00:03:31.009 --> 00:03:34.030 required to keep a modern civilization from collapsing. 00:03:34.330 --> 00:03:36.370 You really see the weight of that responsibility 00:03:36.370 --> 00:03:38.889 when you look at the agencies they have oversight 00:03:38.889 --> 00:03:43.090 authority over. The text. outlines a roster of 00:03:43.090 --> 00:03:45.370 some of the most consequential institutions in 00:03:45.370 --> 00:03:47.090 the entire federal government. Oh, absolutely. 00:03:47.389 --> 00:03:48.870 You have the Environmental Protection Agency, 00:03:49.150 --> 00:03:52.750 the EPA. You have the U .S. Army Corps of Engineers, 00:03:52.969 --> 00:03:55.909 which manages massive water and civilian infrastructure 00:03:55.909 --> 00:03:58.409 projects across the country. Which means the 00:03:58.409 --> 00:04:00.289 people building the dams and the people protecting 00:04:00.289 --> 00:04:02.949 the rivers report to the exact same room of 19 00:04:02.949 --> 00:04:05.650 senators. Precisely. And the list just keeps 00:04:05.650 --> 00:04:08.330 going. They oversee the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 00:04:08.780 --> 00:04:10.599 They oversee the Tennessee Valley Authority. 00:04:10.860 --> 00:04:13.259 They have authority over the U .S. Fish and Wildlife 00:04:13.259 --> 00:04:16.459 Service. The sheer scale of the budgets, the 00:04:16.459 --> 00:04:19.939 regulatory power, and the geographic reach concentrated 00:04:19.939 --> 00:04:22.980 under this one committee's oversight is difficult 00:04:22.980 --> 00:04:24.959 to overstate. You know, what really stood out 00:04:24.959 --> 00:04:26.620 to me in the source text wasn't just those heavy 00:04:26.620 --> 00:04:28.980 hitters, though. It was... the inclusion of these 00:04:28.980 --> 00:04:32.459 incredibly niche oversight boards. Yeah, that's 00:04:32.459 --> 00:04:34.459 a great detail. It gives you a real sense of 00:04:34.459 --> 00:04:37.519 how thorough their reach is. According to the 00:04:37.519 --> 00:04:39.620 document, they have authority over the Appalachian 00:04:39.620 --> 00:04:42.180 Regional Commission and the Delta Regional Authority. 00:04:42.439 --> 00:04:45.139 Right. Highly specific regional groups. Exactly. 00:04:45.360 --> 00:04:48.579 And they oversee the U .S. Chemical Safety and 00:04:48.579 --> 00:04:51.240 Hazard Investigation Board. They even manage 00:04:51.240 --> 00:04:54.060 the Morris K. Udall and Stuart L. Udall Foundation. 00:04:54.600 --> 00:04:57.129 Which really shows you that whether we are You're 00:04:57.129 --> 00:04:59.529 talking about a massive national nuclear grid 00:04:59.529 --> 00:05:02.209 or a very specific regional development project. 00:05:02.410 --> 00:05:05.529 It all rolls up to this one structural umbrella. 00:05:05.769 --> 00:05:08.209 It is a breathtaking portfolio. But to really 00:05:08.209 --> 00:05:10.990 understand how they accumulated this much jurisdiction, 00:05:11.209 --> 00:05:13.709 you have to look backward. The committee we see 00:05:13.709 --> 00:05:16.110 operating today was definitely not designed overnight. 00:05:16.470 --> 00:05:19.949 It is the result of over two centuries of constant 00:05:19.949 --> 00:05:22.529 adaptation. Here's where it gets really interesting. 00:05:22.750 --> 00:05:25.959 Because the text... provides a timeline of the 00:05:25.959 --> 00:05:28.600 committee's chairs dating all the way back to 00:05:28.600 --> 00:05:31.519 the early 19th century and if you want to see 00:05:31.519 --> 00:05:33.759 what america cared about at any given point in 00:05:33.759 --> 00:05:35.959 history you can just look at what this committee 00:05:35.959 --> 00:05:38.959 called itself the evolution is wild it really 00:05:38.959 --> 00:05:43.660 is in the years 1819 to 1821 there was no mention 00:05:43.660 --> 00:05:46.230 of the environment There was no mention of nuclear 00:05:46.230 --> 00:05:49.589 energy or deep water ports. The text shows it 00:05:49.589 --> 00:05:52.170 was simply called the Senate Committee on Public 00:05:52.170 --> 00:05:54.589 Buildings. It was an entirely different universe 00:05:54.589 --> 00:05:57.589 back then. I mean, in that 1819 era, the committee 00:05:57.589 --> 00:05:59.529 was chaired by Jonathan Roberts, representing 00:05:59.529 --> 00:06:01.949 the Democratic Republican Party. The physical 00:06:01.949 --> 00:06:03.829 footprint of the federal government was incredibly 00:06:03.829 --> 00:06:07.069 small. Their primary literal concern was figuring 00:06:07.069 --> 00:06:09.329 out how to maintain the public buildings in Washington. 00:06:09.449 --> 00:06:11.410 Just sweeping the floors and fixing the roofs. 00:06:11.920 --> 00:06:14.879 Essentially, yes. But as the borders expanded 00:06:14.879 --> 00:06:17.879 and the nation industrialized, the committee's 00:06:17.879 --> 00:06:20.060 mandate had to stretch to cover it. And you can 00:06:20.060 --> 00:06:22.139 track that stretching perfectly through the source 00:06:22.139 --> 00:06:25.600 text. In 1838, the committee reappears under 00:06:25.600 --> 00:06:29.160 a wave of Whig and Democratic chairs. By 1857, 00:06:29.339 --> 00:06:31.959 the scope widened slightly and it became the 00:06:31.959 --> 00:06:34.000 Joint Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds. 00:06:34.139 --> 00:06:36.439 So they went from just the buildings to the land 00:06:36.439 --> 00:06:38.560 around the building. Exactly. It seems like a 00:06:38.560 --> 00:06:41.379 minor tweak, but it represents the slow creep 00:06:41.379 --> 00:06:44.279 of federal jurisdiction. And as you scan through 00:06:44.279 --> 00:06:46.759 the late 19th century records in this document. 00:06:47.389 --> 00:06:50.170 You also get these brilliant little snapshots 00:06:50.170 --> 00:06:53.329 of the chaos of Senate history. Oh, I'm so glad 00:06:53.329 --> 00:06:55.329 you brought that up because there is this fantastic 00:06:55.329 --> 00:06:58.050 historical anomaly listed right in the middle 00:06:58.050 --> 00:06:59.750 of the timeline. I know exactly which one you 00:06:59.750 --> 00:07:02.750 mean. In 1883, the committee was chaired by a 00:07:02.750 --> 00:07:05.860 man named William Mahone. And the text lists 00:07:05.860 --> 00:07:08.639 his party affiliation as a readjuster Republican. 00:07:09.120 --> 00:07:12.519 A readjuster Republican. Yes. It's this highly 00:07:12.519 --> 00:07:15.379 specific, entirely forgotten faction of American 00:07:15.379 --> 00:07:17.819 politics permanently captured in the committee's 00:07:17.819 --> 00:07:20.920 official roster. It's just a great reminder that 00:07:20.920 --> 00:07:23.680 the two -party system we think of today has had 00:07:23.680 --> 00:07:27.040 some very weird dynamic variations over the centuries. 00:07:27.360 --> 00:07:29.759 It is a great historical footprint. Yeah. And 00:07:29.759 --> 00:07:32.620 the text tracks this continuous shifting evolution 00:07:32.620 --> 00:07:35.040 right into the... middle of the 20th century, 00:07:35.180 --> 00:07:37.199 which is where the scope of the committee completely 00:07:37.199 --> 00:07:40.680 explodes. The post -war era. Right. After World 00:07:40.680 --> 00:07:42.860 War II, the nation entered a massive infrastructure 00:07:42.860 --> 00:07:45.410 boom. We were building the interstate highway 00:07:45.410 --> 00:07:48.949 system, massive dams, and modernizing the country 00:07:48.949 --> 00:07:53.069 at an unprecedented rate. So in 1947, the text 00:07:53.069 --> 00:07:54.870 notes the committee shifted from dealing with 00:07:54.870 --> 00:07:57.129 public buildings and grounds to become the Senate 00:07:57.129 --> 00:07:59.610 Committee on Public Works. That's a huge shift 00:07:59.610 --> 00:08:02.990 in tone. It is. The first chair under this new 00:08:02.990 --> 00:08:05.889 muscular title was Chapman Revercombe, a Republican. 00:08:06.329 --> 00:08:08.129 So they weren't just sweeping the floors of public 00:08:08.129 --> 00:08:10.290 buildings anymore. They were actively engineering 00:08:10.290 --> 00:08:12.589 a continent. Exactly. But even that wasn't the 00:08:12.589 --> 00:08:16.269 final form. No, it wasn't. If we connect this 00:08:16.269 --> 00:08:18.569 to the bigger picture, the most critical milestone 00:08:18.569 --> 00:08:22.009 in this entire document occurs on February 4th, 00:08:22.009 --> 00:08:25.930 1977. This is the moment the modern era of the 00:08:25.930 --> 00:08:30.209 committee officially began. 1977. Yes. It succeeded 00:08:30.209 --> 00:08:32.360 the old public works committee. and was formally 00:08:32.360 --> 00:08:35.059 established as the Senate Committee on Environment 00:08:35.059 --> 00:08:37.240 and Public Works. Bringing the two halves together. 00:08:37.480 --> 00:08:40.879 By 1977, you had this undeniable realization 00:08:40.879 --> 00:08:44.080 that you cannot separate the engineering of public 00:08:44.080 --> 00:08:46.919 works... From the health of the natural world. 00:08:47.059 --> 00:08:49.419 Because you can't build a highway without considering 00:08:49.419 --> 00:08:52.120 the runoff. Exactly. Adding the word environment 00:08:52.120 --> 00:08:54.440 to the title wasn't just a cosmetic rebrand. 00:08:54.600 --> 00:08:56.679 It was a fundamental shift in their jurisdiction. 00:08:56.980 --> 00:08:59.080 It forced the committee to balance their own 00:08:59.080 --> 00:09:01.419 conflicting mandates. And the first chair of 00:09:01.419 --> 00:09:03.240 this newly integrated committee was Jennings 00:09:03.240 --> 00:09:05.919 Randolph, a Democrat from West Virginia. It's 00:09:05.919 --> 00:09:08.990 an incredible institutional journey. Going from 00:09:08.990 --> 00:09:10.950 a handful of guys worrying about building maintenance 00:09:10.950 --> 00:09:14.210 in 1819 to a committee holding the ultimate oversight 00:09:14.210 --> 00:09:16.649 authority over the entire American biosphere 00:09:16.649 --> 00:09:19.269 by 1977. It really puts it into perspective. 00:09:19.649 --> 00:09:22.370 Which brings us to the present day. Let's look 00:09:22.370 --> 00:09:24.509 at the current landscape of the committee as 00:09:24.509 --> 00:09:26.950 detailed in the text for the 119th Congress. 00:09:27.509 --> 00:09:29.830 The current makeup of the committee is a direct 00:09:29.830 --> 00:09:32.350 reflection of the incredibly tight margins in 00:09:32.350 --> 00:09:35.370 the contemporary Senate. According to the document, 00:09:35.549 --> 00:09:38.730 the committee is capped at 19 seats. And those 00:09:38.730 --> 00:09:40.870 seats are divided based on the balance of power. 00:09:41.129 --> 00:09:44.169 Currently, 10 seats belong to the majority held 00:09:44.169 --> 00:09:46.889 by the Republicans. The remaining nine seats 00:09:46.889 --> 00:09:49.789 belong to the minority. Now, within that minority 00:09:49.789 --> 00:09:52.970 block, the text specifies that eight are Democrats 00:09:52.970 --> 00:09:55.830 and one is an independent. And this is where 00:09:55.830 --> 00:09:58.309 the text offers another really fascinating historical 00:09:58.309 --> 00:10:00.950 footnote regarding that independent seat. Oh, 00:10:00.990 --> 00:10:03.389 right. The Vermont connection. Yes. Currently, 00:10:03.509 --> 00:10:06.070 the text lists Bernie Sanders as the independent 00:10:06.070 --> 00:10:08.470 on the committee representing Vermont. But it 00:10:08.470 --> 00:10:10.450 explicitly notes that while he is an independent, 00:10:10.690 --> 00:10:12.850 he caucuses with the Democrats for the purposes 00:10:12.850 --> 00:10:15.389 of organizing the committee structure. What's 00:10:15.389 --> 00:10:17.350 wild is that the text points out he isn't the 00:10:17.350 --> 00:10:19.929 first Vermont independent to impact this specific 00:10:19.929 --> 00:10:22.190 committee's math. That's right. The historical 00:10:22.190 --> 00:10:24.610 notes highlight that in the early 2000s, Jim 00:10:24.610 --> 00:10:27.570 Jeffords, another independent from Vermont, served 00:10:27.570 --> 00:10:30.710 on the EPW. And the footnotes specifically explain 00:10:30.710 --> 00:10:32.610 that Jeffords officially crossed the floor of 00:10:32.610 --> 00:10:35.029 the caucus with the Senate Democratic Caucus. 00:10:35.169 --> 00:10:38.490 It is this bizarre, highly specific through line 00:10:38.490 --> 00:10:40.929 of Vermont independence shaping the minority 00:10:40.929 --> 00:10:43.750 numbers on this exact committee decades apart. 00:10:43.990 --> 00:10:45.649 You really do have to wonder what the statistical 00:10:45.649 --> 00:10:48.129 odds of that are. And now looking at who is actually 00:10:48.129 --> 00:10:50.690 running the room in the 119th Congress, which 00:10:50.690 --> 00:10:52.789 the text notes has been in place since January 00:10:52.789 --> 00:10:55.970 3, 2025. The chair of the committee is Shelley 00:10:55.970 --> 00:10:58.049 Moore Capito, a Republican from West Virginia. 00:10:58.090 --> 00:11:00.809 Right. And the ranking member leading the minority 00:11:00.809 --> 00:11:03.330 is Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat from Rhode 00:11:03.330 --> 00:11:05.830 Island. So you have a 19 member committee responsible 00:11:05.830 --> 00:11:08.070 for everything from interstate highway construction 00:11:08.070 --> 00:11:12.889 to nuclear energy regulation guided by two senators 00:11:12.889 --> 00:11:15.309 from regions with vastly different infrastructural 00:11:15.309 --> 00:11:18.019 footprints. So. What does this all mean for how 00:11:18.019 --> 00:11:20.539 they actually function? I mean, with the mandate 00:11:20.539 --> 00:11:22.980 that covers both nuclear reactors and local recycling 00:11:22.980 --> 00:11:26.480 programs, how does a room of 19 people not immediately 00:11:26.480 --> 00:11:28.720 collapse under the sheer volume of the workload? 00:11:28.940 --> 00:11:31.899 That is the million dollar question. They survive 00:11:31.899 --> 00:11:34.860 by carving up the jurisdiction into highly specialized 00:11:34.860 --> 00:11:37.899 subcommittees. Okay. The source text breaks down 00:11:37.899 --> 00:11:40.179 the four specific subcommittees operating in 00:11:40.179 --> 00:11:43.639 the 119th Congress. Each one has its own chair 00:11:43.639 --> 00:11:46.379 from the majority and ranking member from the 00:11:46.379 --> 00:11:49.899 minority to manage a specific slice of that massive 00:11:49.899 --> 00:11:53.580 Rule XXV pie. Looking at how they group these 00:11:53.580 --> 00:11:55.980 responsibilities together is honestly just as 00:11:55.980 --> 00:11:57.960 revealing as the topics themselves. Absolutely. 00:11:58.570 --> 00:12:00.389 Let's look at them. First, you have the Subcommittee 00:12:00.389 --> 00:12:03.450 on Transportation and Infrastructure. The chair 00:12:03.450 --> 00:12:05.750 is Kevin Cramer, a Republican from North Dakota. 00:12:05.970 --> 00:12:08.570 And the ranking member is Angela Alsobrooks, 00:12:08.570 --> 00:12:11.230 a Democrat from Maryland. That is the traditional 00:12:11.230 --> 00:12:12.889 public works side of the House. They are the 00:12:12.889 --> 00:12:14.950 ones looking at the physical highways, the bridges, 00:12:15.029 --> 00:12:17.149 the concrete. Right. But then look at the second 00:12:17.149 --> 00:12:19.870 one, the Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate, 00:12:20.049 --> 00:12:22.909 and Nuclear Innovation and Safety. Chaired by 00:12:22.909 --> 00:12:26.210 Cynthia Loomis, a Republican from Wyoming, with 00:12:26.210 --> 00:12:29.090 Mark Kelly, a Democrat from Arizona, as ranking 00:12:29.090 --> 00:12:31.649 member. Putting clean air and nuclear safety 00:12:31.649 --> 00:12:34.350 in the same room makes total operational sense 00:12:34.350 --> 00:12:36.210 when you consider they are both fundamentally 00:12:36.210 --> 00:12:38.750 about energy production and emissions. Exactly. 00:12:38.850 --> 00:12:41.309 It groups the existential energy questions together. 00:12:41.720 --> 00:12:43.960 Then the third subcommittee really illustrates 00:12:43.960 --> 00:12:46.559 how intertwined these issues are at the local 00:12:46.559 --> 00:12:48.840 level. Right. It's the Subcommittee on Chemical 00:12:48.840 --> 00:12:51.519 Safety, Waste Management, Environmental Justice, 00:12:51.840 --> 00:12:55.100 and Regulatory Oversight. The chair is John Curtis, 00:12:55.279 --> 00:12:57.399 Republican from Utah, and the ranking member 00:12:57.399 --> 00:12:59.919 is Jeff Merkley, Democrat from Oregon. That is 00:12:59.919 --> 00:13:02.740 a massive portfolio. It is. This is the group 00:13:02.740 --> 00:13:05.470 overseeing the solid waste disposal. the recycling 00:13:05.470 --> 00:13:08.090 programs, and the toxic substances. Grouping 00:13:08.090 --> 00:13:10.470 waste management and environmental justice together 00:13:10.470 --> 00:13:13.250 shows a structural acknowledgement of how industrial 00:13:13.250 --> 00:13:15.730 byproducts impact local communities. They are 00:13:15.730 --> 00:13:17.490 also the ones keeping an eye on agencies like 00:13:17.490 --> 00:13:18.990 the Chemical Safety Board we mentioned earlier. 00:13:19.330 --> 00:13:22.009 Exactly. And finally, you have the fourth subcommittee, 00:13:22.210 --> 00:13:25.450 Fisheries, Wildlife, and Water. The ranking member 00:13:25.450 --> 00:13:29.090 is Adam Schiff, a Democrat from California. Which, 00:13:29.129 --> 00:13:31.210 incidentally, is where we found a brilliant little 00:13:31.210 --> 00:13:34.690 Easter egg in the Wikipedia source material itself. 00:13:35.070 --> 00:13:38.490 The crowdsourced typo. Yes. If you look closely 00:13:38.490 --> 00:13:40.690 at the table detailing the subcommittees for 00:13:40.690 --> 00:13:44.149 the 119th Congress, it lists Pete Ricketts as 00:13:44.149 --> 00:13:46.610 the chair of the Fisheries, Wildlife, and Water 00:13:46.610 --> 00:13:49.610 Subcommittee. But right next to his name, his 00:13:49.610 --> 00:13:54.009 affiliation is listed as RWY. meaning Republican 00:13:54.009 --> 00:13:56.509 from Wyoming. Right. But if you just scroll up 00:13:56.509 --> 00:13:58.730 to the main member roster at the very top of 00:13:58.730 --> 00:14:01.649 the page, Pete Ricketts is correctly listed as 00:14:01.649 --> 00:14:04.370 representing the state of Nebraska. It's a classic 00:14:04.370 --> 00:14:06.690 artifact of how these modern information repositories 00:14:06.690 --> 00:14:08.929 are built. Someone was probably copying over 00:14:08.929 --> 00:14:11.009 the formatting from Cynthia Loomis, who actually 00:14:11.009 --> 00:14:12.809 is the Republican from Wyoming on the committee, 00:14:12.909 --> 00:14:15.269 and just missed a keystroke. It just proves that 00:14:15.269 --> 00:14:17.370 behind every imposing institutional document, 00:14:17.590 --> 00:14:20.169 there is a tired human being typing on a keyboard. 00:14:20.350 --> 00:14:22.610 Without a doubt. But... Typos aside, looking 00:14:22.610 --> 00:14:24.509 at the leadership across these subcommittees 00:14:24.509 --> 00:14:27.230 and the main committee itself, the text gives 00:14:27.230 --> 00:14:29.690 us a really clear picture of how institutional 00:14:29.690 --> 00:14:32.549 power shifts over time. This raises an important 00:14:32.549 --> 00:14:34.769 question about the pendulum of power in the Senate. 00:14:35.129 --> 00:14:37.909 How does a committee maintain any sort of institutional 00:14:37.909 --> 00:14:40.720 memory when the bosses keep changing? Right. 00:14:40.799 --> 00:14:43.340 The source material provides historical rosters 00:14:43.340 --> 00:14:45.799 going back several recent congresses from the 00:14:45.799 --> 00:14:49.179 114th up to the current 119th. And by tracing 00:14:49.179 --> 00:14:51.659 who holds the gavel, you can see this constant 00:14:51.659 --> 00:14:54.240 structural rotation of authority. Let's trace 00:14:54.240 --> 00:14:56.100 that rotation because it really highlights the 00:14:56.100 --> 00:14:58.399 rhythm of the Senate. If we look back at the 00:14:58.399 --> 00:15:00.679 114th Congress, the text shows the committee 00:15:00.679 --> 00:15:03.159 was chaired by Jim Inhofe, a Republican from 00:15:03.159 --> 00:15:07.440 Oklahoma. Moving to the 115th and 116th Congresses, 00:15:07.440 --> 00:15:09.879 the chairmanship transitioned to John Barrasso 00:15:09.879 --> 00:15:12.559 from Wyoming, while Tom Carper from Delaware 00:15:12.559 --> 00:15:14.360 served as the ranking member for the minority. 00:15:14.620 --> 00:15:16.820 Then the electoral math changes and the pendulum 00:15:16.820 --> 00:15:20.779 swings. In the 117th and 118th Congresses, the 00:15:20.779 --> 00:15:23.500 Democrats held the majority. So Tom Carper stepped 00:15:23.500 --> 00:15:25.759 up to take over as the chair of the committee. 00:15:25.940 --> 00:15:27.720 And during those years, Shelley Moore Capito 00:15:27.720 --> 00:15:31.539 served as his ranking member. Exactly. And that 00:15:31.539 --> 00:15:34.460 brings us right back to the current 119th Congress, 00:15:34.600 --> 00:15:37.919 where the power has flipped once again. The Republicans 00:15:37.919 --> 00:15:40.480 hold the majority, and Shelley Moore Capito has 00:15:40.480 --> 00:15:42.919 stepped up from ranking member to take the chair 00:15:42.919 --> 00:15:46.139 position. It is this constant dance of authority 00:15:46.139 --> 00:15:49.000 dictated entirely by the electoral balance of 00:15:49.000 --> 00:15:51.340 the Senate. And it isn't just the physical gavels 00:15:51.340 --> 00:15:54.080 that change hands. The very language the committee 00:15:54.080 --> 00:15:57.419 uses to define itself changes to reflect new 00:15:57.419 --> 00:16:00.259 priorities. Oh, the name shift. Right. There 00:16:00.259 --> 00:16:02.700 is a subtle but highly significant detail in 00:16:02.700 --> 00:16:04.559 the text regarding the names of the subcommittees 00:16:04.559 --> 00:16:07.159 themselves. If you look at the historical roster 00:16:07.159 --> 00:16:09.700 for the previous session, the 118th Congress, 00:16:10.039 --> 00:16:12.740 the subcommittee handling nuclear issues was 00:16:12.740 --> 00:16:15.460 simply called Clean Air, Climate, and Nuclear 00:16:15.460 --> 00:16:18.080 Safety. But if you look at the current 119th 00:16:18.080 --> 00:16:20.980 Congress roster, they deliberately added a word 00:16:20.980 --> 00:16:23.559 to that title. It is now the Subcommittee on 00:16:23.559 --> 00:16:26.179 Clean Air, Climate, and Nuclear Innovation and 00:16:26.179 --> 00:16:28.179 Safety. The addition of the word innovation is 00:16:28.179 --> 00:16:30.460 absolutely not an accident. When committee priorities 00:16:30.460 --> 00:16:33.440 shift, they rewrite the structural titles to 00:16:33.440 --> 00:16:35.700 signal a change in focus to the agencies they 00:16:35.700 --> 00:16:38.639 oversee. Adding innovation implies a mandate 00:16:38.639 --> 00:16:41.320 to not just regulate nuclear technology for safety, 00:16:41.500 --> 00:16:44.960 but to actively oversee and perhaps encourage 00:16:44.960 --> 00:16:48.159 its advancement and development. It is a prime 00:16:48.159 --> 00:16:50.860 example of how a single word in the fine print 00:16:50.860 --> 00:16:53.500 of committee rules dictates real world policy 00:16:53.500 --> 00:16:56.000 focus and potentially billions of dollars of 00:16:56.000 --> 00:16:58.500 attention. It really is. It is incredible how 00:16:58.500 --> 00:17:00.340 much you can learn about the mechanics of our 00:17:00.340 --> 00:17:02.779 government just by reading the fine print of 00:17:02.779 --> 00:17:05.789 a structural table. We have gone on quite a journey 00:17:05.789 --> 00:17:08.029 today through this text. We certainly have. We've 00:17:08.029 --> 00:17:10.390 seen how a small group of 19th century senators 00:17:10.390 --> 00:17:13.230 whose biggest concern was the physical upkeep 00:17:13.230 --> 00:17:15.470 of some public buildings in Washington, D .C., 00:17:15.470 --> 00:17:18.630 evolved. We tracked them navigating through Whigs, 00:17:18.730 --> 00:17:22.049 Democrats, and a readjuster Republican surviving 00:17:22.049 --> 00:17:25.190 world wars and industrial booms. And ultimately, 00:17:25.250 --> 00:17:28.309 we saw them structurally adapt in 1977 to become 00:17:28.309 --> 00:17:30.150 the Modern Committee on Environment and Public 00:17:30.150 --> 00:17:33.029 Works. Managing the health of the entire American 00:17:33.029 --> 00:17:36.079 biosphere. the safety of the nuclear grid, and 00:17:36.079 --> 00:17:38.039 the construction of the nation's highway systems 00:17:38.039 --> 00:17:40.680 all from one room. They are tasked with the almost 00:17:40.680 --> 00:17:43.680 impossible job of balancing the need to build 00:17:43.680 --> 00:17:45.819 the nation's infrastructure while simultaneously 00:17:45.819 --> 00:17:48.420 protecting the natural environment it sits on 00:17:48.420 --> 00:17:50.799 top of. So the next time you are driving across 00:17:50.799 --> 00:17:53.740 a newly paved bridge, or dragging your recycling 00:17:53.740 --> 00:17:56.640 bin to the curb on a Tuesday night, or reading 00:17:56.640 --> 00:17:59.779 a headline about ocean dumping, I want you to 00:17:59.779 --> 00:18:02.119 remember this deep dive. Remember that there 00:18:02.119 --> 00:18:05.019 isn't just some vague, faceless concept of the 00:18:05.019 --> 00:18:07.240 government handling it. Right. There is a very 00:18:07.240 --> 00:18:10.420 specific room, specifically room 304 in the Dirksen 00:18:10.420 --> 00:18:12.480 Senate office building, according to our source 00:18:12.480 --> 00:18:16.119 text, where exactly 19 senators hold the ultimate 00:18:16.119 --> 00:18:18.900 oversight authority over all of it. The physical 00:18:18.900 --> 00:18:21.400 and environmental reality you interact with every 00:18:21.400 --> 00:18:24.099 single day is deeply connected to the structural 00:18:24.099 --> 00:18:26.559 decisions made by this one specific committee. 00:18:26.990 --> 00:18:29.750 And that leaves us with a provocative final thought 00:18:29.750 --> 00:18:33.089 for you to ponder on your own. We saw how the 00:18:33.089 --> 00:18:35.190 committee had to dramatically adapt its title 00:18:35.190 --> 00:18:38.289 and scope in 1947 to handle public works, and 00:18:38.289 --> 00:18:41.410 then again in 1977 to explicitly include the 00:18:41.410 --> 00:18:43.529 environment as our understanding of the world 00:18:43.529 --> 00:18:46.490 modernized. That's right. Given the massive leaps 00:18:46.490 --> 00:18:48.789 in technology we are seeing today, what might 00:18:48.789 --> 00:18:52.450 rule XXV force this committee to oversee 50 years 00:18:52.450 --> 00:18:55.150 from now? With their current jurisdiction explicitly 00:18:55.150 --> 00:18:57.630 covering air pollution and solid waste disposal, 00:18:57.950 --> 00:19:00.150 could we eventually see a subcommittee dedicated 00:19:00.150 --> 00:19:03.269 entirely to atmospheric geoengineering? Or even 00:19:03.269 --> 00:19:05.750 beyond that. Yeah. As orbital debris becomes 00:19:05.750 --> 00:19:07.990 a pressing infrastructural issue, could this 00:19:07.990 --> 00:19:10.130 exact committee be forced to expand its jurisdiction 00:19:10.130 --> 00:19:12.309 to handle extraterrestrial waste management? 00:19:12.690 --> 00:19:15.009 The scaffolding of the future has to be built 00:19:15.009 --> 00:19:17.190 by someone. Thanks for joining us on this deep 00:19:17.190 --> 00:19:17.430 dive.