AMERICAN UNIVERSITY WASHINGTON COLLEGE OF LAW
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW SUMMER SESSION 2015
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW & THE U.S. CONGRESS
Tuesday, May 26 to Friday, May 29, 2:00p to 5:00p
PROFESSOR LAUREL ANGELL
LDANGELL17@GMAIL.COM
Environmental Law and the US Congress Class:
This course will introduce the processes and practice relating to the enactment of federal
environmental laws and oversight of environmental matters in the US Congress. We will
initially focus on the basics of how a bill becomes a law; we will examine the rules,
procedures and operations of the U.S. Congress, including the separation of powers, the
role of committees, the authorization and appropriations process as well as the critical role
that Congress has in conducting oversight – and how all of this shapes environmental law
and policy. We will then use case studies to explore how Congress “really” works, and
consider the variety of factors that influence the legislative process – including
partisanship, lobbyists, the courts, the executive branch and yes, politics. We will also
discuss how congressional staff navigate, negotiate, and make decisions that impact
environmental legislation. In the process, we will touch on some of the cornerstone
environmental laws, such as the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Air Act, or
the laws that govern the federal lands, among others, and we will examine how Congress
continues to affect these laws, and battle to either expand or limit them – depending on
one’s perspective.
In keeping with the rapidly changing priorities, and attention span, of Congress, this class
will examine what is currently before Congress, which may include: energy, agriculture or
even transportation legislation – all of which impact our environmental policies and laws.
Please note though that the class will focus mainly on natural resources issues and
laws, however your final assignment can be related to other environmental areas.
This class will offer students a unique chance to gain insight into how Congress really
works and will also include discussion of the various roles of congressional staff and how to
apply your law degree “on the Hill.” If time and congressional schedule allow, this class
MAY include a field trip to the Congress.
This is a 1 credit course. Your grade will be determined based upon class
attendance, daily postings of news articles, class participation and a final 6 to 8 page
written take-home assignment.
About the Professor
Ms. Angell currently serves as Executive Director of the Western Energy Project, a group
established to bring a campaign style approach to ensuring responsible energy
development on western public lands. Before that, Ms. Angell worked for six years in the
U.S. Congress, most recently as Senior Counsel and Environmental Advisor to
Representative Diana DeGette from Colorado. She served over five years as Legislative
Staff to the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands within the U.S.
House Committee on Natural Resources working primarily on federal public lands
legislation; she has also served as Policy Advisor to the Full Committee. Ms. Angell came to
the environmental field quite naturally, having grown up in Yosemite National Park. She
has worked in a range of jobs that inform and affect different aspects of environmental law
and policy, including in the National Park Service at Grand Canyon and Shenandoah
National Parks, for Senator Cantwell of Washington in the U.S. Senate, and with Defenders
of Wildlife, a non-profit environmental advocacy group. Ms. Angell also has international
environmental experience as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the marine national parks of the
Seychelles Islands, and in the International Development Program at The Carter Center in
Atlanta, Goergia. Ms. Angell received her B.A. from Mount Holyoke College and her J.D. and
M.S.E.L from Vermont Law School. She happily now resides in Bozeman, Montana.