Environment & Energy Congressional Round-Up | March 11 - March 15, 2024

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March 20, 2024

Highlights:

The Save Our Seas 2.0 Amendments Act (H.R.886/S.318) passed the House. The bipartisan bill, reintroduced by Reps. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.) and Jenniffer González-Colón (R-P.R.) in the House and by Sens. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) in the Senate, will make it easier for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to prevent and reduce marine debris. The Senate passed its version of the bill in December 2023. 

Two bipartisan recycling and composting bills, both introduced by Sens. Shelly Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), and John Boozman (R-Ark.), passed the Senate last week. 

  • The Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Act of 2023 (S.1189/H.R.6159) would establish a pilot program to expand access to recycling services in rural and underserved areas. Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) and Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) introduced the House version of the bill in November 2023.
  • The Recycling and Composting Accountability Act (S.1194/H.R.4040) would improve national recycling data collection and reporting and identify composting infrastructure hurdles. Reps. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.), Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), and Bill Foster (D-Ill.) introduced the bill in the House in June 2023. 

The America's Conservation Enhancement Reauthorization Act of 2024 (S.3791) passed the Committee on Environment and Public Works and is scheduled for a vote by the full Senate. Introduced by Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), the bipartisan bill would bolster national efforts to protect wildlife, waters, and natural lands by reauthorizing the America’s Conservation Enhancement Act. EESI’s briefing, Building a Durable National Framework for Large Landscape Conservation, emphasizes the importance of collaboration between states, the federal government, and tribes to achieve conservation goals—a key component of the bill.

 

To catch up on all of the recent environmental and energy legislation in Congress, read the PDF here.