Environment & Energy Congressional Round-Up | March 27-31, 2023

Highlights:

The Lower Energy Costs Act (H.R.1) passed the House. The bill is designed to expedite energy importation, exportation, and development. It would waive or limit certain environmental review requirements, eliminate certain import and export restrictions on oil and gas, and eliminate the greenhouse gas reduction fund and building energy efficiency improvement fund.

The Agriculture Resilience Act was reintroduced in the Senate (S.1016) and in the House (H.R.1840). The act would outline farm solutions to help the U.S. agricultural industry reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040. EESI’s Agriculture and Climate series covers sustainable and climate-friendly agricultural practices. 

The Senate Committee on the Budget held a fifth hearing in its series of hearings covering the impacts of climate change. The hearing focused on the costs of oil dependence in a world transitioning toward a low-carbon future. EESI’s fact sheet on the climate, environmental, and health impacts of fossil fuels provides a deep dive into the costs of these fuels.

The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry’s Subcommittee on Conservation, Climate, Forestry, and Natural Resources held a hearing on the importance of forestry in the 2023 Farm Bill. EESI’s resources for the 2023 Farm Bill, including our farm bill hearing tracking, can be found here.

 

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