Environment & Energy Congressional Round-Up | October 23 - October 27, 2023

Highlights:

Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) reintroduced the Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act (H.R.6053/S.3127). The most comprehensive of its kind ever introduced, the bill would reduce plastic production, amp up and standardize recycling efforts, and protect frontline communities from emissions from plastics production. EESI’s recent article, Reducing Plastic from Production to Pollution: A California Nonprofit’s Vision for a Plastic Free Future for All, spotlights Plastic Free Future’s efforts to curb the disproportionate impacts of plastic pollution. 

The Fixing Gaps in Hurricane Preparedness Act (H.R.6080), introduced by Reps. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) and Daniel Webster (R-Fla.), will improve the public’s understanding and response to hurricane forecasts. Meanwhile, the bipartisan Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthorization Act of 2023 (H.R.6093), introduced by Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.), will strengthen the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s capacity to forecast extreme weather. 

The House passed the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2024 (H.R.4394) with a 210-199 vote. Introduced by Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.), H.R.4394 is the fifth of twelve appropriations bills that must be passed to avoid a government shutdown in November.

Reps. Jennifer McClellan (D-Va.) and Jennifer Kiggans (R-Va.) introduced the Department of Defense PFAS Discharge Prevention Act (H.R.6095). The bipartisan bill aims to protect military personnel and families living in and around military facilities from harmful and historic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination by accelerating environmental remediation projects.

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