Environment & Energy Congressional Round-Up | September 23 - September 27, 2024

Highlights:

The House passed the Innovative Mitigation Partnerships for Asphalt and Concrete Technologies (IMPACT) Act (H.R.7685). Reps. Max Miller (R-Ohio) and Valerie Foushee (D-N.C.) introduced the bill to accelerate research and development within the U.S. Department of Energy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cement, concrete, and asphalt production. Check out EESI’s explainer on how these embodied emissions come to be and how policies can boost climate mitigation within the building materials industry. 

The Senate passed the Wildlife Innovation and Longevity Driver Reauthorization (WILD) Act (S.2395/H.R.5009), led by Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), and Reps. David Joyce (R-Ohio) and Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.). The bill would reauthorize U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service programs that carry out wildlife and habitat conservation in all 50 U.S. states. The bill, which originated in the House, will return there for a vote following changes made by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. 

The House passed the Coastal Habitat Conservation Act of 2023 (H.R.2950). Reps. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) and Jenniffer González-Colón (R-P.R.) lead the bill, which reauthorizes federal programming to bolster the health of coastal habitats through 2028. The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works passed its companion bill (S.1381) in July. 

The Senate passed the Rural Broadband Protection Act of 2024 (S.275) to ensure that federal funding for expanding broadband internet connectivity is more intentionally and precisely funneled to historically underserved rural communities. Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) introduced the original bill, which the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation then advanced with  unanimous consent.

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