Environment & Energy Congressional Round-Up | September 25 - September 29, 2023

Highlights:

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) introduced the Climate Resilience Workforce Act (H.R.5760) to create climate resilience jobs through grants to states, local and tribal governments, labor organizations, and nonprofits. 

Lawmakers in both the House and Senate introduced the Green New Deal for Public Schools Act (H.R.5784/S.2988). The bill, brought by Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) and Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), invests $1.6 trillion over ten years to bolster climate resilience in U.S. public schools, curtail hazardous pollution, and create 1.3 million jobs. Watch EESI’s congressional briefing, Catalyzing Climate Action in K-12 Schools, to learn how U.S. public schools can be a catalyst for both climate mitigation and adaptation. 

Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) introduced the America’s Revegetation and Carbon Sequestration Act (S.2991). The bill aims to both mitigate wildfire risk and increase carbon sequestration by creating forest thinning and reforestation projects. EESI’s congressional briefing, The Future of Forestry in the Farm Bill, highlights other opportunities for advancing mitigation and resilience practices in forestry. 

Reps. Teresa Leger-Fernandez (D-N.M.), David Valadao (R-Calif.), and Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) introduced the Support Water-Efficient Strategies and Technologies Act (WEST) Act (H.R.5764). The bipartisan bill aims to increase payments under Environmental Quality Incentives Programs (EQIP) for farmers to undertake drought-resilient and water-smart practices.

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