Environment & Energy Congressional Round-Up | September 9 - September 13, 2024

Highlights:

The House Natural Resources Committee advanced the Coastal Habitat Conservation Act of 2023 (H.R.2950) to the House floor. Reps. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries, and Jenniffer González-Colón (R-P.R.) lead the bill, which reauthorizes federal programming to bolster the health and resilience of coastal habitats. The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works passed its companion bill (S.1381) in July. 

The House Natural Resources Committee passed the Fix Our Forests Act (H.R.8790) to increase wildfire resilience of federally managed forests, among other initiatives. Introduced by Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) and Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.), the bill will progress to the House floor for a vote. 

Sens. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kansas) and Reps. Brittany Pettersen (D-Colo.) and Juan Ciscomani (R-Ariz.) introduced the Water Project Navigators Act (S.4995/H.R.9506) to connect drought-impacted communities with federal resources to boost resilience and recovery. 

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), alongside Democratic cosponsors, introduced the American Energy Worker Opportunity Act (S.5034/H.R.9557). The bill would establish a workforce transition program to provide wage replacement, healthcare, education, and training benefits to fossil fuel workers impacted by the clean energy transition. For a closer look at the clean energy jobs picking up steam across the United States, check out EESI’s latest edition of the Climate Jobs Fact Sheet. 

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