America's Clean Future Fund Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 685 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to establish a carbon fee to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 10, 2021 Mr. DURBIN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to establish a carbon fee to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘America’s Clean Fu- 4 ture Fund Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. CLIMATE CHANGE FINANCE CORPORATION. 6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the 8 executive branch an independent agency, to be 9 known as the ‘‘Climate Change Finance Corpora- 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Apr 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S685.IS S685 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 685 IS tion’’ (referred to in this section as the ‘‘C2FC’’), 1 which shall finance clean energy and climate change 2 resiliency activities in accordance with this section. 3 (2) MISSION.— 4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The mission of the 5 C2FC is to combat and reduce the effects of cli- 6 mate change by building resilience among com- 7 munities facing harmful impacts of climate 8 change and supporting a dramatic reduction in 9 greenhouse gas emissions— 10 (i) through the deployment of clean 11 and renewable technology, resilient infra- 12 structure, research and development, the 13 commercialization of new technology, clean 14 energy manufacturing, and industrial 15 decarbonization; and 16 (ii) to meet the goals of— 17 (I) by 2030, a net reduction of 18 greenhouse gas emissions by 45 per- 19 cent, based on 2018 levels; and 20 (II) by 2050, a net reduction of 21 greenhouse gas emissions by 100 per- 22 cent, based on 2018 levels. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Apr 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S685.IS S685 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 685 IS (B) ACTIVITIES.—The C2FC shall carry 1 out the mission described in subparagraph (A) 2 by— 3 (i) financing investments in clean en- 4 ergy and transportation, resiliency, and in- 5 frastructure; 6 (ii) using Federal investment to en- 7 courage the infusion of private capital and 8 investment into the clean energy and resil- 9 ient infrastructure sectors, while creating 10 new workforce opportunities; and 11 (iii) providing financing in cases 12 where private capital cannot be leveraged, 13 while minimizing competition with private 14 investment. 15 (3) EXERCISE OF POWERS.—Except as other- 16 wise provided expressly by law, all Federal laws deal- 17 ing with public or Federal contracts, property, 18 works, officers, employees, budgets, or funds, includ- 19 ing the provisions of chapters 5 and 7 of title 5, 20 United States Code, shall apply to the exercise of 21 the powers of the C2FC. 22 (b) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.— 23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The management of the 24 C2FC shall be vested in a Board of Directors (re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Apr 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S685.IS S685 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 685 IS ferred to in this section as the ‘‘Board’’) consisting 1 of 7 members, who shall be appointed by the Presi- 2 dent, by and with the advice and consent of the Sen- 3 ate. 4 (2) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.— 5 (A) IN GENERAL.—A Chairperson and 6 Vice Chairperson of the Board shall be ap- 7 pointed by the President, by and with the ad- 8 vice and consent of the Senate, from among the 9 individuals appointed to the Board under para- 10 graph (1). 11 (B) TERM.—An individual— 12 (i) shall serve as Chairperson or Vice 13 Chairperson of the Board for a 3-year 14 term; and 15 (ii) may be renominated for the posi- 16 tion until the term of that individual on 17 the Board under paragraph (3)(C) expires. 18 (3) BOARD MEMBERS.— 19 (A) CITIZENSHIP REQUIRED.—Each mem- 20 ber of the Board shall be an individual who is 21 a citizen of the United States. 22 (B) REPRESENTATION.—The members of 23 the Board shall fairly represent agricultural, 24 educational, research, industrial, nongovern- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Apr 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S685.IS S685 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 685 IS mental, labor, and commercial interests 1 throughout the United States. 2 (C) TERM.— 3 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise 4 provided in this section, each member of 5 the Board— 6 (I) shall be appointed for a term 7 of 6 years; and 8 (II) may be reappointed for 1 ad- 9 ditional term. 10 (ii) INITIAL STAGGERED TERMS.—Of 11 the members first appointed to the 12 Board— 13 (I) 2 shall each be appointed for 14 a term of 2 years; 15 (II) 3 shall each be appointed for 16 a term of 4 years; and 17 (III) 2 shall each be appointed 18 for a term of 6 years. 19 (4) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 30 days 20 after the date on which all members of the Board 21 are appointed under paragraph (1), the Board shall 22 hold an initial meeting. 23 (c) WORKING GROUPS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Apr 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S685.IS S685 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 685 IS (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall create, 1 oversee, and incorporate feedback from the following 2 working groups (each referred to in this section as 3 a ‘‘working group’’): 4 (A) An environmental justice working 5 group. 6 (B) A worker and community transition 7 assistance working group. 8 (C) A research and innovation working 9 group. 10 (2) WORKING GROUP MEMBERS.— 11 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each working group 12 shall— 13 (i) be chaired by a Board member; 14 and 15 (ii) comprise not less than 10 and not 16 more than 20 individuals, who shall be ex- 17 perts, members of directly impacted com- 18 munities relating to the subject matter of 19 the working group, and other relevant 20 stakeholders. 21 (B) DIVERSITY.—Individuals on a working 22 group shall, to the maximum extent practicable, 23 represent— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Apr 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S685.IS S685 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 685 IS (i) a diverse array of interests related 1 to the subject matter of the working group; 2 and 3 (ii) diverse geographical, racial, reli- 4 gious, gender, educational, age, disability, 5 and socioeconomic backgrounds. 6 (3) MEETINGS.—Each working group shall 7 meet not less than 2 times per year. 8 (4) COMMUNITY AND STAKEHOLDER ENGAGE- 9 MENT.— 10 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each working group 11 shall create and engage in meaningful commu- 12 nity and stakeholder involvement opportunities, 13 including through regular community engage- 14 ment activities, for purposes of— 15 (i) maintaining up-to-date situational 16 awareness about the needs of relevant com- 17 munities and stakeholders; 18 (ii) using the feedback obtained 19 through those opportunities to inform the 20 advice of the working group to the Board; 21 and 22 (iii) providing a mechanism for direct 23 and substantial community feedback relat- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Apr 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S685.IS S685 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 685 IS ing to the investment plan and the funding 1 decisions of the C2FC. 2 (B) PUBLIC AWARENESS.—Each working 3 group shall inform the public about C2FC in- 4 vestment by engaging in public awareness cam- 5 paigns, which shall target relevant communities 6 through electronic media, newspapers, radio, di- 7 rect mailings, canvassing, or other outreach 8 methods suited for the relevant community. 9 (C) BROAD PARTICIPATION.—In carrying 10 out subparagraph (A), each working group 11 shall, to the maximum extent practicable, maxi- 12 mize participation from a broad group of stake- 13 holders, including by holding multiple meetings 14 with significant advance notice and holding 15 meetings at different times and in multiple lan- 16 guages. 17 (5) TASKS.—Each working group shall, as it re- 18 lates to the subject matter of the working group— 19 (A) advise and provide general input to the 20 Board regarding loans and grants provided by 21 the C2FC; and 22 (B) consult with and, based on the activi- 23 ties described in paragraph (4), provide rec- 24 ommendations to, the Board in the development 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Apr 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S685.IS S685 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 685 IS of and updates to the investment plan of the 1 C2FC. 2 (d) INVESTMENT PLAN.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board, in consultation 4 with each working group described in subsection 5 (c)(1), shall develop an investment plan (referred to 6 in this subsection as the ‘‘investment plan’’) for the 7 C2FC in accordance with this subsection. 8 (2) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the invest- 9 ment plan are— 10 (A) to ensure that investments made by 11 the C2FC— 12 (i) are equitable and reach the 13 prioritized communities described in sub- 14 section (e)(2); 15 (ii) are effective at progressing to- 16 wards the goals described in subsection 17 (a)(2)(A)(ii); 18 (iii) support the advancement of re- 19 search in clean technologies and resilience; 20 and 21 (iv) are transparent to the public; and 22 (B) to provide methods and standards by 23 which the Board and the working groups de- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Apr 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S685.IS S685 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 685 IS scribed in subsection (c)(1) shall choose 1 projects in which to invest. 2 (3) DISTRIBUTION OF GRANT FUNDS.—The ini- 3 tial investment plan shall require that, of the total 4 amount of grant funds provided under subsection 5 (e)(3)(A) each year, not less than 40 percent shall 6 be used to benefit communities described in sub- 7 section (e)(2)(A). 8 (4) INVESTMENT PLAN UPDATES.— 9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Board, in con- 10 sultation with each working group described in 11 subsection (c)(1), shall update the investment 12 plan not later than December 31, 2023, and 13 every 4 years thereafter, including by taking 14 into account— 15 (i) the current needs of the prioritized 16 communities described in subsection (e)(2); 17 (ii) the effectiveness of the previous 18 investment plan in addressing the needs of 19 those communities; 20 (iii) the current state of relevant re- 21 search and technology; 22 (iv) the resiliency needs of local com- 23 munities; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Apr 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S685.IS S685 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 685 IS (v) the goals described in subsection 1 (a)(2)(A)(ii); and 2 (vi) the 2 most recent program re- 3 views conducted under subsection (f). 4 (B) EFFECTIVENESS.—An investment plan 5 shall remain in effect until the date on which 6 the Board approves an updated investment 7 plan. 8 (C) PUBLIC INPUT.—In updating the in- 9 vestment plan, the Board and the working 10 groups described in subsection (c)(1) shall— 11 (i) engage stakeholders and the public 12 in a public comment and feedback process; 13 and 14 (ii) ensure that the prioritized commu- 15 nities described in subsection (e)(2) have 16 access to participate in that process. 17 (5) PUBLIC UPDATES.—The Board shall make 18 publicly available on a quarterly basis information 19 relating to the expenditure of funds under the in- 20 vestment plan. 21 (e) INVESTMENT TOOLS.— 22 (1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 23 (A) COMMUNITY OF COLOR.—The term 24 ‘‘community of color’’ means a geographically 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Apr 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S685.IS S685 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 685 IS distinct area in which the population of any of 1 the following categories of individuals is higher 2 than the average population of that category for 3 the State in which the community is located: 4 (i) Black. 5 (ii) African American. 6 (iii) Asian. 7 (iv) Pacific Islander. 8 (v) Other non-White race. 9 (vi) Hispanic. 10 (vii) Latino. 11 (viii) Linguistically isolated. 12 (B) ELIGIBLE BORROWER.—The term ‘‘eli- 13 gible borrower’’ means any person, including a 14 business owner or project developer, that seeks 15 a loan to carry out approved practices or 16 projects described in subparagraph (A)(i) of 17 paragraph (3) from an eligible lender that may 18 receive a loan guarantee under that paragraph 19 for that loan, according to criteria determined 20 by the C2FC. 21 (C) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible 22 entity’’ means— 23 (i) a State; 24 (ii) an Indian Tribe; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Apr 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S685.IS S685 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 685 IS (iii) a unit of local government; and 1 (iv) a research and development insti- 2 tution (including a National Laboratory). 3 (D) ELIGIBLE LENDER.—The term ‘‘eligi- 4 ble lender’’ means— 5 (i) a Federal- or State-chartered 6 bank; 7 (ii) a Federal- or State-chartered 8 credit union; 9 (iii) an agricultural credit corporation; 10 (iv) a United States Green Bank In- 11 stitution; 12 (v) a community development finan- 13 cial institution (as defined in section 103 14 of the Community Development Banking 15 and Financial Institutions Act of 1994 (12 16 U.S.C. 4702)); 17 (vi) a minority depository institution 18 (as defined in section 308(b) of the Finan- 19 cial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and 20 Enforcement Act of 1989 (12 U.S.C. 1463 21 note; Public Law 101–73)); and 22 (vii) any other lender that the Board 23 determines has a demonstrated ability to 24 underwrite and service loans for the in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Apr 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S685.IS S685 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 14 •S 685 IS tended approved practice for which the 1 loan will be used. 2 (E) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMU- 3 NITY.—The term ‘‘environmental justice com- 4 munity’’ means a community with significant 5 representation of communities of color, low-in- 6 come communities, or Tribal and indigenous 7 communities that experiences, or is at risk of 8 experiencing, higher or more adverse human 9 health or environmental effects. 10 (F) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian 11 Tribe’’ has the meaning given the term in sec- 12 tion 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and 13 Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 14 (G) LOW-INCOME COMMUNITY.—The term 15 ‘‘low-income comm [Text truncated for display. 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