America's Clean Future Fund Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2451 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to establish a carbon fee to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 12, 2021 Ms. NEWMAN (for herself, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. VARGAS, and Mr. CARBAJAL) introduced the following bill; which was re- ferred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, Agriculture, Education and Labor, Transportation and Infrastructure, Financial Services, Science, Space, and Technology, and Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provi- sions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 08:47 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2451.IH H2451 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2451 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the 1 executive branch an independent agency, to be 2 known as the ‘‘Climate Change Finance Corpora- 3 tion’’ (referred to in this section as the ‘‘C2FC’’), 4 which shall finance clean energy and climate change 5 resiliency activities in accordance with this section. 6 (2) MISSION.— 7 (A) IN GENERAL.—The mission of the 8 C2FC is to combat and reduce the effects of cli- 9 mate change by building resilience among com- 10 munities facing harmful impacts of climate 11 change and supporting a dramatic reduction in 12 greenhouse gas emissions— 13 (i) through the deployment of clean 14 and renewable technology, resilient infra- 15 structure, research and development, the 16 commercialization of new technology, clean 17 energy manufacturing, and industrial 18 decarbonization; and 19 (ii) to meet the goals of— 20 (I) by 2030, a net reduction of 21 greenhouse gas emissions by 45 per- 22 cent, based on 2018 levels; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 08:47 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2451.IH H2451 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2451 IH (II) by 2050, a net reduction of 1 greenhouse gas emissions by 100 per- 2 cent, based on 2018 levels. 3 (B) ACTIVITIES.—The C2FC shall carry 4 out the mission described in subparagraph (A) 5 by— 6 (i) financing investments in clean en- 7 ergy and transportation, resiliency, and in- 8 frastructure; 9 (ii) using Federal investment to en- 10 courage the infusion of private capital and 11 investment into the clean energy and resil- 12 ient infrastructure sectors, while creating 13 new workforce opportunities; and 14 (iii) providing financing in cases 15 where private capital cannot be leveraged, 16 while minimizing competition with private 17 investment. 18 (3) EXERCISE OF POWERS.—Except as other- 19 wise provided expressly by law, all Federal laws deal- 20 ing with public or Federal contracts, property, 21 works, officers, employees, budgets, or funds, includ- 22 ing the provisions of chapters 5 and 7 of title 5, 23 United States Code, shall apply to the exercise of 24 the powers of the C2FC. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 08:47 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2451.IH H2451 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2451 IH (b) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.— 1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The management of the 2 C2FC shall be vested in a Board of Directors (re- 3 ferred to in this section as the ‘‘Board’’) consisting 4 of 7 members, who shall be appointed by the Presi- 5 dent, by and with the advice and consent of the Sen- 6 ate. 7 (2) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.— 8 (A) IN GENERAL.—A Chairperson and 9 Vice Chairperson of the Board shall be ap- 10 pointed by the President, by and with the ad- 11 vice and consent of the Senate, from among the 12 individuals appointed to the Board under para- 13 graph (1). 14 (B) TERM.—An individual— 15 (i) shall serve as Chairperson or Vice 16 Chairperson of the Board for a 3-year 17 term; and 18 (ii) may be renominated for the posi- 19 tion until the term of that individual on 20 the Board under paragraph (3)(C) expires. 21 (3) BOARD MEMBERS.— 22 (A) CITIZENSHIP REQUIRED.—Each mem- 23 ber of the Board shall be an individual who is 24 a citizen of the United States. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 08:47 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2451.IH H2451 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2451 IH (B) REPRESENTATION.—The members of 1 the Board shall fairly represent agricultural, 2 educational, research, industrial, nongovern- 3 mental, labor, and commercial interests 4 throughout the United States. 5 (C) TERM.— 6 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise 7 provided in this section, each member of 8 the Board— 9 (I) shall be appointed for a term 10 of 6 years; and 11 (II) may be reappointed for 1 ad- 12 ditional term. 13 (ii) INITIAL STAGGERED TERMS.—Of 14 the members first appointed to the 15 Board— 16 (I) 2 shall each be appointed for 17 a term of 2 years; 18 (II) 3 shall each be appointed for 19 a term of 4 years; and 20 (III) 2 shall each be appointed 21 for a term of 6 years. 22 (4) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 30 days 23 after the date on which all members of the Board 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 08:47 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2451.IH H2451 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2451 IH are appointed under paragraph (1), the Board shall 1 hold an initial meeting. 2 (c) WORKING GROUPS.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall create, 4 oversee, and incorporate feedback from the following 5 working groups (each referred to in this section as 6 a ‘‘working group’’): 7 (A) An environmental justice working 8 group. 9 (B) A worker and community transition 10 assistance working group. 11 (C) A research and innovation working 12 group. 13 (2) WORKING GROUP MEMBERS.— 14 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each working group 15 shall— 16 (i) be chaired by a Board member; 17 and 18 (ii) comprise not less than 10 and not 19 more than 20 individuals, who shall be ex- 20 perts, members of directly impacted com- 21 munities relating to the subject matter of 22 the working group, and other relevant 23 stakeholders. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 08:47 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2451.IH H2451 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2451 IH (B) DIVERSITY.—Individuals on a working 1 group shall, to the maximum extent practicable, 2 represent— 3 (i) a diverse array of interests related 4 to the subject matter of the working group; 5 and 6 (ii) diverse geographical, racial, reli- 7 gious, gender, educational, age, disability, 8 and socioeconomic backgrounds. 9 (3) MEETINGS.—Each working group shall 10 meet not less than 2 times per year. 11 (4) COMMUNITY AND STAKEHOLDER ENGAGE- 12 MENT.— 13 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each working group 14 shall create and engage in meaningful commu- 15 nity and stakeholder involvement opportunities, 16 including through regular community engage- 17 ment activities, for purposes of— 18 (i) maintaining up-to-date situational 19 awareness about the needs of relevant com- 20 munities and stakeholders; 21 (ii) using the feedback obtained 22 through those opportunities to inform the 23 advice of the working group to the Board; 24 and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 08:47 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2451.IH H2451 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2451 IH (iii) providing a mechanism for direct 1 and substantial community feedback relat- 2 ing to the investment plan and the funding 3 decisions of the C2FC. 4 (B) PUBLIC AWARENESS.—Each working 5 group shall inform the public about C2FC in- 6 vestment by engaging in public awareness cam- 7 paigns, which shall target relevant communities 8 through electronic media, newspapers, radio, di- 9 rect mailings, canvassing, or other outreach 10 methods suited for the relevant community. 11 (C) BROAD PARTICIPATION.—In carrying 12 out subparagraph (A), each working group 13 shall, to the maximum extent practicable, maxi- 14 mize participation from a broad group of stake- 15 holders, including by holding multiple meetings 16 with significant advance notice and holding 17 meetings at different times and in multiple lan- 18 guages. 19 (5) TASKS.—Each working group shall, as it re- 20 lates to the subject matter of the working group— 21 (A) advise and provide general input to the 22 Board regarding loans and grants provided by 23 the C2FC; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 08:47 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2451.IH H2451 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2451 IH (B) consult with and, based on the activi- 1 ties described in paragraph (4), provide rec- 2 ommendations to, the Board in the development 3 of and updates to the investment plan of the 4 C2FC. 5 (d) INVESTMENT PLAN.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board, in consultation 7 with each working group described in subsection 8 (c)(1), shall develop an investment plan (referred to 9 in this subsection as the ‘‘investment plan’’) for the 10 C2FC in accordance with this subsection. 11 (2) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the invest- 12 ment plan are— 13 (A) to ensure that investments made by 14 the C2FC— 15 (i) are equitable and reach the 16 prioritized communities described in sub- 17 section (e)(2); 18 (ii) are effective at progressing to- 19 wards the goals described in subsection 20 (a)(2)(A)(ii); 21 (iii) support the advancement of re- 22 search in clean technologies and resilience; 23 and 24 (iv) are transparent to the public; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 08:47 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2451.IH H2451 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2451 IH (B) to provide methods and standards by 1 which the Board and the working groups de- 2 scribed in subsection (c)(1) shall choose 3 projects in which to invest. 4 (3) DISTRIBUTION OF GRANT FUNDS.—The ini- 5 tial investment plan shall require that, of the total 6 amount of grant funds provided under subsection 7 (e)(3)(A) each year, not less than 40 percent shall 8 be used to benefit communities described in sub- 9 section (e)(2)(A). 10 (4) INVESTMENT PLAN UPDATES.— 11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Board, in con- 12 sultation with each working group described in 13 subsection (c)(1), shall update the investment 14 plan not later than December 31, 2023, and 15 every 4 years thereafter, including by taking 16 into account— 17 (i) the current needs of the prioritized 18 communities described in subsection (e)(2); 19 (ii) the effectiveness of the previous 20 investment plan in addressing the needs of 21 those communities; 22 (iii) the current state of relevant re- 23 search and technology; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 08:47 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2451.IH H2451 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2451 IH (iv) the resiliency needs of local com- 1 munities; 2 (v) the goals described in subsection 3 (a)(2)(A)(ii); and 4 (vi) the 2 most recent program re- 5 views conducted under subsection (f). 6 (B) EFFECTIVENESS.—An investment plan 7 shall remain in effect until the date on which 8 the Board approves an updated investment 9 plan. 10 (C) PUBLIC INPUT.—In updating the in- 11 vestment plan, the Board and the working 12 groups described in subsection (c)(1) shall— 13 (i) engage stakeholders and the public 14 in a public comment and feedback process; 15 and 16 (ii) ensure that the prioritized commu- 17 nities described in subsection (e)(2) have 18 access to participate in that process. 19 (5) PUBLIC UPDATES.—The Board shall make 20 publicly available on a quarterly basis information 21 relating to the expenditure of funds under the in- 22 vestment plan. 23 (e) INVESTMENT TOOLS.— 24 (1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 08:47 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2451.IH H2451 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 2451 IH (A) COMMUNITY OF COLOR.—The term 1 ‘‘community of color’’ means a geographically 2 distinct area in which the population of any of 3 the following categories of individuals is higher 4 than the average population of that category for 5 the State in which the community is located: 6 (i) Black. 7 (ii) African American. 8 (iii) Asian. 9 (iv) Pacific Islander. 10 (v) Other non-White race. 11 (vi) Hispanic. 12 (vii) Latino. 13 (viii) Linguistically isolated. 14 (B) ELIGIBLE BORROWER.—The term ‘‘eli- 15 gible borrower’’ means any person, including a 16 business owner or project developer, that seeks 17 a loan to carry out approved practices or 18 projects described in subparagraph (A)(i) of 19 paragraph (3) from an eligible lender that may 20 receive a loan guarantee under that paragraph 21 for that loan, according to criteria determined 22 by the C2FC. 23 (C) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible 24 entity’’ means— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 08:47 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2451.IH H2451 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 2451 IH (i) a State; 1 (ii) an Indian Tribe; 2 (iii) a unit of local government; and 3 (iv) a research and development insti- 4 tution (including a National Laboratory). 5 (D) ELIGIBLE LENDER.—The term ‘‘eligi- 6 ble lender’’ means— 7 (i) a Federal- or State-chartered 8 bank; 9 (ii) a Federal- or State-chartered 10 credit union; 11 (iii) an agricultural credit corporation; 12 (iv) a United States Green Bank In- 13 stitution; 14 (v) a community development finan- 15 cial institution (as defined in section 103 16 of the Community Development Banking 17 and Financial Institutions Act of 1994 (12 18 U.S.C. 4702)); 19 (vi) a minority depository institution 20 (as defined in section 308(b) of the Finan- 21 cial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and 22 Enforcement Act of 1989 (12 U.S.C. 1463 23 note; Public Law 101–73)); and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 08:47 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2451.IH H2451 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 14 •HR 2451 IH (vii) any other lender that the Board 1 determines has a demonstrated ability to 2 underwrite and service loans for the in- 3 tended approved practice for which the 4 loan will be used. 5 (E) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMU- 6 NITY.—The term ‘‘environmental just [Text truncated for display. 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