Save Our Future Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2085 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas and criteria air pollutant emission fees, provide rebates to low- and middle-income Americans, invest in fossil fuel commu- nities and workers, invest in environmental justice communities, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 16, 2021 Mr. WHITEHOUSE (for himself, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. HEINRICH, Mrs. GILLI- BRAND, Mr. MURPHY, and Mr. REED) 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 provide for carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas and criteria air pollutant emission fees, provide rebates to low- and middle-income Americans, invest in fossil fuel commu- nities and workers, invest in environmental justice com- munities, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Save Our Future Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:59 Jun 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2085.IS S2085 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2085 IS (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 1 this Act is as follows: 2 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. TITLE I—FEES ON AIR POLLUTION Sec. 101. Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emission fees. Sec. 102. Fees on criteria air pollutants. TITLE II—RETURNING FEE REVENUE TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE Sec. 201. Fee revenue rebates to individuals. Sec. 202. State-based cost mitigation grant program. TITLE III—ASSISTANCE TO ENERGY VETERANS AND THEIR COMMUNITIES Sec. 301. Office of Energy Veterans Assistance. Sec. 302. Local revenue replenishment. Sec. 303. Environmental restoration. Sec. 304. Community assistance programs. TITLE IV—ASSISTANCE TO ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMUNITIES Sec. 401. Assistance to Environmental Justice Communities. TITLE V—OTHER PROVISIONS Sec. 501. Public disclosure of revenues and expenditures. Sec. 502. Severability. Sec. 503. Rule of construction. Sec. 504. Remedies preserved. TITLE I—FEES ON AIR 3 POLLUTION 4 SEC. 101. CARBON DIOXIDE AND OTHER GREENHOUSE GAS 5 EMISSION FEES. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 38 of the Internal Rev- 7 enue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end there- 8 of the following new subchapter: 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:59 Jun 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2085.IS S2085 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2085 IS ‘‘Subchapter E—Carbon Dioxide and Other 1 Greenhouse Gas Emission Fees 2 ‘‘Sec. 4691. Fee for carbon dioxide emissions. ‘‘Sec. 4692. Fee on fluorinated greenhouse gases. ‘‘Sec. 4693. Fee on facilities that emit greenhouse gases from processes other than fossil fuel combustion. ‘‘Sec. 4694. Methane and associated emissions from the fossil fuel supply chain. ‘‘Sec. 4695. Border adjustments for energy-intensive manufactured goods. ‘‘Sec. 4696. Definitions and other rules. ‘‘SEC. 4691. FEE FOR CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS. 3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 4 ‘‘(1) FOSSIL FUEL PRODUCTS PRODUCING CAR- 5 BON EMISSIONS.—There is hereby imposed a fee in 6 an amount equal to the applicable amount at the 7 rate specified in paragraph (2) on— 8 ‘‘(A) coal— 9 ‘‘(i) removed from any mine in the 10 United States, or 11 ‘‘(ii) entered into the United States 12 for consumption, use, or warehousing, 13 ‘‘(B) petroleum products— 14 ‘‘(i) removed from any refinery, 15 ‘‘(ii) removed from any terminal, or 16 ‘‘(iii) entered into the United States 17 for consumption, use, or warehousing, and 18 ‘‘(C) natural gas— 19 ‘‘(i) delivered to an end user by any 20 person required to submit form 176 of the 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:59 Jun 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2085.IS S2085 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2085 IS Energy Information Administration (or a 1 successor form), or 2 ‘‘(ii) sold in the United States by any 3 processor not described in clause (i). 4 ‘‘(2) RATE.—The rate specified in this para- 5 graph with respect to any product described in para- 6 graph (1) is an amount equal to the applicable 7 amount per ton of carbon dioxide that would be 8 emitted through the combustion of such product, as 9 determined by the Secretary, in consultation with 10 the Secretary of Energy and the Administrator of 11 the Environmental Protection Agency (referred to in 12 this section as the ‘Administrator’). 13 ‘‘(b) APPLICABLE AMOUNT.— 14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this part, 15 the applicable amount is— 16 ‘‘(A) for calendar year 2023, $54, and 17 ‘‘(B) subject to paragraph (3), for calendar 18 year 2024 and any subsequent calendar year, 19 the sum of— 20 ‘‘(i) the product of the amount in ef- 21 fect under this paragraph for the preceding 22 calendar year and 106 percent, and 23 ‘‘(ii) the inflation adjustment amount 24 determined under paragraph (2). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:59 Jun 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2085.IS S2085 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2085 IS ‘‘(2) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT AMOUNT.— 1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The inflation adjust- 2 ment amount for any calendar year shall be an 3 amount (not less than zero) equal to the prod- 4 uct of— 5 ‘‘(i) the amount in effect under para- 6 graph (1) for the preceding calendar year, 7 and 8 ‘‘(ii) the percentage by which the CPI 9 for the preceding calendar year exceeds the 10 CPI for the second preceding calendar 11 year. 12 ‘‘(B) CPI.—Rules similar to the rules of 13 paragraphs (4) and (5) of section 1(f) shall 14 apply for purposes of this paragraph. 15 ‘‘(3) ENVIRONMENTAL INTEGRITY MECHA- 16 NISM.— 17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to cal- 18 endar year 2024 and any subsequent calendar 19 year, the Secretary shall, not later than Sep- 20 tember 30 of each such year, make a deter- 21 mination based upon the report described in 22 paragraph (5) with regard to whether the cu- 23 mulative emissions for the applicable period ex- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:59 Jun 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2085.IS S2085 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2085 IS ceeded the cumulative emissions target for such 1 period. 2 ‘‘(B) EXCEEDING CUMULATIVE EMISSIONS 3 TARGET.—If the Secretary determines, pursu- 4 ant to subparagraph (A), that the cumulative 5 emissions for the applicable period exceeded the 6 cumulative emissions target for such period, the 7 applicable amount for the calendar year begin- 8 ning after such determination shall be equal to 9 the product of the amount otherwise in effect 10 (without application of this paragraph) under 11 paragraph (1)(B) for such calendar year and 12 105 percent. 13 ‘‘(C) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 14 ‘‘(i) APPLICABLE PERIOD.—The term 15 ‘applicable period’ means, with respect to 16 any determination made by the Secretary 17 under this paragraph for any calendar 18 year, the period— 19 ‘‘(I) beginning on January 1, 20 2023, and 21 ‘‘(II) ending on December 31 of 22 the preceding calendar year. 23 ‘‘(ii) CUMULATIVE EMISSIONS.—The 24 term ‘cumulative emissions’ means an 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:59 Jun 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2085.IS S2085 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 2085 IS amount equal to the sum of the net total 1 anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions 2 and sinks for all years during the applica- 3 ble period, as determined by the Adminis- 4 trator pursuant to paragraph (5). 5 ‘‘(iii) CUMULATIVE EMISSIONS TAR- 6 GET.—The term ‘cumulative emissions tar- 7 get’ means an amount equal to the sum of 8 the annual emissions targets for all years 9 during the applicable period. 10 ‘‘(iv) ANNUAL EMISSIONS TARGET.— 11 The term ‘annual emissions target’ means, 12 with respect to any calendar year, an 13 amount equal to the product of— 14 ‘‘(I) net total anthropogenic 15 greenhouse gas emissions and sinks 16 for 2019, as determined by the Ad- 17 ministrator pursuant to paragraph (5) 18 (to the extent the methodology under 19 such paragraph is applicable), and 20 ‘‘(II) the applicable percentage 21 for such year, as determined under 22 paragraph (4). 23 ‘‘(4) APPLICABLE PERCENTAGE.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:59 Jun 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2085.IS S2085 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 2085 IS ‘‘(A) 2023.—In the case of calendar year 1 2023, the applicable percentage shall be 72 per- 2 cent. 3 ‘‘(B) 2024 THROUGH 2035.—In the case of 4 calendar years 2024 through 2035, the applica- 5 ble percentage shall be equal to— 6 ‘‘(i) the applicable percentage for the 7 preceding year, minus 8 ‘‘(ii) 2 percentage points. 9 ‘‘(C) 2036 THROUGH 2050.—In the case of 10 calendar years 2036 through 2050, the applica- 11 ble percentage shall be equal to— 12 ‘‘(i) the applicable percentage for the 13 preceding year, minus 14 ‘‘(ii) 3.2 percentage points. 15 ‘‘(D) AFTER 2050.—In the case of any cal- 16 endar year beginning after 2050, the applicable 17 percentage shall be equal to zero. 18 ‘‘(5) EMISSIONS REPORTING.— 19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than Sep- 20 tember 30, 2024, and annually thereafter, the 21 Administrator, in consultation with the Sec- 22 retary, shall make available to the public a re- 23 port on the cumulative emissions during the ap- 24 plicable period. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:59 Jun 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2085.IS S2085 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 2085 IS ‘‘(B) METHODOLOGY.—Not later than 1 January 1, 2023, the Administrator shall pre- 2 scribe rules for quantifying cumulative emis- 3 sions under subparagraph (A), which shall— 4 ‘‘(i) to the greatest extent practicable, 5 employ existing data sources and accepted 6 greenhouse gas accounting practices, while 7 also allowing for use of state-of-the-art 8 techniques to measure or estimate sources 9 and sinks of greenhouse gas emissions 10 which are not subject to fees under this 11 subchapter, as the Administrator deems 12 appropriate to meet the goals of this sub- 13 paragraph, 14 ‘‘(ii) subject to such penalties as are 15 determined appropriate by the Adminis- 16 trator, require any entity subject to fees or 17 refunds under this subchapter to report, 18 not later than April 1 of each calendar 19 year, the total quantity of greenhouse gas 20 emissions subject to fees or refunds under 21 this subchapter for which such entity was 22 liable during the preceding calendar year, 23 and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:59 Jun 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2085.IS S2085 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 2085 IS ‘‘(iii) require any information reported 1 pursuant to clause (ii) to be verified by a 2 third-party entity that, subject to such 3 process as is determined appropriate by 4 the Administrator, has been certified by 5 the Administrator with respect to the 6 qualifications, independence, and reliability 7 of such entity. 8 ‘‘(C) GREENHOUSE GAS REPORTING PRO- 9 GRAM.—For purposes of establishing the rules 10 described in subparagraph (B), the Adminis- 11 trator may elect to modify the activities of the 12 Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program to satisfy 13 the requirements described in clauses (i) 14 through (iii) of such subparagraph. 15 ‘‘(6) ROUNDING.—The applicable amount under 16 this subsection shall be rounded up to the next whole 17 dollar amount. 18 ‘‘(c) REFUNDS FOR CAPTURING CARBON DIOXIDE 19 AND PRODUCTION OF CERTAIN GOODS.— 20 ‘‘(1) CARBON DIOXIDE CAPTURE, UTILIZATION, 21 AND STORAGE.— 22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a per- 23 son who— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:59 Jun 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2085.IS S2085 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 2085 IS ‘‘(i) uses any coal, petroleum product, 1 or natural gas for which a fee has been im- 2 posed under subsection (a)(1) in a manner 3 which results in the emission of qualified 4 carbon dioxide, 5 ‘‘(ii) captures the resulting emitted 6 qualified carbon dioxide at a qualified facil- 7 ity which is owned by such person, and 8 ‘‘(iii)(I) disposes of such qualified car- 9 bon dioxide in secure storage in compliance 10 with Treasury Decision 9944 (86 Fed. 11 Reg. 4728), or 12 ‘‘(II) utilizes such qualified carbon di- 13 oxide in a manner provided in subpara- 14 graph (D), 15 there shall be allowed a refund, in the same 16 manner as if it were an overpayment of the fee 17 imposed by such subsection, to such person in 18 the amount determined under subparagraph 19 (B). 20 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT OF REFUND.—The amount 21 of the refund under this subparagraph is an 22 amount equal to the product of— 23 ‘‘(i) the applicable amount under sub- 24 section (b) for the calendar year in which 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:59 Jun 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2085.IS S2085 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 2085 IS such qualified carbon dioxide was captured 1 and disposed or utilized, and 2 ‘‘(ii) the adjusted tons of qualified 3 carbon dioxide captured and disposed or 4 utilized. 5 ‘‘(C) ADJUSTED TOTAL TONS.—For pur- 6 poses of subparagraph (B), the adjusted tons of 7 qualified carbon dioxide captured and disposed 8 or utilized shall be the total tons of qualified 9 carbon dioxide captured and disposed or utilized 10 reduced by the amount of any anticipated leak- 11 age of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere due 12 to imperfect storage technology or otherwise, as 13 determined by the Secretary in consultation 14 with the Administrator of the Environmental 15 Protection Agency. 16 ‘‘(D) REQUIREMENTS.— 17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Any refund under 18 subparagraph (A) shall apply only with re- 19 spect to qualified carbon dioxide that has 20 been captured and disposed or utilized 21 within the United States. 22 ‘‘(ii) RECAPTURE.—The Secretary 23 shall, by regulations, provide for recap- 24 turing the benefit of any refund made 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:59 Jun 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2085.IS S2085 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 2085 IS under subparagraph (A) with respect to 1 any qualified carbon dioxide which is dis- 2 posed in secure storage and ceases to be 3 stored in a manner consistent with the re- 4 quirements of this section. 5 ‘‘(iii) UTILIZATION.—The Secretary, 6 in consultation with the Secretary of En- 7 ergy and the Administrator of the Environ- 8 mental Protection Agency, shall establish 9 regulations providing for the appropriate 10 methods and manners for [Text truncated for display. 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