Recognizing the duty of the Federal Government to create a Green Real Deal.

IV 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 288 Recognizing the duty of the Federal Government to create a Green Real Deal. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 3, 2019 Mr. GAETZ (for himself and Mr. ROONEY of Florida) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Com- merce, and in addition to the Committees on Natural Resources, Ways and Means, the Judiciary, Transportation and Infrastructure, Armed Services, and Oversight and Reform, for a period to be subsequently de- termined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned RESOLUTION Recognizing the duty of the Federal Government to create a Green Real Deal. Whereas United States greenhouse gas emissions have de- creased approximately 10 percent since 2005; Whereas the United States leads the world in gross emissions reductions; Whereas a clean energy economy is driven by a national com- mitment to innovation, competitive markets, and the de- ployment of advanced energy technologies, and the suc- cess of this approach is visible in the United States where— VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Apr 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR288.IH HR288 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 288 IH (1) energy productivity has grown 14 percent since 2009; (2) the total production of natural gas has increased by 56 percent since 2009; and (3) the installed wind and solar power capacity has quadrupled since 2009; Whereas energy prices in the United States are historically low, and energy costs make up less than 5 percent of total United States personal consumption expenses; Whereas, in 2018, United States businesses set records by— (1) tripling corporate procurement of clean energy; (2) increasing liquified natural gas exports by 135 percent; and (3) increasing sales of electric vehicles by 80 per- cent; Whereas the Department of Defense, on an ongoing basis and at the direction of Congress, has identified risks to military assets, bases, and national security from climate change, and has developed opportunities to reduce green- house gas emissions and improve national security; Whereas 13 Federal agencies, at the direction of Congress through the Global Change Research Act of 1990, have found that— (1) climate change creates new risks and exacerbates existing vulnerabilities in communities across the United States, and that climate change threatens human health and safety, quality of life, and the rate of economic growth; (2) communities, governments, and businesses are working to reduce risks from, and costs associated with, climate change, by taking action to lower greenhouse gas emissions and implement adaptation strategies; and VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Apr 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR288.IH HR288 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 288 IH (3) while climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts have expanded substantially in the last 4 years, such efforts do not yet approach the scale considered nec- essary to avoid substantial damages to the economy, envi- ronment, and human health over the coming decades; and Whereas the House of Representatives recognizes unprece- dented demand for job-creating, American-made, clean energy, and the need to empower individuals and busi- nesses to come together in the marketplace, as a historic opportunity to— (1) create millions of good, high-wage jobs in the United States; (2) enable equal opportunity to achieve unprece- dented levels of prosperity and economic security for all people of the United States; and (3) secure the position of the United States as a global environmental leader: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep- 1 resentatives that— 2 (1) it is the duty of the Federal Government to 3 create a Green Real Deal— 4 (A) to achieve robust, economy-wide green- 5 house gas emissions reductions; 6 (B) to create more clean energy options 7 through a commitment to innovation; 8 (C) to position the United States as a 9 global leader in clean energy, driving global in- 10 vestment in American-made clean energy tech- 11 nologies; 12 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Apr 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR288.IH HR288 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HRES 288 IH (D) to reduce and modernize regulations to 1 speed deployment of clean energy technologies 2 nationwide and worldwide, and to affirm that 3 the Government should not pick winners and 4 losers; 5 (E) to empower individuals, States, and 6 the marketplace to invest in and implement 7 clean energy technologies; and 8 (F) to ensure that the infrastructure, com- 9 munities, and military of the United States are 10 resilient and adapting to long-term environ- 11 mental, climate, and social change; and 12 (2) the goals described in subparagraphs (A) 13 through (F) of paragraph (1) (referred to in this 14 resolution as the ‘‘Green Real Deal goals’’) should 15 be accomplished by— 16 (A) investing in carbon capture storage 17 and carbon capture and use, and otherwise re- 18 ducing emissions or achieving net-zero emis- 19 sions from energy produced from fossil fuels; 20 (B) investing in next-generation low- and 21 zero-emission energy sources, including renew- 22 able energy and nuclear energy, especially small 23 modular reactors; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Apr 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR288.IH HR288 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HRES 288 IH (C) promoting the widespread use and de- 1 ployment of next-generation recycling and waste 2 management technology, such as plastics-to-fuel 3 initiatives, and transforming postconsumer re- 4 cycled plastic into new materials such as as- 5 phalt; 6 (D) modernizing the electric grid through 7 strategic investments in transmission, distribu- 8 tion, and storage; 9 (E) allowing fair and equal access to en- 10 ergy development on Federal lands; 11 (F) modernizing the implementation of the 12 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 13 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) to drive investment in 14 clean energy infrastructure, especially 15 multistate transmission and offshore wind; 16 (G) eliminating regulations that hinder or 17 slow the deployment of advanced energy, and 18 creating a regulatory climate to encourage the 19 use of clean, renewable, and innovative energy 20 and recycling technologies; 21 (H) modernizing regulations governing hy- 22 dropower development; 23 (I) establishing a voluntary framework for 24 reporting and tracking carbon emissions, renew- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Apr 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR288.IH HR288 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HRES 288 IH able energy procurement, and energy efficiency 1 investment, to increase investment in clean en- 2 ergy technology and improve transparency and 3 accountability for the benefit of customers, in- 4 vestors, and shareholders; 5 (J) establishing robust homeowner tax in- 6 centives for energy efficiency upgrades, includ- 7 ing HVAC upgrades; 8 (K) expanding tax incentives for commer- 9 cial building energy efficiency upgrades; 10 (L) establishing challenge grants for uni- 11 versities to develop actionable plans for increas- 12 ing resiliency and building adaptive capacity to 13 climate change in urban and rural areas, as 14 well as in national parks and other Federal 15 lands; 16 (M) working with utility companies and de- 17 velopers to enhance consumers’ ability to access 18 clean and renewable energy in their homes and 19 businesses, including solar, wind, and geo- 20 thermal energy; and 21 (N) protecting the intellectual property of 22 American innovators. 23 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Apr 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR288.IH HR288 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS