Moving Towards A Safe Climate Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6171 To direct the Secretary of Transportation to publish a national strategic action plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 10, 2020 Mr. LIPINSKI introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure A BILL To direct the Secretary of Transportation to publish a na- tional strategic action plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector, 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 ‘‘Moving Towards A 4 Safe Climate Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:26 Mar 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6171.IH H6171 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6171 IH (1) In 2018, the United Nations Intergovern- 1 mental Panel on Climate Change released a report 2 that found that global warming could reach 1.5 de- 3 grees Celsius above average temperature levels by 4 the year 2030. 5 (2) The report outlined the potential impacts 6 and associated risks of a temperature increase of 1.5 7 degrees Celsius, including increasing— 8 (A) intensity and frequency of droughts; 9 (B) frequency and amount of heavy pre- 10 cipitation; and 11 (C) other extreme weather events. 12 (3) The report found that in order to avoid the 13 impacts of a temperature increase of 1.5 degrees 14 Celsius, greenhouse gas emissions must be re- 15 duced— 16 (A) between 40 to 60 percent below the 17 level of greenhouse gas emissions recorded in 18 the year 2010 by the year 2030; and 19 (B) to net zero emissions by the year 20 2050. 21 (4) According to a report by the Environmental 22 Protection Agency entitled ‘‘Inventory of U.S. 23 Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks’’, transpor- 24 tation activities accounted for the largest portion 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:26 Mar 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6171.IH H6171 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6171 IH (approximately 29.9 percent) of total greenhouse gas 1 emissions in the United States in 2017. 2 (5) The Secretary of Transportation has a lead- 3 ing role in reducing United States greenhouse gas 4 emissions since transportation activities continue to 5 account for a large portion of total greenhouse gas 6 emissions in the United States. 7 (6) Reducing greenhouse gas emissions will 8 demonstrate adherence to the commitments of the 9 United States under the Paris Agreement, and any 10 other similar international climate change agree- 11 ments. 12 SEC. 3. NATIONAL STRATEGIC ACTION PLAN TO REDUCE 13 GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS. 14 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 2 years after the 15 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, using the 16 best available science and in collaboration with the Admin- 17 istrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, shall 18 publish an action plan known as the ‘‘National Strategic 19 Action Plan’’ (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘action plan’’) 20 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation 21 sector to the emissions target by the year 2040. 22 (b) CONTENT.—The action plan may include— 23 (1) The implementation of strategies that in- 24 crease the usage of passenger rail, public transpor- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:26 Mar 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6171.IH H6171 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6171 IH tation systems, walking, cycling, and other low-car- 1 bon modes of transportation including— 2 (A) improvements to infrastructure; and 3 (B) changes to engineering and design 4 guidelines, including the Manual on Uniform 5 Control Devices for Streets and Highways or 6 current design criteria codified under part 625, 7 title 23 of the United States Code of Federal 8 Regulations. 9 (2) Strategies and policies that reduce Vehicle 10 Miles Traveled (VMT), including— 11 (A) the promotion of transit oriented or 12 transit accessible development; 13 (B) access to jobs and services as a metric 14 to measure transportation success instead of 15 level of service; and 16 (C) more efficient land use or walkable 17 communities; 18 (3) recommendations for tax incentives for the 19 adoption of technology that produces low levels of 20 greenhouse gas emissions; 21 (4) the development of transportation tech- 22 nology that dramatically reduces existing greenhouse 23 gas emissions or produces low levels of greenhouse 24 gas emissions, including— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:26 Mar 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6171.IH H6171 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 6171 IH (A) alternative fuels; 1 (B) zero-emissions vehicles and associated 2 charging infrastructure; 3 (C) intelligent transportation systems or 4 advanced data; and 5 (D) emissions capture technologies; and 6 (5) recommendations for changes to DOT grant 7 criteria, Federal surface transportation policy, and 8 Federal regulations that would prioritize investments 9 supporting these goals. 10 (c) CONSULTATION.—In developing the action plan, 11 the Secretary shall consult with— 12 (1) other Federal agencies, as appropriate; 13 (2) individuals from— 14 (A) the business community, including 15 trade associations and small business owners; 16 (B) labor organizations; 17 (C) the environmental community; 18 (D) the public health community; 19 (E) the defense community; and 20 (F) the scientific community, including the 21 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, 22 and Medicine, organizations that further the 23 scientific profession, and institutions of higher 24 education; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:26 Mar 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6171.IH H6171 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 6171 IH (G) transportation experts, including walk- 1 ing, biking, and public transit advocates; 2 (3) representatives from State, Tribal, and local 3 governments, including State transportation depart- 4 ments and metropolitan planning organizations; and 5 (4) other organizations that the Secretary de- 6 termines appropriate. 7 (d) PUBLIC COMMENT.—In developing the action 8 plan, the Secretary shall make the draft action plan avail- 9 able for public comment for at least 60 days, and issue 10 a response to public comments received within 90 days of 11 the end of the comment period. 12 (e) REVISION.—Not later than 6 years after the date 13 of the enactment of this Act, and every 4 years thereafter 14 until the year 2040, the Secretary shall revise the action 15 plan. 16 (f) STATE STRATEGIC ACTION PLAN.— 17 (1) WITHHOLDING OF FUNDS.—For fiscal year 18 2023, and each fiscal year thereafter, the Secretary 19 shall withhold 5 percent of the amount required to 20 be apportioned to a State under section 104(b) of 21 title 23, United States Code, until the Secretary de- 22 termines that a strategic action plan submitted to 23 the Secretary pursuant to paragraph (2) complies 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:26 Mar 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6171.IH H6171 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 6171 IH with the criteria developed pursuant to such para- 1 graph. 2 (2) STATE CRITERIA.—Not later than 2 years 3 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec- 4 retary shall develop criteria for each State to submit 5 a strategic action plan to the Secretary not later 6 than fiscal year 2023, and every 4 years thereafter 7 until the year 2040, to achieve the emissions target 8 by the year 2040, with consideration given to the 9 greenhouse gas emissions of each such State. 10 (g) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 4 years 11 after the date of enactment of this Act, and every 4 years 12 thereafter until the year 2040, the Secretary shall submit 13 to Congress a report on— 14 (1) the following information for each State— 15 (A) total greenhouse gas emissions from 16 transportation; 17 (B) greenhouse gas emissions per capita; 18 (C) vehicle miles traveled per capita; and 19 (D) average vehicle fleet efficiency; 20 (2) actions taken to achieve the emissions tar- 21 get; and 22 (3) progress with respect to achieving the emis- 23 sions target. 24 (h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:26 Mar 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6171.IH H6171 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 6171 IH (1) EMISSIONS TARGET.—The term ‘‘emissions 1 target’’ means a level of greenhouse gas emissions 2 from the transportation sector that does not exceed 3 20 percent of the level of greenhouse gas emissions 4 in the United States for the year 2005, as deter- 5 mined by the Administrator of the Environmental 6 Protection Agency. 7 (2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 8 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 9 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 10 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 11 (3) METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZA- 12 TION.—The term ‘‘metropolitan planning organiza- 13 tion’’ has the meaning given the term under section 14 134 of title 23, United States Code. 15 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 16 the Secretary of Transportation. 17 (5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean- 18 ing given the term under section 101 of title 23, 19 United States Code. 20 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:26 Mar 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H6171.IH H6171 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS