America's Clean Future Fund Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4484 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 AUGUST 6, 2020 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 21:07 Aug 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4484.IS S4484 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4484 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 subsection 3 (c). 4 (2) MISSION.— 5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The mission of the 6 C2FC is to combat and reduce the effects of cli- 7 mate change by building resilience among com- 8 munities facing harmful impacts of climate 9 change and supporting a dramatic reduction in 10 greenhouse gas emissions— 11 (i) through the deployment of clean 12 and renewable technology, resilient infra- 13 structure, research and development, the 14 commercialization of new technology, clean 15 energy manufacturing, and industrial 16 decarbonization; and 17 (ii) to meet the goals of— 18 (I) by 2030, a net reduction of 19 greenhouse gas emissions by 45 per- 20 cent, based on 2018 levels; and 21 (II) by 2050, a net reduction of 22 greenhouse gas emissions by 100 per- 23 cent, based on 2018 levels. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Aug 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4484.IS S4484 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4484 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 21:07 Aug 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4484.IS S4484 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4484 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 21:07 Aug 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4484.IS S4484 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4484 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) INVESTMENT TOOLS.— 24 (1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Aug 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4484.IS S4484 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4484 IS (A) ELIGIBLE BORROWER.—The term ‘‘eli- 1 gible borrower’’ means any person, including a 2 business owner or project developer, that seeks 3 a loan to carry out approved practices or 4 projects described in subparagraph (A)(i) of 5 paragraph (2) from an eligible lender that may 6 receive a loan guarantee under that paragraph 7 for that loan, according to criteria determined 8 by the C2FC. 9 (B) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible 10 entity’’ means— 11 (i) a State; 12 (ii) a unit of local government; and 13 (iii) a research and development insti- 14 tution (including a National Laboratory). 15 (C) ELIGIBLE LENDER.—The term ‘‘eligi- 16 ble lender’’ means— 17 (i) a Federal- or State-chartered 18 bank; 19 (ii) a Federal- or State-chartered 20 credit union; 21 (iii) an agricultural credit corporation; 22 (iv) a United States Green Bank In- 23 stitution; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Aug 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4484.IS S4484 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4484 IS (v) 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 (2) GRANTS, LOAN GUARANTEES, AND OTHER 6 INVESTMENT TOOLS.— 7 (A) IN GENERAL.—The C2FC— 8 (i) shall provide grants to eligible enti- 9 ties and loan guarantees to eligible lenders 10 issuing loans to eligible borrowers for ap- 11 proved practices and projects relating to 12 climate change mitigation and resilience 13 measures, including— 14 (I) energy efficiency upgrades to 15 infrastructure; 16 (II) electric, hydrogen, and clean 17 transportation programs and deploy- 18 ment, including programs— 19 (aa) to purchase personal 20 vehicles, commercial vehicles, and 21 public transportation fleets and 22 school bus fleets; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Aug 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4484.IS S4484 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 4484 IS (bb) to deploy electric vehi- 1 cle charging and hydrogen infra- 2 structure; and 3 (cc) to develop and deploy 4 low carbon sustainable aviation 5 fuels; 6 (III) clean energy and vehicle 7 manufacturing research, demonstra- 8 tions, and deployment; 9 (IV) battery storage research, 10 demonstrations, and deployment; 11 (V) development or purchase of 12 equipment for practices described in 13 section 6; 14 (VI) development and deployment 15 of clean energy and clean tech- 16 nologies, with a focus on— 17 (aa) carbon capture, utiliza- 18 tion, and sequestration, bioenergy 19 with carbon capture and seques- 20 tration, direct air capture, and 21 infrastructure associated with 22 those processes, including con- 23 struction of carrier pipelines for 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Aug 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4484.IS S4484 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 4484 IS the transportation of anthropo- 1 genic carbon dioxide; 2 (bb) energy storage and grid 3 modernization; 4 (cc) geothermal energy; 5 (dd) commercial and resi- 6 dential solar; 7 (ee) wind energy; and 8 (ff) any other clean tech- 9 nology use or development, as de- 10 termined by the Board; 11 (VII) measures that anticipate 12 and prepare for climate change im- 13 pacts, and reduce risks and enhance 14 resilience to sea level rise, extreme 15 weather events, and other climate 16 change impacts, including by— 17 (aa) building resilient en- 18 ergy, water, and transportation 19 infrastructure; 20 (bb) providing weatheriza- 21 tion assistance for low-income 22 households; and 23 (cc) increasing the resilience 24 of the agriculture sector; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Aug 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4484.IS S4484 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 4484 IS (VIII) natural infrastructure re- 1 search, demonstrations, and deploy- 2 ment; and 3 (ii) may implement other investment 4 tools and products approved by the Board, 5 pursuant to subparagraph (D), to achieve 6 the mission of the C2FC described in sub- 7 section (a)(2). 8 (B) PROJECT PRIORITIZATION.— 9 (i) DEFINITION OF ENVIRONMENTAL 10 JUSTICE COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘environ- 11 mental justice community’’ means a com- 12 munity with significant representation of 13 communities of color, low-income commu- 14 nities, or Tribal and indigenous commu- 15 nities that experiences, or is at risk of ex- 16 periencing, higher or more adverse human 17 health or environmental effects. 18 (ii) PRIORITIZATION.—In providing fi- 19 nancial and other assistance under sub- 20 paragraph (A), the C2FC shall give pri- 21 ority to, as determined by the C2FC— 22 (I) deindustrialized communities 23 or communities with significant local 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Aug 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4484.IS S4484 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 4484 IS economic reliance on carbon-intensive 1 industries; 2 (II) environmental justice com- 3 munities, communities with popu- 4 lations of color, communities of color, 5 indigenous communities, and low-in- 6 come communities that— 7 (aa) experience a dispropor- 8 tionate burden of the negative 9 human health and environmental 10 impacts of pollution or other en- 11 vironmental hazards; or 12 (bb) may not have access to 13 public information and opportu- 14 nities for meaningful public par- 15 ticipation relating to human 16 health and environmental plan- 17 ning, regulations, and enforce- 18 ment; 19 (III) communities at risk of im- 20 pacts of natural disasters or sea level 21 rise exacerbated by climate change; 22 (IV) public or nonprofit entities 23 that serve dislocated workers, vet- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Aug 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4484.IS S4484 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 4484 IS erans, or individuals with a barrier to 1 employment; and 2 (V) communities that have mini- 3 mal or no investment in the approved 4 practices and projects described in 5 subparagraph (A)(i). 6 (C) LOAN GUARANTEES.— 7 (i) IN GENERAL.—In providing loan 8 guarantees under subparagraph (A), the 9 C2FC shall cooperate with eligible lenders 10 through agreements to participate on a de- 11 ferred (guaranteed) basis. 12 (ii) LEVEL OF PARTICIPATION IN 13 GUARANTEED LOANS.—In providing a loan 14 guarantee under subparagraph (A), the 15 C2FC shall guarantee 75 percent of the 16 balance of the financing outstanding at the 17 time of disbursement of the loan. 18 (iii) INTEREST RATES.—Notwith- 19 standing the provisions of the constitution 20 of any State or the laws of any State lim- 21 iting the rate or amount of interest that 22 may be charged, taken, received, or re- 23 served, the maximum legal rate of interest 24 on any financing made on a deferred basis 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Aug 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4484.IS S4484 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 4484 IS under this subsection shall not exceed a 1 rate prescribed by the C2FC. 2 (iv) GUARANTEE FEES.— 3 (I) IN GENERAL.—With respect 4 to each loan guaranteed under this 5 subsection (other than a loan that is 6 repayable in 1 year or less), the C2FC 7 shall collect a guarantee fee, which 8 shall be payable by the eligible lender, 9 and may be charged to the eligible 10 borrower in accordance with subclause 11 (II). 12 (II) BORROWER CHARGES.—A 13 guarantee fee described in subclause 14 (I) charged to an eligible borrower 15 shall not— 16 (aa) exceed 2 percent of the 17 deferred participation share of a 18 total loan amount that is equal to 19 or less than $150,000; 20 (bb) exceed 3 percent of the 21 deferred participation share of a 22 total loan amount that is greater 23 than $150,000 but less than 24 $700,000; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Aug 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4484.IS S4484 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 14 •S 4484 IS (cc) exceed 3.5 percent of 1 the deferred participation share 2 of a total loan amount that is 3 equal to or greater than 4 $700,000. 5 (D) OTHER INVESTMENT TOOLS AND 6 PRODUCTS.— 7 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Board may, 8 based on market needs, develop and imple- 9 ment any other investment tool or product 10 necessary to achieve the mission of the 11 C2FC described in subsection (a)(2) and 12 the deployment of projects described in 13 subparagraph (A)(i), including offering— 14 (I) warehousing and aggregation 15 credit facilities; 16 (II) zero interest loans; 17 (III) credit enhancements; and 18 (IV) construction finance. 19 (ii) STATE AND LOCAL GREEN 20 BANKS.—The Board shall provide funds to 21 United States Green Bank Institutions as 22 necessary to finance projects that are best 23 served by those entities. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Aug 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4484.IS S4484 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 15 •S 4484 IS (3) WAGE RATE REQUIREMENTS.—All laborers 1 and mechanics employed by eligible entities and eli- 2 gible borrowers on projects funded directly by or as- 3 sisted in whole or in part by the activities of the 4 C2FC under this section shal [Text truncated for display. 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