CREATE Act of 2023

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2002 To establish the Interagency Group on Large-Scale Carbon Management in the National Science and Technology Council and a Federal Carbon Removal Initiative, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 14, 2023 Ms. SINEMA (for herself, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, and Mrs. CAP- ITO) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To establish the Interagency Group on Large-Scale Carbon Management in the National Science and Technology Council and a Federal Carbon Removal Initiative, 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 ‘‘Carbon Removal, Effi- 4 cient Agencies, Technology Expertise Act of 2023’’ or the 5 ‘‘CREATE Act of 2023’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:39 Jul 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2002.IS S2002 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2002 IS SEC. 2. INTERAGENCY GROUP ON LARGE-SCALE CARBON 1 MANAGEMENT AND FEDERAL CARBON RE- 2 MOVAL INITIATIVE. 3 (a) DEFINITION OF CARBON DIOXIDE REMOVAL.— 4 In this section, the term ‘‘carbon dioxide removal’’ means 5 the intentional capture of carbon dioxide directly from the 6 ambient air or upper hydrosphere, combined with the stor- 7 age of such carbon dioxide, that results in a net removal 8 of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, as measured on 9 a lifecycle basis, including through— 10 (1) direct air capture and storage; 11 (2) enhanced carbon mineralization; 12 (3) biomass-based carbon dioxide removal; 13 (4) forest restoration; 14 (5) soil carbon management; 15 (6) ocean-based carbon dioxide removal; and 16 (7) any other approaches or methods identified 17 by the Interagency Group. 18 (b) INTERAGENCY GROUP ON LARGE-SCALE CARBON 19 MANAGEMENT.— 20 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.— 21 (A) IN GENERAL.—There is established in 22 the National Science and Technology Council 23 an interagency group on matters relating to 24 large-scale management of carbon. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:39 Jul 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2002.IS S2002 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2002 IS (B) DESIGNATION.—The interagency 1 group established by subparagraph (A) shall be 2 known as the ‘‘Interagency Group on Large- 3 Scale Carbon Management’’ (in this section the 4 ‘‘Interagency Group’’). 5 (C) MEMBERSHIP.— 6 (i) COMPOSITION.—The Interagency 7 Group shall be composed of the members 8 of the executive committee established 9 under subsection (c)(1) and such other 10 members as the executive committee con- 11 siders appropriate. 12 (ii) COCHAIRPERSONS.—The members 13 of the executive committee established by 14 subsection (c)(1) shall be cochairpersons of 15 the Interagency Group. 16 (iii) EVALUATION AND MODIFICA- 17 TION.—Not less frequently than once every 18 3 years, the National Science and Tech- 19 nology Council shall— 20 (I) evaluate the composition, ex- 21 ecutive committee, and cochairpersons 22 of the Interagency Group; and 23 (II) implement such changes re- 24 garding such composition, executive 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:39 Jul 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2002.IS S2002 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2002 IS committee, and cochairpersons as the 1 Council determines appropriate pursu- 2 ant to an evaluation under subclause 3 (I). 4 (2) DUTIES OF THE INTERAGENCY GROUP.— 5 The duties of the Interagency Group shall be as fol- 6 lows: 7 (A) Developing a strategic plan for Federal 8 research, development, and demonstration of 9 technological carbon dioxide removal (CDR) 10 and storage. 11 (B) Overseeing working groups established 12 under subsection (d). 13 (C) Coordinating research, project, and 14 budget planning for matters relating to re- 15 search, development, and demonstration de- 16 scribed in subparagraph (A). 17 (D) Identifying cost-effective carbon diox- 18 ide removal technologies that are suitable for 19 large-scale demonstration. 20 (E) Identifying accurate monitoring, car- 21 bon dioxide data collection, and long-term stor- 22 age protocols for carbon dioxide removal tech- 23 nologies, and assessing environmental and so- 24 cial impacts as well as co-benefits. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:39 Jul 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2002.IS S2002 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2002 IS (F) Engaging an independent entity to 1 perform periodic evaluations of the working 2 groups established under subsection (d). 3 (c) EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.— 4 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 5 the Interagency Group an executive committee. 6 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The executive committee 7 established by paragraph (1) shall be composed of 8 the following: 9 (A) A senior official of the White House 10 Office of Science and Technology Policy se- 11 lected by the Director of the Office of Science 12 and Technology Policy. 13 (B) One senior official of the Department 14 of Energy selected by the Secretary of Energy. 15 (C) One senior official of the Department 16 of Agriculture selected by the Secretary of Agri- 17 culture. 18 (D) One senior official of the Department 19 of Defense selected by the Secretary of Defense. 20 (E) One senior official of the National 21 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration se- 22 lected by the Administrator of the National 23 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:39 Jul 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2002.IS S2002 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2002 IS (F) One senior official of the Environ- 1 mental Protection Agency selected by the Ad- 2 ministrator of the Environmental Protection 3 Agency. 4 (d) WORKING GROUPS AND CARBON REMOVAL INI- 5 TIATIVE.— 6 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.— 7 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Interagency Group 8 shall establish working groups in accordance 9 with paragraph (2) which shall carry out an ini- 10 tiative on technological and detailed research, 11 development, and demonstration of carbon diox- 12 ide removal technology. 13 (B) DESIGNATION OF INITIATIVE.—The 14 initiative carried out under subparagraph (A) 15 shall be known as the ‘‘Carbon Removal Initia- 16 tive’’. 17 (2) WORKING GROUP FOCI.—The working 18 groups established under paragraph (1) are as fol- 19 lows: 20 (A) OCEANS.— 21 (i) IN GENERAL.—One working group 22 to focus on matters relating to carbon di- 23 oxide removal from the oceans and coastal 24 regions. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:39 Jul 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2002.IS S2002 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 2002 IS (ii) MEMBERSHIP.—The working 1 group described in clause (i) shall be com- 2 posed of 7 members as follows: 3 (I) One individual selected by the 4 Administrator of the National Oceanic 5 and Atmospheric Administration from 6 among employees of the National Oce- 7 anic and Atmospheric Administration. 8 (II) One individual selected by 9 the Administrator of the National 10 Aeronautics and Space Administration 11 from among employees of the Na- 12 tional Aeronautics and Space Admin- 13 istration. 14 (III) One individual selected by 15 the Secretary of Defense from among 16 employees of the Department of De- 17 fense. 18 (IV) One individual selected by 19 the Director of the National Science 20 Foundation from among employees of 21 the National Science Foundation. 22 (V) Two individuals selected by 23 the Secretary of the Interior from 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:39 Jul 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2002.IS S2002 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 2002 IS among employees of the Department 1 of the Interior. 2 (VI) One individual selected by 3 the Administrator of the Environ- 4 mental Protection Agency from among 5 employees of the Environmental Pro- 6 tection Agency. 7 (iii) COCHAIRPERSONS.—The individ- 8 uals selected under subclauses (I) and (IV) 9 of clause (ii) shall serve as cochairpersons 10 of the working group established under 11 clause (i). 12 (B) TERRESTRIAL.— 13 (i) IN GENERAL.—One working group 14 to focus on terrestrial and biological mat- 15 ters relating to carbon dioxide removal. 16 (ii) MEMBERSHIP.—The working 17 group described in clause (i) shall be com- 18 posed of 6 members as follows: 19 (I) Two individuals, one of whom 20 shall be selected by the Secretary of 21 Agriculture from among employees of 22 the Department of Agriculture and 23 one of whom shall be selected by the 24 Chief of the Forest Service from 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:39 Jul 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2002.IS S2002 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 2002 IS among employees of the Forest Serv- 1 ice. 2 (II) One individual selected by 3 the Secretary of Energy from among 4 employees of the Department of En- 5 ergy. 6 (III) One individual selected by 7 the Secretary of the Interior from 8 among employees of the Department 9 of the Interior. 10 (IV) One individual selected by 11 the Director of the National Science 12 Foundation from among employees of 13 the National Science Foundation. 14 (V) One individual selected by 15 the Administrator of the Environ- 16 mental Protection Agency from among 17 employees of the Environmental Pro- 18 tection Agency. 19 (iii) COCHAIRPERSONS.—The individ- 20 uals selected under subclauses (I) and (II) 21 of clause (ii) shall serve as cochairpersons 22 of the working group established under 23 clause (i). 24 (C) GEOLOGICAL.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:39 Jul 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2002.IS S2002 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 2002 IS (i) IN GENERAL.—One working group 1 to focus on geological matters relating to 2 carbon dioxide removal and storage. 3 (ii) MEMBERSHIP.—The working 4 group described in clause (i) shall be com- 5 posed of 4 members as follows: 6 (I) One individual selected by the 7 Secretary of Energy from among em- 8 ployees of the Department of Energy. 9 (II) One individual selected by 10 the Secretary of the Interior from 11 among employees of the United States 12 Geological Survey. 13 (III) One individual selected by 14 the Director of the National Science 15 Foundation from among employees of 16 the National Science Foundation. 17 (IV) One individual selected by 18 the Administrator of the Environ- 19 mental Protection Agency from among 20 employees of the Environmental Pro- 21 tection Agency. 22 (iii) COCHAIRPERSONS.—The individ- 23 uals selected under subclauses (I) and (II) 24 of clause (ii) shall serve as cochairpersons 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:39 Jul 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2002.IS S2002 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 2002 IS of the working group established under 1 clause (i). 2 (D) TECHNOLOGICAL.— 3 (i) IN GENERAL.—One working group 4 to focus on technological matters relating 5 to carbon dioxide removal. 6 (ii) MEMBERSHIP.—The working 7 group described in clause (i) shall be com- 8 posed of 7 members as follows: 9 (I) One individual selected by the 10 Secretary of Energy from among em- 11 ployees of the Department of Energy. 12 (II) One individual selected by 13 the Secretary of Defense from among 14 employees of the Department of De- 15 fense. 16 (III) One individual selected by 17 the Administrator of the National 18 Aeronautics and Space Administration 19 from among employees of the Na- 20 tional Aeronautics and Space Admin- 21 istration. 22 (IV) One individual selected by 23 the Director of the National Science 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:39 Jul 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2002.IS S2002 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 2002 IS Foundation from among employees of 1 the National Science Foundation. 2 (V) One individual selected by 3 the Secretary of Commerce from 4 among employees of the National In- 5 stitute of Standards and Technology. 6 (VI) One individual selected by 7 the Administrator of the Environ- 8 mental Protection Agency from among 9 employees of the Environmental Pro- 10 tection Agency. 11 (VII) One individual selected by 12 the Secretary of Transportation from 13 among employees of the Department 14 of Transportation. 15 (iii) COCHAIRPERSONS.—The individ- 16 uals selected under subclauses (I) and (III) 17 of clause (ii) shall serve as cochairpersons 18 of the working group established under 19 clause (i). 20 (3) EVALUATION AND MODIFICATION.—Not less 21 frequently than once every 3 years, the National 22 Science and Technology Council shall— 23 (A) evaluate the working groups estab- 24 lished pursuant to paragraph (1); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:39 Jul 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2002.IS S2002 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •S 2002 IS (B) implement such changes regarding the 1 working groups as the Council determines ap- 2 propriate pursuant to an evaluation under sub- 3 paragraph (A). 4 (e) ANNUAL BUDGET CROSSCUT REVIEW.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently than 6 once each year, the Director of the Office of Man- 7 agement and Budget shall assist in the coordination 8 of the initiative carried out under subsection 9 (d)(1)(A) by conducting a budget crosscut review— 10 (A) to ensure that budget proposals from 11 members of the working groups established 12 under such subsection are integrated with the 13 overall budget for each Federal department and 14 agency participating in such working groups; 15 and 16 (B) to ensure that the various staff of the 17 Office of Management and Budget review and 18 act on Federal department and agency budget 19 proposals for research, development, and dem- 20 onstration of carbon dioxide removal technology 21 in a holistic fashion. 22 (2) SUBMITTAL TO CONGRESS.—Along with 23 each submission of the President pursuant to section 24 1105 of title 31, United States Code, the Director 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:39 Jul 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2002.IS S2002 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 14 •S 2002 IS shall submit to Congress a report on the findings of 1 the Director with respect to the most recently com- 2 pleted budget crosscut review under paragraph (1). 3 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:39 Jul 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2002.IS S2002 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS