These two reports (download links below) summarize the major environmetnal and energy components of the Senate's bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (H.R. 3684, passed by a vote of 69 to 30 on August 10) and Senate Democrats' Budget Resolution (S. Con. Res. 14, passed 50-49 on August 11), the first step in the budget reconciliation process.
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
Totals presented in this analysis may differ in places from White House estimates based on how Symons Public Affairs categorized various components of the bill using a more specific focus on significant environment and energy provisions.
The White House summary is available here.
Senate-Passed Budget Resolution
Senate Democrats passed their FY2022 Budget Resolution (S. Con. Res. 14) by a party-line vote on August 11, 2021. The budget blueprint begins the budget reconciliation process. To get a bill to the president’s desk, the House must also pass a budget resolution, and the Senate and House must develop and pass separate legislation with specific tax and spending provisions.
This summary identifies the environmental and energy priorities that were part of the Budget Committee’s instructions (available here) to Senate committees as they prepare the more detailed reconciliation legislation. According to the reconciliation instruction memo:
“The Budget Resolution will allow the Senate to make the most significant investment in tackling the climate crisis in US history, and put America on a path to meet President Biden’s climate change goals of 80% clean electricity and 50% economy-wide carbon emissions reductions by 2030.”
In addition to funding other Democrat priorities, the budget framework has a broad climate agenda, including:
A new Clean Electricity Payment Program (CEPP) designed to supplement other clean energy incentives and achieve 80% electricity from zero-carbon sources by 2030
A new Civilian Climate Corps
A Clean Energy Technology Accelerator that would fund low-income solar and other climate-friendly technologies
A new “Carbon Polluter Import Fee”
A methane polluter fee to reduce methane emissions
Environmental justice investments in clean water affordability and access, healthy ports and climate equity
EPA climate and research programs
Clean energy, manufacturing, and transportation tax incentives and grants
Investments in “climate smart agriculture” and forest management investments for farmers and rural communities
New coastal and ocean resiliency programs
Drought and wildfire investments
New consumer rebates for home electrification and weatherization
Electrification of the federal vehicle fleet and buildings
While the total funding allocation to each committee is contained in the budget resolution, the environmental and energy priorities are not specified in the text of the budget resolution itself. Rather, they are noted in the non-binding reconciliation instruction memo. The memo notes that the list of instructions is neither final nor exclusive. Further, the memo does not detail how much of each committee’s allocation should be reserved for environmental and energy priorities, nor how to implement major initiatives such as the Clean Electricity Payment Program.