With the first year of the 116th Congress coming to a close, Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee Chairman Paul Tonko (D-NY) highlighted the Subcommittee’s work to combat the climate crisis, protect Americans from toxic substances, protect clean air and water, and more. In total, the Subcommittee held 16 hearings, one markup and passed 15 bills.
“This year the Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee undertook the greatest challenge of our generation: fighting the climate crisis. With no time left to lose, we began the process of setting the country on a path toward a 100 percent clean future," Pallone and Tonko said. “We are determined to fulfill our promise of ‘100 by 50’ and foster a transition toward net zero carbon pollution. We are also proud of the work we did to clean up and address PFAS contamination, ban asbestos and safeguard our environment from corporate polluters and irresponsible rollbacks. Our work is far from done, and we look forward to an equally productive new year."
Working to prevent President Trump from withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement:
* Passed H.R. 9, the Climate Action Now Act, through both the Full Committee and the full House of Representatives. The legislation prevents President Trump from withdrawing the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement and requires him to submit a plan for meeting our obligations under the accord. With nearly 200 nations party to the Agreement, the Committee worked to ensure the U.S. economy will not get left behind in the global transition to a green energy economy.
Protecting Americans from PFAS contamination and exposure:
* Passed 13 bills to address the problem of PFAS chemicals contaminating our air, water and soil. PFAS - or “forever chemicals" - are toxic, with studies showing increased cancers, immune impacts and effects on growth, development and fertility. The Subcommittee’s 13 PFAS bills would enact a protective drinking water standard, ensure contaminated sites are cleaned up, establish a new grant program to filter the chemicals out of Americans’ drinking water, and more. The bills were combined into the PFAS Action Act of 2019, which recently passed the Full Committee and is heading to the House floor early next year.
Protecting public health by banning asbestos once and for all:
* Passed out of the Subcommittee and Full Committee H.R. 1603 - the Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act, which would completely ban the manufacture, import, processing and distribution of asbestos. Asbestos is a toxic substance that kills nearly 40,000 Americans every year. The bill passed Full Committee with a 47-1 vote.
Ensuring the safe storage and disposal of nuclear waste:
* Passed out of the Subcommittee and Full Committee H.R. 2699 - the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2019. As communities across the country expressed growing concern with more and more nuclear plants closing, this bill brings the country closer to a real national solution for moving spent nuclear fuel to an interim facility and, ultimately, a permanent repository.
Combatting the climate crisis and setting the U.S. on a path to a 100 percent clean economy:
* Held eight hearings specifically on climate change, after the previous Republican majority refused to schedule a single hearing on the global crisis over the last six years. The specific climate hearings examined the environmental and economic effects of climate change, filling the leadership void caused by federal inaction, state and local leaders’ response to the climate crisis, and a series of five hearings examining how to decarbonize various sectors of our economy.
* Announced a bold new plan to combat the climate crisis. In July the Committee announced it is adopting a bold new target in its fight against climate change - achieving a 100 percent clean economy by 2050. This ambitious target of net zero greenhouse gas pollution by 2050 is consistent with the global scientific community’s consensus that meeting this target is necessary to avoid the most catastrophic effects of the climate crisis. To ensure this goal is met, the Subcommittee held a series of hearings to begin drafting and building consensus around new, comprehensive climate legislation aimed at attaining “100 by 50." To date, seven hearings have been held within the Subcommittee. Each one focused on policy solutions for achieving net zero carbon pollution in the following: the full economy, the industrial sector, the building sector, the heavy duty vehicles sector, the power sector, for marginalized communities and for the country as a whole.
Made sweeping investments in a clean energy future:
* Put forth a comprehensive infrastructure package that combats climate change through the introduction of the LIFT America Act. The Full Committee held a legislative hearing on the bill, which seeks to combat climate change by investing more than $33 billion for clean energy, including $4 billion for the expansion of renewable energy use and $2.25 billion for the installation of solar panels in low-income and underserved communities.
Weeded out corruption in the Trump Administration:
* Launched an investigation into the Utility Air Regulatory Group (UARG) - a secretive front group funded by utility companies and devoted to rolling back Clean Air Act regulations - and its relationship to William Wehrum, the then Assistant Administrator for the EPA Office of Air and Radiation, and David Harlow, the Office’s Chief Counsel. On May 10, in the face of this Congressional scrutiny, UARG announced that it was disbanding. Wehrum, EPA’s top air policy official, resigned shortly thereafter.
Demanded accountability for harmful rollbacks of environmental protections:
* Held a hearing on the Trump Administration’s efforts to roll back the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFÉ) and tailpipe emissions standards, which limit the amount of carbon pollution light duty cars and trucks are allowed to emit. Rolling back our clean car standards threatens American jobs, public health, the climate and consumers - and even EPA’s own experts panned the decision. We demanded answers from EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
* Demanded information related to EPA’s plans to roll back the Clean Power Plan, fuel economy standards and the methane rule - three Obama-era rules critical to limiting carbon pollution and combating climate change.
* Demanded documents and information from EPA related to its proposed rollback of mercury and air toxics standards, which a Harvard University study found would result in the deaths of 80,000 more Americans each decade.
