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AMSTERDAM, NY—Congressman Paul D. Tonko, Chair of the House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Environment & Climate Change, heralded clean economy legislation secured as part of the broad infrastructure package now advancing to the House Floor that makes major investments in clean energy, clean vehicles, clean buildings and more—all part of what Chairman Tonko has dubbed “America’s Clean Recovery.” 

“Even before this pandemic, our nation was falling behind the rest of the world in major areas, from manufacturing and economic productivity to the labor and environmental standards that are the cornerstones of healthy communities and thriving local economies,” Tonko noted. “The ongoing coronavirus epidemic has brought added suffering and hardship to millions of Americans. We have a responsibility to respond with strength and with characteristic American grit and vision. With this package, we have a tremendous opportunity to put Americans back to work in the short-term while modernizing our infrastructure to achieve a cleaner, more resilient, more competitive, and more just economy overall. My thanks to our committee and House leaders for marshalling these urgent priorities into the final bill, and I look forward to voting to advance this critical and timely legislation in the coming days.” 

Key clean energy components included in H.R. 2:

1. Weatherization—H.R. 2041, authored by Tonko, to reauthorize and improve the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Weatherization Assistance Program, the largest residential energy efficiency program in the country. Each dollar of weatherization services provides $4.50 in energy, health, and safety benefits for low-income households receiving those services. The bill authorizes $3.3 billion over 5 years to retrofit low-income homes.
   
   
2. EV Charging Infrastructure—H.R. 5530, authored by Tonko, to establish a new DOE rebate program to support deployment of electric vehicle charging infrastructure at multi-family homes, workplaces, and other publicly accessible locations. The bill authorizes $500 million over 5 years to support the buildout of infrastructure for zero-emission vehicles.
   
   
3. Grid Modernization—$3.5 billion to support investments that will improve the reliability, resilience, and security of the electric grid. Grid modernization is necessary to integrate the growing number of renewable and distributed energy resources being added to the nation’s electricity mix. The package also includes provisions to support the development of energy storage systems, microgrids, and interregional transmission infrastructure.
   
   
4. Renewable Energy—$1 billion for grants and other financial assistance to promote solar energy deployment in low-income and underserved areas. This investment builds on Tonko’s commitment to ensure the benefits of clean energy reach every neighborhood.
   
   
5. Building Modernization—more than $27 billion to support retrofits that will improve the energy efficiency, health, and resilience of buildings. This includes programs focused on homes, schools, and other public buildings. The package also reauthorizes DOE’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program to support local governments’ clean energy priorities.
   
   
6. Clean Vehicles—more than $38 billion to accelerate the transition to a sustainable transportation system. This includes investments that support the development of a robust network of charging and re-fueling infrastructure, including a focus on deploying infrastructure in underserved areas. The package also includes a significant expansion of Federal grant and loan opportunities that promote American manufacturing of clean vehicles and component parts.
   

In addition to these contributions from the House Committee on Energy & Commerce, H.R. 2 also includes a title from the Committee on Ways and Means. For the past several years, Tonko has led multiple efforts to build support within the House for extending and expanding clean energy tax incentives. In recent years, clean energy businesses have created jobs at a much greater rate than overall U.S. job growth; however, the U.S. clean energy sector has lost more than 620,000 jobs since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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