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WASHINGTON, DC—Congressman Paul D. Tonko, Chair of the House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Environment & Climate Change, cheered the passage of five clean energy and climate action bills he authored as part of the must-pass omnibus spending package advanced in the House tonight. Tonko’s bills drive key federal investments in building weatherization, clean energy research and development (R&D), climate mitigation, advanced battery recycling, and more.

“With smart federal investments in clean energy and climate innovation, we can spark America’s economic recovery, create good jobs, strengthen our nation’s infrastructure and safeguard our nation’s place as a world leader in energy technology,” Congressman Tonko said. “Even with all this field has to offer, America has fallen behind our competitors around the world and, in some cases, moved backwards in our push for new technology developments that are essential for staying globally competitive while addressing the climate crisis. This legislation starts to change that by investing in innovation and development of cutting-edge energy technology, and put America back where it belongs—at the forefront of climate leadership starting with a global transition from harmful HFCs to next generation refrigerants. The advancement of this package is a strong and encouraging step in the right direction to facilitate a clean energy transition and support our communities, but we have much more work to do to achieve our climate goals.”

Key Tonko priorities included in the federal spending bill H.R. 133:

• H.R. 2041, the Weatherization Enhancement and Local Energy Efficiency Investment and Accountability Act: to reauthorize and improve the Department of Energy’s Weatherization Assistance Program, the largest residential energy efficiency program in the country, which makes efficiency improvements in low-income homes.
• H.R. 2659, which would establish a Department of Energy RD&D program to improve the efficiency of gas turbines.
• H.R. 3609, the Wind Energy Research and Development Act: legislation that requires the Department of Energy to carry out a grant program to research, develop, and evaluate wind energy technologies and systems.
• H.R. 5544, the American Innovation and Manufacturing Leadership Act: phases down production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), highly potent greenhouse gases primarily used a refrigerants, by providing an orderly, innovation-driven transition to next generation technologies.
• H.R. 8232, the Bolster American Technology Through Expanding Recycling Yield (BATTERY) Act: to establish a research, development, and demonstration program at the Department of Energy that would support critical mineral recycling and reuse from batteries.

In addition to the five bills authored by Tonko, the package also includes significant tax incentive extensions for wind, solar, energy efficiency, and other critical clean energy technologies and infrastructure. During the 116^th Congress, Tonko led numerous efforts (see April 2019, October 2019, June 2020) in Congress to extend and expand these clean energy incentives.

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