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WASHINGTON, DC—Congressman Paul D. Tonko, Chair of the Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee, cheered the passage of a number of clean energy provisions he pushed to include in the Build Back Better Act, which advanced out of the House today. Key investments championed by Tonko include advancing offshore wind development, delivering clean energy tax incentives, supporting EV infrastructure and more.  

“With each passing day, the climate crisis grows more dire, and the window to avoid its most devastating impacts grows smaller,” Congressman Tonko said. “Today the House took strong action to protect our communities from the worst of this climate crisis and chart a course for a more sustainable, competitive, prosperous and just America. The passage of our Build Back Better agenda will create jobs through development of our clean energy industries, protect our kids from dangerous contaminants in our air and water, build out our national EV infrastructure network and so much more. The work to address climate change and protect our environmental and public health is far from over. But I stand ready to work alongside the president to build on the vital action taken today and deliver the whole-of-government response that our planet and the American people need.”

The Build Back Better Act:

• Extends and expands numerous tax incentives for clean energy technologies, including wind, solar, electric vehicles, energy efficiency technologies, and more
• Includes legislation, authored by Tonko, to allow the Department of the Interior to hold offshore wind energy lease sales in federal waters in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico.
• Invests $29 billion in nonprofit, state, and local climate finance institutions that support the rapid deployment of low- and zero-emission technologies, including EV charging infrastructure
• Supports development of innovative technologies and American manufacturing of zero-emission transportation technologies with more than $15 billion invested in Department of Energy (DOE) loan and grant programs
• Improves residential energy use with $12.5 billion in home energy efficiency and appliance electrification rebates
• Includes an additional $10 billion to replace drinking water lead service lines and other lead remediation projects
• Reduces transportation-related air pollution by investing $3.5 billion at ports and $5 billion for heavy-duty vehicles
• Supports environmental justice with $3 billion for community-led projects
• Establishes a Methane Emissions Reduction Program to control excess methane pollution

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