Congressman Peters co-led a bipartisan, bicameral effort to urge the House and Senate Armed Services committees to include language from the USE IT Act in the final FY21 NDAA.
Climate change is a threat to our national security. The USE It Act will support investment in carbon capture and sequestration technologies to reduce emissions, and thereby address climate change and the national security risks it poses.
The plan is described in a September 9th piece for Politico, excerpt posted below:
New path emerges for Senate energy bill
By Kelsey Tamborrino
With help from Anthony Adragna.
September 11th, 2020
DEMOCRATS UNVEIL CORONAVIRUS, CLIMATE RESOLUTION: Congressional Democrats and progressives unveiled an election-year roadmap on Thursday for how the U.S. should seek to recover from the coronavirus pandemic, economic recession, racial strife and environmental crises, Pro’s Anthony Adragna reports. Under the plan, the Democrats and groups call for creating 16 million jobs with strong union protections, avoiding “climate and environmental catastrophe” by taking aggressive action to phase out fossil fuels and directing at least 40 percent of new investments toward communities of color and indigenous communities “that have been excluded, oppressed, or harmed by racist or unjust practices.” The resolution highlighted eight pillars for the recovery, but did not include any specific policies or details about the potential costs of implementing the strategy.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the strategy was to combine the priorities under a single policy framework, which did not include any specific policies or details about the potential costs of implementing the strategy. The resolution echoes the language of the Green New Deal by demanding the federal government facilitate “a bold and holistic national mobilization” to solve the crises. Should Democrats win control of the Senate, it would be “a top priority to pass a just, economic, renewable bill” following the principles outlined in the resolution, Schumer said at a press conference.
PELOSI: CLIMATE ‘EARLY PART’ OF PRIORITIES: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi meanwhile told reporters action addressing climate change would be “an early part of the agenda” if Joe Biden wins the presidency this year. “When Joe Biden says, build back better, that better includes building back in a way that is resilient, that is green, that protects the planet,” she said. “That will be a part [of the agenda], whether it is one bill, or it permeates the bills.” She specifically mentioned legislation, H.R. 9 (116), that would have the U.S. rejoin the Paris climate agreement and outline a plan for meeting its commitments, though Biden could do it administratively.
USE IT OR LOSE IT: Bipartisan and bicameral lawmakers called on the leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services committees to include legislation to boost carbon capture and sequestration technologies in the final defense reauthorization bill for fiscal year 2021. Investments in CCUS and direct air capture technologies as part of the USE IT measure, S. 383 (116), that was included in the Senate-passed NDAA bill would help manage national security risks, the lawmakers argue, while also “fostering new industries and creating important domestic jobs as the United States emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic.” The letter was led by Barrasso, Rep. David B. McKinley (R-W.Va.), Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.).