In the News

From city halls to the halls of Congress, elected leaders make lots of decisions that affect the climate. So U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois, co-chair of the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition, says people concerned about climate change can make a difference by pushing for action at any level of government.

The Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC) Institute — a nonprofit affiliated with the House's SEEC caucus — is pushing forward with plans to take between 15 and 20 Democratic House members to the Belém talks. Among the members set to attend are Reps. [SEEC Vice Chair] Sean Casten (D-Ill.), [SEEC Members] Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.), and Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.). Pearson Croney-Clark, director of external affairs at the SEEC Institute, said the group hopes to keep “U.S. leadership visible.”

[SEEC Clean Energy Deployment Task Force Co-Chairs] Democratic Reps. Sean Casten of Illinois and Mike Levin from California are preparing to introduce sweeping energy legislation that would reverse Trump administration policies, including by restoring clean energy tax credits and limiting the U.S. Department of Energy’s ability to declare “energy emergencies” to keep fossil-fueled power plants from retiring. The draft Cheap Energy Act aims to put downward pressure on electricity bills by bolstering energy efficiency efforts, supporting grid-enhancing technologies and helping provide lower-cost renewable energy projects access to the grid, according to Casten.

Climate hawks Reps. Mike Levin (D-Calif.) and Sean Casten (D-Ill.) released a discussion draft of their "Cheap Energy Act," a hodgepodge of tax, permitting and utility regulatory reform policies to boost renewables in a bid to lower electricity prices. They are hoping it presses the argument that Trump policies targeting renewables are going to keep raising power prices.

We can build a thriving and sustainable economy that empowers working people — not high-dollar political donors. And to do so, we need only look to states and communities that are already building these solutions. While we need to think big, we also have the tools we need to build a better future right in front of us. That’s why I’m proud that we are coming together to launch SEEC Institute’s Thriving Economy Project, a comprehensive initiative to develop real solutions for the economic challenges facing American families and businesses due to rising energy costs, increasing global economic competition and growing climate disasters. I am proud of this project because it is focused on listening to the people who are already finding ways to thrive, whether with clean energy solutions, creative farming practices or building more resilient neighborhoods. It’s our goal to help them scale their successes.

Tax incentives for renewable energy projects would be restored and a low-income energy assistance program expanded under a draft bill House Democrats unveiled Wednesday. The blueprint aims to stem rising energy costs for Americans by doubling down on wind and solar energy, building out transmission lines to bolster the electricity grid, and curtailing the Trump administration’s ability to favor fossil fuel projects over renewables. Reps. Sean Casten (Ill.) and Mike Levin (Calif.) released the framework, which includes provisions from multiple Democratic bills, including from Reps. Kathy Castor (Fla.), Paul Tonko (N.Y.), Yassamin Ansari (Ariz.), Susie Lee (Nev.), and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.).

House Democrats introduced a new package of proposals on Wednesday taking aim at rising electricity prices. The move signals a shift in how the party plans to talk about the energy industry — and an even bigger change in how the party plans to talk about climate change in the Trump 2.0 era. The new package, sponsored by Representatives Sean Casten and Mike Levin, would encourage new power line construction and strengthen utility regulation in much of the country. It would also restore longstanding tax credits for wind and solar energy, which were repealed as part of President Trump’s partisan tax and spending law earlier this year.

A pair of House Democrats released "consumer-focused" energy legislation Wednesday that would restore recently gutted clean energy tax credits, relieve permitting bottlenecks and prevent a president's ability to favor fossil fuels. The "Cheap Energy Act," from Reps. Sean Casten (D-Ill.) and Mike Levin (D-Calif.), is broader than a transmission-focused permitting bill the pair released last year.