In the News
Despite having one of the highest membership rates of any caucus on Capitol Hill, the roughly 100-person House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition has kept a low profile over the years, leaving its imprint on legislation without the accompanying sharp elbows and chest-thumping.
Now the leaders of a new outside group hope they might be able to raise the caucus' profile — while also increasing its output and clout in policymaking.
House Democrats are teaching their staffs how to write energy and climate legislation in a legislative world after Chevron deference.
Why it matters: The Supreme Court's decision in the Loper Bright case put fresh limitations on Congress' ability to delegate powers to agencies, which threatens to upend hard-fought climate regulations.
If elected president, Kamala Harris’ first day in the Oval Office would present Democrats with a once-in-a-generation opportunity — a chance to advance the work of her predecessor.
CHICAGO — Climate advocates spent the past week speculating over how Vice President Kamala Harris and her surrogates would talk about green issues from the main stage of the four-day Democratic National Convention here.
In a segment lasting just under 15 minutes on the very last night, they got their answer — though it might do little to settle an ongoing conversation about landing the most effective message to sway swing voters on the environment.
DOUBLING DOWN ON IRA: August in an election year is a chance for lawmakers to be back in their districts selling their legislative wins to constituents. For many Democrats, that has meant rejuvenating their messaging on the Inflation Reduction Act, which turned two on Friday.
In 2022, President Joe Biden signed into law the single biggest investment in climate action in United States history. The landmark bill, known as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), will provide nearly $370 billion in climate and energy investments, some of which has already funded a variety of projects across the country.
A group of lawmakers are urging colleagues not to neglect opportunities to pitch their biggest legislative achievements: the Inflation Reduction Act and bipartisan infrastructure law.
Staff for the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition, a 90-member organization pushing for “policies that will address global climate change,” have prepared a 35-page “toolkit” on how to successfully message on these achievements during August recess.
PORT ANGELES — Rebuilding the Hurricane Ridge Day Lodge destroyed by fire last year is still a long way off, but securing $80 million it is estimated to cost could be a little bit closer.
U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer said Monday any funding most likely would come through a disaster supplement, like the kind the $4 billion in aid the White House recently requested from Congress to pay for things like rebuilding Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are talking about how Congress can make legislation airtight after a landmark Supreme Court ruling opened up a release valve for legal challenges to agency actions.
That 6-3 decision in late June, overturned a long-standing doctrine known as "Chevron deference," which for four decades directed judges to defer to the expertise of agencies in implementing laws.
House Republicans passed the annual defense policy bill by a slim margin Friday morning, overcoming a wave of Democratic opposition to the legislation’s attacks on climate policy and other administration priorities.