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Mar 19, 2020
The novel coronavirus pandemic and its resulting economic disruptions could delay U.S. wind and solar projects from being started or completed by the end of 2020, threatening their access to federal tax credits that are critical to their financing. Clean-energy industry groups and their allies in Congress want to stop that from happening, and they see the massive coronavirus stimulus package now being crafted in Congress as a way to do it. On Tuesday, the three Democrats who co-chair the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition — Gerry Connolly of Virginia, Paul Tonko of New York and Doris Matsui of California — called for including in the stimulus package seven wind, solar, electric vehicle, energy storage and energy efficiency bills, a subset of measures included in a House proposal from last year, dubbed the GREEN Act. They asked for the measures to be added to the $1 trillion economic stimulus plan unveiled by the Trump administration on Wednesday, which includes $500 billion in cash payments to individual Americans, $300 billion for small businesses, $50 billion for airlines and $150 billion for other affected sectors.

Mar 18, 2020
Democratic House lawmakers backing including clean energy tax credits in the package include Representatives Gerry Connolly of Virginia, Paul Tonko of New York and Doris Matsui of California, who are the co-chairs of the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition. The renewable energy industry is arguing that it is also feeling the economic pain of forced business closings, layoffs and the slowdown in the supply chain. “Early results from a survey of our companies confirm some of our worst fears,” said Abigail Ross Hopper the president of the Solar Energy Industries Association

Mar 17, 2020
As lawmakers continue to hammer out legislation to address the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, House Democrats are looking to insert renewable energy tax credit provisions into a larger stimulus package aimed at stabilizing the economy. The House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition co-chairs said in a joint statement to Morning Consult that they have an eye toward addressing “both the economic slowdown we are facing as a result of COVID-19 and the ongoing climate crisis” with these measures. As a consequence of the pandemic, the U.S. renewables industry is facing widespread supply chain issues because the materials needed for wind and solar infrastructure come largely from China. And these concerns are compounded by the fact that two existing tax credits are approaching their ends...

Oct 30, 2019
With a possible impeachment trial looming, lawmakers and interest groups are stepping up pressure to see a package of clean energy tax incentives enacted before the end of the year. Three separate groups of House Democrats representing 166 members signed on to a letter sent today to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) calling for expansions of key clean energy tax breaks to be added to must-pass legislation. Specifically, the members of the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC), the New Democrat Coalition and the Congressional Progressive Caucus are calling for a broad expansion of the investment tax credit (ITC), including the addition of energy storage as a qualifying source; an expansion of the electric vehicle tax credit; an extension of the offshore wind ITC through 2025; and extensions and revisions of expired energy efficiency incentives. "These policies are vital steps we can take right now to address climate change while we continue the fight for broader, more comprehensive action, and this letter demonstrates clear support among our Democratic colleagues for their passage this year," said SEEC co-chairs Reps. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) and Doris Matsui (D-Calif.) in a statement.

Oct 30, 2019
More than 70 percent of House Democrats ranging from political centrists to progressives are urging their leadership to include “as many clean energy tax policies as possible” in must-pass legislation this year. The letter, spearheaded by the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition and signed by 166 lawmakers, is an effort to identify areas of common ground on climate change policy to unite the caucus this year. The lawmakers called on Democratic leadership to include the incentives in any tax extenders package — or any legislative vehicle — moving this year.

Aug 19, 2019
A group of House Democrats is urging General Motors Co. and other leading automakers to join the four car manufacturers that have broken with the Trump administration and signed on to a deal with California to keep improving vehicle fuel economy. "It is obvious that the momentum, both domestic and international, is leading us toward cleaner and more efficient cars of the future," Rep. Doris Matsui of California and seven other lawmakers said in a letter sent today to 14 companies, including GM, Toyota Motor Corp. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV. "We urge all automakers to come to the table and work towards pragmatic solutions that will better protect the planet while preventing years of litigation and economic uncertainty." Matsui is a co-chair of the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition; the other seven signers are also leaders. The new round of letters follows a similar series sent last week to the same automakers by 30 senators led by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)

Aug 19, 2019
Eight House Democrats are pushing automakers to join several fellow vehicle manufacturers in signing a deal with California that would sideline the Trump administration as it works to roll back fuel efficiency standards for vehicles. In a letter to 14 automakers on Wednesday, Democrats from the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition pleaded with them to join the deal, calling it “an important alternative to the administration's proposal to gut public health protections, reduce climate pollution, and create regulatory certainty for automakers.”

Aug 19, 2019
Eight senior House Democrats are asking 14 automakers to sign onto an agreement reached between California and four other major car companies last month to boost their average vehicle fuel efficiency to 50 miles per gallon by 2026. Their push, led by Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.), follows a similar effort from 30 Senate Democrats last week and seeks to bring more automakers into the agreement, which serves as an alternative to the Trump administration's plan to freeze federal standards. The letter's other signatories included senior members of the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition: Reps. Gerry Connolly (Va.), Donald McEachin (Va.), Chellie Pingree (Maine), Matt Cartwright (Pa.), Alan Lowenthal (Calif.) and Mike Quigley (Ill.). Matsui and Tonko are co-chairs of that group, along with Connolly.

Dec 12, 2018
Sen. Ed Markey hosted a bicameral meeting Tuesday with the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition that was attended by six senators and more than a dozen representatives. "The discussion was comprehensive, including hitting topics such as green infrastructure, energy efficiency, pushing committee chairs to make a plan for climate as a priority in their offices, putting a price on carbon, and reversing worsening trends on appropriations," a Democratic aide told ME.

Nov 30, 2018
The most recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warns that we have barely more than a decade to take serious action on climate change if we are going to prevent its most catastrophic impacts. Experts advise robust improvements in energy efficiency, innovative polices that support electrification across our economy, and investments to deploy clean energy resources if we hope to prevent a global temperature increase that threatens all communities. These are areas where we should be able to find bipartisan support and should be included in a forward-thinking, broad reaching infrastructure plan.