SEEC Leadership celebrates passage of historic climate legislation

Washington D.C. – The leaders of the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC), including Co-Chairs Reps. Gerry Connolly, Doris Matsui, and Paul Tonko and Vice-Chairs Reps. Matt Cartwright, Alan Lowenthal, A. Donald McEachin, Chellie Pingree, and Mike Quigley, released the following statement after Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act:

"After decades of failed attempts to pass major federal legislation to address the climate crisis, we have finally turned a corner, and not a moment too soon. The Inflation Reduction Act pumps $369 billion into creating a clean energy economy, which makes it the largest-ever United States investment to fight climate change.

"We can finally look our international allies in the eye and tell them that we're with them in this fight. The bill puts our country on the path to achieving our commitments under the Paris Climate Agreement. This has been verified by independent, nonpartisan analysts who have modeled that this bill will lower the United States' greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 40% by 2030. This puts us within striking distance of President Biden's goal of a 50% reduction by 2030.

"The Inflation Reduction Act achieves these remarkable reductions by touching every sector of our economy – from electricity, transportation, and manufacturing, to buildings, industry, and agriculture. It also includes landmark investments for environmental justice communities, after decades of economic disinvestment and exclusion. And many of the bill's investments are pegged to prevailing wage standards, ensuring that the millions of clean energy jobs the bill creates will be good-paying jobs.

"We also cannot forget the other co-benefits that the American people will enjoy as a result of the climate provisions. Independent analysis has estimated that by 2030, the average American household will save over $1,000 annually in lower energy costs. It will also prevent 3,900 premature deaths a year by 2030 due to decreased air pollution.

"While we had to accept some provisions that we wouldn't support on their own, they were necessary to strike this monumental deal. And the modeling has clearly shown that any increase in emissions resulting from these provisions would be vastly outweighed by the emissions reductions in the rest of the bill.

"Furthermore, we do not view this bill as the end of the road, but rather as the beginning. The Inflation Reduction Act is the first chapter in a new era of United States climate action as we work together to build a clean energy economy."