ABC’s Weekly Federal Legislative Update March 29, 2021

Introduction

Congress is on recess this week due to the Easter holidays. The biggest news in Washington last week was the release of President ’s Infrastructure Plan. The Plan was very broad and did not contain many details in recognition of Congress’ role in actually crafting and passing the legislation. Nevertheless, it was a clear indication of what the President’s priorities are. The following is news from Washington, D.C.

Administration

President Joe Biden released his highly anticipated Infrastructure package which contained a number of policy priorities focused on the deployment of renewable energy. These included items such as charging station infrastructure for EVs, a ten year extension of the Production Tax Credit and Investment Tax Credit as well as making them refundable and a clean electricity standard which would aim to provide 100% clean energy by 2035. The following stories discuss different aspects of the proposal as well as how it meshes with current Congressional proposals.

Infrastructure: Biden Pledges Transformational Progress on

Nick Sobczyk of E&E Daily wrote on April 1, “President Biden outlined his vision for generational investments in clean energy, water and transportation infrastructure yesterday, pitching it as an opportunity to fight climate change and remake the American middle class.

“The "American Jobs Plan," which proposes more than $2 trillion in spending paired with tax hikes for corporations and the wealthiest Americans, would "lead to a transformational progress in our efforts to tackle climate change," Biden said in a speech at a carpenters training facility in Pittsburgh.

"It's not a plan that tinkers around the edges," Biden said. "It's a once-in-a-generation investment in America, unlike anything we've seen or done since we built the Interstate Highway System and the space race decades ago."

“The plan is the first of two broad stimulus proposals expected from the White House. Biden emphasized the union and working-class constituencies he appealed to on the campaign trail, laying out a framework to create jobs replacing lead pipes, installing clean energy and massively building out electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

“The plan's proposed network of 500,000 EV chargers would create "good-paying jobs" and allow the to lead the world in "the manufacturing and export of clean electric cars and trucks," Biden said.

"We're going to provide tax incentives and point-of-sale rebates to help all American families afford clean vehicles of the future," Biden said.

“The address yesterday afternoon offered a grand vision, but there are significant obstacles in sight for what would be a historically large spending program and by far the most ambitious climate policy ever enacted by the federal government.

“The plan, while light on details, would seek to massively boost clean energy via expansions of key renewable tax credits and a federal clean electricity standard, ideas that have already gotten a cold shoulder from congressional Republicans.

“Overall, it proposes $621 billion for transportation infrastructure and $580 billion for domestic research and development and manufacturing expansions, including massive expansions of clean energy R&D, to reach a direct spending top line of $2.25 trillion.

“But particularly sticky are the plan's tax provisions, which would scrap the user-fee model that has traditionally paid for roads, highways and bridges in favor of a larger- scale overhaul of the federal tax code.

“It would eliminate subsidies and tax incentives for companies — currently worth some $20 billion annually — and raise the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, among other changes that would roll back the 2017 tax cut bill.

“Republicans are already bashing the idea, but Biden pledged that no American making under $400,000 annually would see a federal tax increase. The corporate tax increase alone, he said, would generate $1 trillion over 15 years.

"This is not to target those who made it and not to seek retribution. This is about opening opportunities for everybody else," Biden said. "Here's the truth: We all will do better when we all do well."

“Ambition, Biden said, should not preclude bipartisanship. "I don't think you'll find a Republican today in the House or Senate — maybe I'm wrong, gentleman — who doesn't think we have to improve our infrastructure," Biden said.

"They know China and other countries are eating our lunch," said the president. "There's no reason why it can't be bipartisan." “But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) dismissed that assessment yesterday, calling the plan "a Trojan horse for the largest set of tax hikes in a generation." "There would be bipartisan support for a smart proposal," McConnell said in a statement.

Road ahead

“It remains to be seen how the details of Biden's plan will gel with the legislative process and existing ideas on Capitol Hill.

“Many of the proposals to boost clean energy and research — and nix fossil fuel subsidies — are plucked directly from Democratic legislation.

“That includes the clean electricity standard, which would aim to achieve 100% clean energy by 2035, mirroring both Biden's campaign pledge and the "Clean FUTURE Act," H.R. 1512, the climate bill introduced last month by House Energy and Commerce Democrats.

“Democratic committee leaders also cheered the plan yesterday and offered visions for how it fits into their own ongoing efforts on infrastructure and clean energy.

"In announcing this plan, President Biden has taken the conversations that I've had with him, Vice President [Kamala] Harris, and [Transportation] Secretary [Pete] Buttigieg, and he's put those words into action," House Transportation and Infrastructure Chair Peter DeFazio (D-OR) said in a statement.

“There are lingering questions, however, about process, particularly surrounding budget reconciliation, the tool that allows certain spending legislation to bypass the Senate filibuster and pass with a simple majority.

“Traditionally, the five-year transportation infrastructure bill, which Congress is pushing to reauthorize before it expires at the end of September, is bipartisan and contains policy provisions that would not make it through the so-called Byrd rule that controls reconciliation in the Senate.

“With Republicans gearing up to oppose Biden's plan, much of the spending would likely have to move through reconciliation.

“But it's not clear whether the reauthorization bill could get wrapped into negotiations or whether the plan would layer on some $600 billion in additional transportation funding.

"As my Committee continues its work to pass our surface transportation reauthorization legislation this spring, I'm excited to have a partner in the White House with a robust plan to move our infrastructure into the 21st century," DeFazio said. “Biden's forthcoming budget proposal could shed additional light on that as well, but both leaders of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee said yesterday they are looking for bipartisanship.

"I'll continue to help lead the effort in Congress to advance bipartisan legislation that is needed to help our communities, our economy, and our planet," EPW Chairman Tom Carper (D-DE) said in a statement yesterday.

“Ranking member Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), meanwhile, dismissed the plan as economic transformation rather than infrastructure investment.

"Just last week, our committee unanimously reported legislation to rebuild our nation's water systems," she said in a statement. "This proves that infrastructure can and should be done on a bipartisan basis."

Green New Deal fights

“Democrats are hoping to avoid the fate of President Trump's 2018 infrastructure plan — a similarly ambitious outline to overhaul environmental permitting and leverage private investment that earned plaudits from his party but ultimately fell flat.

“While the Trump administration struggled to get GOP leadership to move its proposals and find pay-fors, Democrats could face a different set of intraparty challenges.

“Progressives are already eager for even more ambitious spending, and a number of groups set out yesterday to pick apart Biden's plan, calling for $1 trillion in annual spending and more specific cuts to carbon emissions.

“The Sunrise Movement yesterday offered a lukewarm endorsement of Biden's plan as a "start," while pledging to continue to push for $1 trillion in annual spending to transform the economy.

"The priorities and approach are right — this contains the frameworks of the — but as of now this plan could only be considered a beginning of that truly transformative vision," said Sunrise's Executive Director .

"But we've always said that the Green New Deal wouldn't be just one bill," said Prakash, "and the only thing worse than not meeting this moment at scale would be not meeting it at all."

“With the White House planning to release a second proposal focused on health care, child care and education in the coming weeks, Sunrise said it will look to that proposal to include more provisions "that are even more responsive to the scale and urgency of our economic crises, as well as what science and justice demand." “Republicans, as they have for weeks, warned against policy and spending items unrelated to conventional transportation infrastructure, a rallying cry that's likely to intensify as debate moves forward.

“House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee ranking member Sam Graves (R- Mo.) said most of the president's plan "goes to a wide array of initiatives that would be better considered through thoughtfully crafted, more targeted measures — not lumped together in a massive package that throws taxpayers under the bus with the biggest tax hikes we've seen in decades."

"Thankfully, it's Congress' job to write legislation and not the Administration's," Graves said in a statement.

“Other top Republicans offered a hodgepodge of critical statements, focusing particularly on the tax hikes and the Green New Deal, suggesting little realistic path for the kind of large-scale vision Biden offered yesterday.

“Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), ranking member on the Energy and Commerce Committee, accused Democrats of prepping "a federal takedown of critical American industries that employ millions of people," while Senator John Barrasso (R- WY) called the plan an "out-of-control socialist spending spree."

"This proposal starts with the punishing policies of the Green New Deal and builds back worse from there," Barrasso said in a statement. "It will hike taxes and spend trillions of dollars on the left's radical agenda."

“But Biden nonetheless painted an optimistic picture of bipartisanship, pointing to infrastructure successes in the past and promising to invite the GOP to the Oval Office. He framed investments in infrastructure and research as part of a larger global question about the future of democracy.

"There's a lot of autocrats in the world who think the reason why they're going to win is democracies can't reach consensus any longer; autocracies do. That's what competition between America and China and the rest of the world is all about," Biden said.

"It's a basic question: Can democracies still deliver for their people? Can they get a majority? I believe we can."

Reporter Geof Koss contributed.

Infrastructure: How Biden’s Plan Squares with Congressional Intentions

On April 1, Geof Koss and Jeremy Dillion of E&E Daily submitted, “The sweeping $2 trillion infrastructure and clean energy recovery plan laid out by President Biden yesterday borrows heavily from a familiar assortment of Democratic climate proposals in recent years, while flipping the script on the long-standing tradition of tapping user fees to pay for roads and bridges.

“The "American Jobs Plan" detailed by Biden in Pittsburgh yesterday adopts a multitude of Democratic clean energy and climate policies that have been percolating on Capitol Hill, a move that may ease the assembly of the massive package in the months ahead.

"The House is already at work to advance a transformational infrastructure package," noted House Speaker (D-CA) in a statement that praised Biden's plan as a "visionary, once-in-a-century investment in the American people and in America's future."

“But the White House proposal to pay for the ambitious plan by raising corporate tax rates and limiting companies' abilities to shift profits overseas represents a marked departure from the tradition of dedicating certain user fees and taxes to fund infrastructure projects.

“It's a political gambit that is already drawing pushback from the business community and Republicans, raising the stakes for efforts to win bipartisan buy-in for the centerpiece of Biden's early climate agenda.

“Representative Sam Graves (R-MO), ranking member of Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and one of a handful of Republicans who huddled with Biden in the Oval Office last month to talk infrastructure, blasted the plan as "a multitrillion- dollar partisan shopping list of progressive priorities, all broadly categorized as 'infrastructure' and paid for with massive, job-killing tax increases."

“Graves said in a statement, "Such tax hikes couldn't come at a worse time, with the economy fighting its way out of this pandemic."

Pending bills

“The infrastructure plan has gotten generous praise from Biden's fellow Democrats, and that may be because it reinforces climate action already pitched in Congress.

“Rather than offering a brand-new framework, Biden opted for a package built upon legislative proposals that have floated on Capitol Hill for the past few years.

“The presidential package acts more as an endorsement for existing legislation than White House-centric climate ambitions.

“A top example of that is the White House's embrace of a clean energy standard. Biden included that policy in his campaign platform along with a host of other clean energy infrastructure and carbon pricing ideas. “Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, however, have zeroed in on the standard as the best policy lever to transform the country's economy to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

“Biden's pitch remains vague on what a clean energy standard should look like, leaving room for Democrats to fill in the blanks.

"I commend the president for including a national Clean Electricity Standard in his plan that meets the same aggressive targets of the CLEAN Future Act and the investments necessary to make it a reality," E&C Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) said in a statement, referencing the committee Democrats' climate bill.

"The rest of the world is already embarking on a major transition to clean technology, and this plan positions us to not only compete but to lead the pack," he said.

“Pallone said the strategy also echoes much of the infrastructure spending included in the committee's "Leading Infrastructure For Tomorrow's (LIFT) America Act," H.R. 1848, a $313 billion clean energy, water, broadband and health care infrastructure package.

“Biden's plan backs carbon capture legislation from Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) and Representative Marc Veasey (D-TX) — the "SCALE Act" — to establish a federally backed, low-interest loan program to help build the infrastructure needed to move the captured greenhouse gas emissions.

“The White House proposal also raises the profile of a "Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator" through an allotment of $26 billion for the clean energy financing tool.

“That idea has circulated around Congress for years, with Representative Debbie Dingell (D-MI) leading the legislative effort in the House and Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) in the Senate.

“Biden's embrace of congressional plans extends to research and development as well. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) pitched massive infrastructure improvements at the Department of Energy's national labs last Congress. The Biden proposal would allocate $40 billion for that effort.

“Congress passed massive spending authorization boosts for clean energy research and development as part of the first comprehensive energy bill to pass the chamber in over a decade late last year.

“The Biden plan would infuse $35 billion — or five times DOE's annual research budget — in clean energy and innovation R&D. For the House's top energy appropriator, that came as welcome news.

"For too long, our national leaders have let American innovation and investment slip away to foreign competition," said House Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee Chairwoman Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio). "It's time America grabs the reins of progress again."

Energy taxes

“Biden's plan also attempts to promote clean energy by extending and expanding key existing tax credits, while also creating new incentives and funding mechanisms sought by interest groups and their congressional allies in recent years.

“The plan would extend for a decade the renewable production and investment tax credits, currently slated to lapse under a 2015 tax deal.

“Biden's extension is twice as long as the five-year one included in House Democrats' energy tax marker, the "Growing Renewable Energy and Efficiency Now (GREEN) Act," H.R. 848, which Biden's plan otherwise largely tracks.

“Biden's plan would also create a new investment tax credit for energy storage — a top priority of Democrats and multiple clean energy interests in recent years — as well as an expansion of the 45Q tax break for carbon capture and sequestration, and a new incentive for building transmission lines.

“In a nod to a growing call from lawmakers and advocates, Biden's proposal would allow a direct pay option for a host of energy taxes to ease financing woes brought on by tax equity markets frozen by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“While incorporating a host of clean energy tax ideas from lawmakers from both parties, the White House proposal is notably silent on a top priority of Senate Finance Chairman Ron Wyden.

“The Oregon Democrat has a plan to scrap much of the existing energy tax code in favor of three technology-neutral incentives for electricity, transportation and efficiency.

“In a statement, Wyden noted areas of agreement between himself and Biden, including eliminating fossil fuel subsidies and providing incentives for clean energy production and manufacturing.

“Still, Wyden made clear he will press forward with his own strategy. "I will continue to push my comprehensive energy tax overhaul, which would scrap our hodgepodge of 44 energy tax breaks and replace them with a technology-neutral, emissions-based system," Wyden said.

"This proposal is key to achieving our climate goals and should be the linchpin of our efforts in the Senate," said the Finance chair.

Pay-for gambit “Biden's proposal deviates significantly from the user-fee model that has historically paid for surface transportation programs through the Highway Trust Fund.

“There's been bipartisan backing — and support from the business community — for increasing the federal gas tax for the first time since the 1990s, but Biden's plan instead calls for raising corporate tax rates to 28%.

“The president also wants new limits on companies' ability to shift profits abroad to tax havens and other tax avoidance mechanisms, and is calling for the elimination of unspecified fossil fuel tax breaks.

“Both the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) applauded Biden's plan for going big on infrastructure investments but took issue with the proposed pay-fors.

“Neil Bradley, the Chamber's executive vice president and chief policy officer, called the proposed tax hikes "dangerously misguided."

"Properly done, a major investment in infrastructure today is an investment in the future, and like a new home, should be paid for over time — say 30 years — by the users who benefit from the investment," Bradley said in a statement.

“On , Bradley noted that 31 states since 2013 have increased user fees to finance infrastructure, adding that electric vehicles should contribute as well.

“NAM also pointed to user fees and bond financing as preferable pay-fors. "Raising taxes on manufacturers would fundamentally undermine our ability to lead this recovery," said NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons in a statement.

“Biden's plan to raise $2 trillion to pay for the plan over 15 years also represents a departure from the long-established practice of using 10-year budget windows for scoring, which may complicate the parliamentary calculus if Democrats use budget reconciliation to advance the package, as expected.

“While defending the plan's pay-fors, a senior administration official told reporters Tuesday that the president is open to other funding mechanisms.

"He wants to understand if people have other ideas of how to pay for it, they have other ideas of how to structure these," the official said during a background briefing. "That's what this process is going to be about."

Things to Watch on Taxes as Infrastructure Debate Unfolds

E&E Daily reporter Geof Koss published on March 31, “As President Biden makes his "Build Back Better" pitch today in Pittsburgh, lawmakers and interest groups are paying close attention to see how the White House's vision matches up to the smorgasbord of clean energy tax proposals waiting for their day in the spotlight.

“Sector-specific assistance for clean energy has been a perennial request to Capitol Hill since the COVID-19 pandemic struck last year, but has been repeatedly overshadowed in relief talks by more immediate economic and public health needs.

“However, with clean energy a major focus of the Biden plan, advocates and their congressional allies will finally have a legislative opening for an assortment of policies to meet the White House's climate goals.

“Indeed, Biden's proposal includes numerous energy tax proposals being discussed on Capitol Hill, according to a fact sheet made public this morning.

"President Biden is proposing a ten-year extension and phase down of an expanded direct-pay investment tax credit and production tax credit for clean energy generation and storage," says the document.

“It borrows from a sweeping clean energy tax reform title, known as the "Growing Renewable Energy and Efficiency Now (GREEN) Act," which was part of the $1.5 trillion green infrastructure package that passed last summer in the House.

“The "GREEN Act," H.R. 848, which includes extensions of key renewable tax breaks, as well as a new energy storage credit and expansion of the electric vehicle incentives, has already been teed up by Ways and Means in anticipation of the infrastructure push.

“The Biden proposal is, however, more ambitious in its decade extension of clean energy incentives.

“Another plan expected to be released next month by Senate Finance Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) would scrap the energy tax code and replace it with three technology- neutral incentives — for electricity, transportation and efficiency.

“But neither package will be the last word on what makes the cut. Here's what to watch in the weeks and months ahead:

Manufacturing

“Expect to hear a lot about policies to boost domestic manufacturing. Lawmakers in both chambers have laid down legislative markers to resuscitate the Section 48C manufacturing credit, an Obama-era clean energy incentive created by the 2009 economic stimulus law.

“That program would be revived through the "GREEN Act," as well as a proposal offered by Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) that contains an emphasis on helping communities struggling with the closure of coal mines or power plants. That plan enjoys the backing of Senator Steve Daines (R-MT).

“The Biden framework shows support for 48C. It says, "The President's plan also includes specific supports for modernizing supply chains, including in the auto sector, like extending the 48C tax credit program."

“A forthcoming proposal by Wyden, Stabenow and Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) will take aim more broadly at long percolating concerns over the loss of U.S. manufacturing jobs, supply chain disruptions and climate change — with an emphasis on boosting clean energy technologies, including but not limited to solar and batteries.

“The measure is being drafted with an eye toward Biden's emissions reduction goals, a Democratic aide told E&E News last week.

"If the analyses are to be believed, the demand for solar will greatly exceed the current global production capacity of solar panels," the staffer said. "There will need to be a massive build-out in sort of capacity to build solar panels."

“That also provides an opportunity to capture market share from China, which currently holds about 80% to 90% of the solar panel market. "We should be seizing more of that growth here in the U.S.," the aide added.

“In the House, conversations are ongoing with Ways and Means on tools to boost U.S. manufacturing, Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) told reporters this month during an event to announce the House Democratic Manufacturing Working Group.

Transmission

“Lawmakers are already prepping to inject incentives to encourage the building of transmission lines into the legislative mix.

“The House's "GREEN Act" is silent on transmission, but Senator Martin Heinrich (D- N.M.) told E&E News this month that transmission will be a top priority for him as the infrastructure debate unfolds. He unveiled a proposal last week that would create an investment tax credit for transmission.

"We need to start moving our tax credit applications from the stuff that we've already made cheap to the stuff that we still need to make cheap," he said.

“Freshman Representative Teresa Leger Fernández (D-NM) also plugged investments in electric grid upgrades this week in a personal plea to Biden.

"Investments in the green grid could help us create a 21st century Route 66 of renewable energy where electricity generated in our sundrenched and windy state could fuel a national electric grid," Leger Fernández wrote Monday. “The president, in his plan, is supporing the "creation of a targeted investment tax credit that incentivizes the buildout of at least 20 gigawatts of high-voltage capacity power lines and mobilizes tens of billions in private capital off the sidelines — right away."

EV charging

“Building out electric vehicle charging infrastructure is expected to be part of Biden's announcement, and one key Republican senator highlighted it last week as a possible area of bipartisan cooperation.

"We need to have the infrastructure so that people can actually get the assurance that they can charge their car and move about the country," Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), ranking member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, said last week to the National Association of Counties. "That's going to be a part of our discussion."

“Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) was among the sponsors of new bipartisan legislation, S. 975, unveiled last week to extend and expand the alternative vehicle fueling tax break.

Carbon capture

“There's also strong bipartisan support for using the tax code to boost carbon capture and sequestration technology, and any proposals to expand the so-called Section 45Q CCS break could well be the carrot that brings Republicans to the table to negotiate on energy taxes.

“The legislation, S. 986, offered last week by Senators Tina Smith (D-MN), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) to extend 45Q and increase its value for direct air capture, enjoys support from multiple GOP senators — Capito, North Dakota's John Hoeben and Kevin Cramer, and Iowa's Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst.

“The new legislation would also allow for a direct payment option for 45Q. A flurry of recent bills would allow refundability to make tax incentives easier to monetize during the pandemic. The House's "GREEN Act" also contains an extension of 45Q and direct pay provisions.

“The Biden plan, says the fact sheet, "reforms and expands the bipartisan Section 45Q tax credit, making it direct pay and easier to use for hard-todecarbonize industrial applications, direct air capture, and retrofits of existing power plants."

Oil and gas breaks

“Democrats have long and unsuccessfully sought to wipe oil and gas breaks from the tax code, but with control of both chambers of Congress and the White House, it's worth keeping an eye on the issue. “Indeed the Biden plan says, "As part of the President's commitment to put the country on a path to net-zero emissions by 2050, his tax reform proposal will eliminate all these special preferences."

“House Democrats renewed the push last week with H.R. 2184, targeting 11 provisions of the code long enjoyed by oil and gas companies, including the enhanced oil recovery credit and breaks for intangible drilling costs.

“On a call with liberal environmental groups, Representative Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) this week said he was planning an Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on Environment hearing on April 22 — Earth Day — on eliminating fossil fuel subsidies.

"At a time when all the experts are telling us we need to be developing renewable energy, that we need to be moving towards energy efficiency and that we don't have much time to act, the last thing we should be doing is tipping the scales in favor of the fossil fuel industry," Khanna said on the call, according to a statement from Friends of the Earth.

“But any push to write fossil fuel incentives out of the code may be a heavy lift, given the slim Democratic majority in the House and the divided 50-50 Senate.

“Friends of the Earth President Erich Pica called on lawmakers to use budget reconciliation — under which bills can pass in the Senate by a simple majority — to cancel "some of the most generous tax loopholes on the books."

Said Pica, "With only 51 votes in the Senate, we can end these giveaways once and for all."

Infrastructure Farmers See Opportunity in Biden Plan But Fret Over the Tab

Marc Heller of Greenwire wrote on April 1, “President Biden's $2.3 trillion infrastructure proposal could help farmers move goods to market and might even reduce fertilizer runoff into streams and rivers.

“Paying for the plan has the biggest farm lobbying group sweating, though, while others wonder whether farm country may be overlooked.

“The American Farm Bureau Federation said it worries the tax increases the administration and congressional Democrats are weighing to pay for the improvements could fall heavily on some farmers.

"The administration's infrastructure plan includes some important priorities for agriculture and rural communities, but raising taxes, particularly when our country is trying to emerge from the pandemic's economic blow, is a misguided idea," said Mike Tomko, the group's director of communications, as details emerged yesterday. “For agriculture, the proposal could meet several urgent needs, including repairs to rural roads and bridges — even to dirt roads — and long-promised completion of high-speed internet that's essential to the global positioning systems farmers increasingly use to pinpoint where to apply fertilizer and manure.

“In Western states, a big infrastructure plan could help maintain and improve water systems that deliver irrigation to fields, according to the Western Growers Association, a producers group with members in California, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico.

"While much of the country could use infrastructure updates, rural communities have suffered disproportionately from underfunding," said Rob Larew, president of the National Farmers Union, in a statement. "Those neighborhoods contain a larger portion of crumbling roads, bridges, and dams, and they also lack internet connectivity, affordable housing, and medical resources, all of which is holding residents back and contributing to rural flight."

“The Biden plan would devote $10 billion to water grants and loans in rural areas, as well as $20 billion over five years to smaller, off-system bridges, the White House said. It also would increase funding to land grant universities that conduct much of the country's farm-related research into climate resilience and other priorities. Any aid targeted toward rural areas will help, farm and rural policy groups said.

"We have a lot of crumbling bridges, and a lot of our towns are having a hard time finding the money to fix them," said Johnathan Hladik, policy director for the Center for Rural Affairs in Lyons, Neb., an advocacy group. Property taxes that pay for roads are already a "real problem" in many counties, he said.

“The bridge problem has worsened over the years, Hladik told E&E News, as farm equipment has grown heavier and crop yields have increased, putting more pressure on small roads and bridges far away from interstate highways. "We're seeing a lot of closed bridges that just can't handle this equipment."

“And while the proposal's broad scope offers other opportunities as well, Hladik said, that breadth could work against fixes to the transportation network. With so many other pieces in the measure as it winds through Congress and federal agencies, rural areas worry that their roads and bridges won't be addressed, he said.

"Not every field can be on the interstate," Hladik said.

“Many details remain to be worked out, but the proposal released by the Biden administration says it would address the 10,000 worst bridges in the country, and 12,000 of the 30,000 off-system bridges reported to be in poor condition, including those with links to rural and tribal communities. A total of 20,000 miles of roads and bridges would be improved, the White House said. “The administration has proposed raising some taxes, particularly on wealthy households and corporations. Most farms aren't taxed as corporations, but the Farm Bureau and congressional Republicans have raised concerns about other issues such as increasing taxes on capital gains, as proposed by some Democrats.

“Hladik said other initiatives, such as high-speed internet, are also a priority because farmers rely on broadband to download maps and other information that show where fertilizer or irrigation is most needed. Those "big data" systems can cut down on pollution from overapplying chemicals, while making farms more efficient.

“Irrigation is a top Western agriculture priority that Biden's proposal might help, said Dennis Nuxoll, vice president for federal government affairs at the Western Growers Association.

“Western farmers and ranchers, more reliant on irrigation than their Eastern counterparts, live with a system put in place decades ago when snowmelt was a more reliable source of water, Nuxoll said. With the region's persistent droughts and climate change that may reduce snowfalls, the system built on those assumptions is becoming outdated, he said.

“Western growers want new water storage facilities and systems to move water from reservoirs to fields, as well as repair of equipment already in place, Nuxoll said. While details from the White House include references to resilience, drought and water recycling, he said advocates were disappointed not to see more direct reference to repair and construction of water storage and conveyance systems.

“Water system needs alone climb into the billions of dollars, Nuxoll said.

“As the Biden plan moves through Congress — the White House said it hopes for passage this spring — groups will be lobbying for specific priorities.

“Nuxoll said Western Growers last year supported legislation by Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) and others to expand Bureau of Reclamation programs for water storage and conveyance, including a new federal loan program for water supply projects.

“Although water is the main infrastructure concern in the West, Nuxoll said, farmers need improved transportation systems along canals and in ports to aid in shipping, and the high-speed internet effort could finally solve the poor connectivity that's troubled farmers for years.

“Internet difficulties affect more than high-tech tractors in the field, Nuxoll said. His own group's video board meetings sometimes fall prey to members drifting in and out of communication.

"It's clearly a continuing problem," Nuxoll said.” Environmental Justice – White House Meeting Highlights Spending Initiative

The following article discusses the first meeting of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council which discussed the climate and justice work of the first two months of the Biden Administration as well as the impacts of Biden’s Infrastructure proposal.

On March 30, Kelsey Brugger of E&E News PM reported, “The first meeting of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council kicked off with an overview of how the Biden administration plans to invest 40% of clean energy investments in marginalized communities.

“In her opening remarks, Gina McCarthy, the president's domestic climate adviser, stressed the administration's focus is "not just climate — it's people."

"I am here to tell you this council has outsized potential and opportunity here," she told the panel. "Our first role will be to listen before we ask ourselves to act. It's those communities that have not been listened to before."

“The White House advisory panel is made up of 26 activists and environmental leaders from around the country who convened for a four-hour meeting this afternoon.

“The agenda was to hear from a handful of Biden officials about the climate and justice work that has occurred in the first 2 ½ months of the administration.

“Officials at multiple agencies have begun to work on the plan known as Justice40, they told the advisory board in a presentation today.

“Candace Vahlsing, an aide at the Office of Management and Budget, said the investments will come from existing federal funds that have not been allocated, the recently passed American Rescue Plan Act and the fiscal 2022 budget request expected to be out later this week. She said OMB is developing guidance for agencies on how to implement the program.

“The investments remain broad and will have a number of categories, including clean energy, energy efficiency, clean transit, affordable and sustainable housing, training and workforce development, and remediation and reduction of legacy pollution.

“Shalanda Baker, a Department of Energy official, said the agency would release an environmental justice dashboard on Justice40 on President Biden's 100th day in office.

“Professor and longtime activist Robert Bullard, who is on the board, noted the department should not just consider ZIP codes when surveying communities. “Jahi Wise, senior adviser in the White House climate office, said aides were in the process of publicizing their first report to the president. He said they held listening sessions in March "to dig deeper into fence-line communities."

"We are actively engaged in the Justice40 initiatives overall," he said.”

Congress

Other