House Funding Bill Would Boost Climate Action and Improve Public Health

(WASHINGTON, DC — July 30, 2021) The House of Representatives passed a group of bipartisan appropriations bills this week, the first set of Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 funding measures that will help deliver federal funding toward environmental and public health protections. These ambitious funding packages contain many climate-forward policies that are priorities for EDF, and we now look to the Senate to help deliver on these critical investments.

“The appropriation bills passed by the House advance critical public health, conservation and climate change measures. They also work to bridge the gap in communities that are most negatively impacted by air pollution and the effects of climate change, especially low-income communities and communities of color,” said Toby Short, Associate Vice President, Political Affairs. “In the days and weeks ahead, Congress must pass historic legislation that rebuilds America, fights climate change, promotes environmental justice, and creates millions of good-paying jobs. These appropriations bills make important progress ahead of the budget reconciliation process that is necessary to deliver the full scale of investments America needs.”

Some of the key investments in these appropriations bills include:

• $11.3 billion in funding for the Environmental Protection Agency, which was dangerously underfunded under the previous Administration 
• $3.7 billion for DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and $600 million for Advanced Research Projects Agency—Energy (ARPA-E), and directs the agency to use existing authorities to pursue climate-related projects
• Funding for manufacturing and deployment of electric vehicles, as well as a nationwide assessment of the state of, challenges to, and opportunities for deployment of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in underserved or disadvantaged communities