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The Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a full Committee markup on Monday, September 13, at 11 a.m. (EDT) in the John D. Dingell Room, 2123 of the Rayburn House Office Building, on legislative recommendations for its budget reconciliation instructions, which were passed last month by the House and Senate.

The Committee will consider the following Committee Prints:

• Subtitle A: Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating to Air Pollution – Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute
• Subtitle B: Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating to Hazardous Materials – Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute
• Subtitle C: Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating to Drinking Water – Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute
• Subtitle D: Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating to Energy – Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute
• Subtitle E: Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating to Drug Pricing – Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute
• Subtitle F: Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating to the Affordable Care Act – Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute
• Subtitle G: Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating to Medicaid – Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute
• Subtitle H: Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating to CHIP – Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute
• Subtitle I: Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating to Medicare – Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute
• Subtitle J: Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating to Public Health – Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute
• Subtitle K: Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating to Next Generation 9-1-1 – Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute
• Subtitle L: Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating to Wireless Connectivity – Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute
• Subtitle M: Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating to Distance Learning – Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute
• Subtitle N: Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating to Manufacturing Supply Chain – Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute
• Subtitle O: Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating to FTC Privacy Enforcement – Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute
• Subtitle P: Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating to Department of Commerce Inspector General – Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute

The Committee’s Memorandum includes a section-by-section for each of the Committee Prints and a fact sheet on key provisions is available.

Grid Decarbonization Standard: $150 billion in a Clean Electricity Performance Program (CEPP) at the Department of Energy (DOE) The CEPP, which complements tax incentives for clean energy, will issue grants to and collect payments from electricity suppliers from 2023 through 2030 based on how much qualified clean electricity each supplier provides to customers.

• An electricity supplier will be eligible for a grant if it increases the amount of clean electricity it supplies to customers by 4 percentage points compared to the previous year. The grant will be $150 for each megawatt-hour of clean electricity above 1.5 percent the previous year’s clean electricity.
• Electricity suppliers must use the grants exclusively for the benefit of their customers, including direct bill assistance, investments in qualified clean electricity and energy efficiency, and worker retention.
• An electricity supplier that does not increase its clean electricity percentage by at least 4 percent compared to the previous year will owe a payment to DOE based on the shortfall. If, for example, the electricity supplier only increases its clean electricity percentage by 2 percent, the supplier will owe $40 for each megawatt-hour that represents the 2 percent shortfall.
• The CEPP gives electricity suppliers the option to defer a grant or a payment for up to two consecutive years.
• Eligible clean electricity is electricity generation with a carbon intensity of not more than 0.10 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per megawatt-hour [i.e., renewable and nuclear].

Other Energy and Climate Provisions:

• $13.5 billion in electric vehicle infrastructure
• $7 billion in multiple loan and grant programs at DOE to support development of innovative technologies and American manufacturing of zero emission transportation technologies
• $9 billion for grid modernization
• $17.5 billion in decarbonizing federal buildings and fleets
• $18 billion in home energy efficiency and appliance electrification rebates
• $27.5 billion in nonprofit, state, and local climate finance institutions that support the rapid deployment of low- and zero-emission technologies. At least 40 percent of investments will be made in low-income and disadvantaged communities
• $2.5 billion for planning and installing solar facilities and community solar projects that serve low-income households or multi-family affordable housing complexes
• $30 billion for the full replacement of lead service lines in drinking water systems
• $10 billion for the cleanup of Superfund sites
• Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grants: $5 billion to community-led projects that address environmental and public health harms related to pollution and climate change
• methane fee on pollution from the oil and gas industry above specific intensity thresholds

Health:

• $5 billion in replacing certain heavy-duty vehicles, such as refuse trucks and school buses, with zero emission vehicles Health
• dental, vision, and hearing coverage for seniors under Medicare
• expands Medicaid eligibility to millions of Americans
• $190 billion to expand access to quality home-based services and care for millions of older adults and people with disabilities
• permanently extend the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
• ensure that all pregnant women on Medicaid will keep their health insurance for the critical first year postpartum
• ensure that Medicaid coverage begins automatically 30 days prior to an individual’s release from incarceration
• $2.86 billion in funding for the World Trade Center Health Program
• $3 billion in funding to establish the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H)
• $35 billion in investments to rebuild and modernize public health departments
• $15 billion in targeted investments for pandemic preparedness

Other:

• $10 billion in grants for the implementation of Next Generation 9-1-1 services
• $4 billion to the Emergency Connectivity Fund to ensure students, school staff, and library patrons have internet connectivity
• $10 billion to monitor and identify critical manufacturing supply chain vulnerabilities

Filed amendments:

• Amendment (SUB-I-AMD-SCHRADER_01), to the Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute filed by Rep. Schrader (D-OR) to Subtitle I: Medicare
• Amendment to the Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute (Amdt NCB_1), filed by the Minority to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (ARMSTRONG_01), filed by the Minority to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (B1_05), filed by the Minority to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (B1_06), filed by the Minority to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (B1_07), filed by the Minority to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (B1_08A), filed by the Minority to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (B1_09A), filed by the Minority to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (B1_10A), filed by the Minority to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (B1_11A), filed by the Minority to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (B1_12A), filed by the Minority to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (B1_13), filed by the Minority to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (B1_14), filed by the Minority to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (B1_16A), filed by the Minority to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (B2_11), filed by the Minority to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (B3_02), filed by the Minority to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (B3_07), filed by the Minority to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (B3_09), filed by the Minority to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (B3_11), filed by the Minority to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (B3_13), filed by the Minority to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (B3_22), filed by the Minority to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (B3_25), filed by the Minority to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (Burgess_01), filed by Rep. Burgess (R-TX) to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (CURTIS_01), filed by Rep. Curtis (R-UT) to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (Guthrie_01), filed by Rep. Guthrie (R-KY) to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (Inflation Amdt to Subtitle A), filed by the Minority to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (LATTA_01), filed by Rep. Latta (R-OH) to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (LATTA_02), filed by Rep. Latta (R-OH) to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (LATTA_03), filed by Rep. Latta (R-OH) to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (LATTA_032), filed by Rep. Latta (R-OH) to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (scalise_01), filed by Rep. Scalise (R-LA) to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (scalise_02), filed by Rep. Scalise (R-LA) to Subtitle A: Air Pollution
• Amendment (JOHNOH_018A), filed by Rep. Johnson (R-OH) to Subtitle A: Air Pollution;
• Amendment (B3_01), filed by the Minority to Subtitle B: Hazardous Materials
• Amendment (B3_04), filed by the Minority to Subtitle B: Hazardous Materials
• Amendment (B3_15), filed by the Minority to Subtitle B: Hazardous Materials
• Amendment (B3_16), filed by the Minority to Subtitle B: Hazardous Materials;
• Amendment (B3_17), filed by the Minority to Subtitle B: Hazardous Materials
• Amendment (B3_18), filed by the Minority to Subtitle B: Hazardous Materials
• Amendment (Inflation Amdt to Subtitle B), filed by the Minority to Subtitle B: Hazardous Materials
• Amendment (CARTER_01), filed by Rep. Carter (R-GA) to Subtitle A: Air Pollution.
• Amendment to the Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute (PETECA_036), filed by Rep. Peters (D-CA) to Subtitle E: Drug Pricing.
• Amendment (Burgess_03), filed by Rep. Burgess (R-TX) to Subtitle A: Air Pollution

Markup of legislative proposals to comply with the reconciliation directive included in section 2002 of the Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2022 (S. Con. Res. 14)

• Committee Print 117-2: Legislative proposals to comply with the reconciliation directive included in section 2002 of the Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2022

• Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to Committee Print 117-2 Offered by Mr. Nadler

Continuation of the House Agriculture Committee’s Build Back Better markup.

Included in this package are multiple bipartisan proposals will provide resources to mitigate climate change, improve quality of life in rural communities, and commit millions of dollars to agricultural education across the country.

Investments include:

• $7.75 billion in investments in agricultural research and infrastructure; other countries like China are outspending the US on research investments and this money will help close the gap.
• $18 billion in rural job-promoting investments to ensure those living in rural America, on tribal lands, and our insular areas have access to clean water and reliable and efficient renewable energy. This funding will also support investment in renewable biofuels infrastructure important to farmers and our fight against climate change, and flexible funding for rural community growth.
• $40 billion in investments in forestry programs to help combat forest fires and contribute to healthy, resilient forests, including $14 billion for “hazardous fuels reduction,” and $4.5 billion for the Civilian Climate Corps for “managing National Forest System land” and “rural and urban conservation and tree planting projects”.
• $300 million divided equally to the Forest Service for the following six climate-related projects:
  • to carry out greenhouse gas life cycle analyses of domestic wood products
  • to assess the quantity of carbon sequestration and storage accomplished by different forest practices when applied in diverse ecological and geographic settings
  • to accelerate and expand existing research efforts relating to strategies to increase carbon stocks on National Forest System land
  • to accelerate and expand existing research efforts relating to the impacts of climate change and weather variability on national forest ecosystems
  • to accelerate and expand existing research efforts relating to strategies to ensure that national forest ecosystems, including forests, plants, aquatic ecosystems, and wildlife, are able to adapt to climate change and weather variability
  • for activities and tactics to reduce the spread of invasive species on non-Federal forested land

Committee Print

All of the proposed amendments, all of which were submitted by Republicans, were voted down on party lines. The bill was approved also on party lines.

• Amendment #1, offered by Mrs. Hartzler of Missouri
• Amendment #2, Offered by Mrs. Hartzler of Missouri
• Amendment #3, offered by Mr. Crawford of Arkansas
• Amendment #4, offered by Mr. Johnson of South Dakota
• Amendment #5, offered by Mr. Baird of Indiana
• Amendment #6, offered by Mrs. Cammack of Florida
• Amendment #7, offered by Mr. Baird of Indiana
• Amendment #8, offered by Mr. Mann of Kansas
• Amendment #9, offered by Mr. Jacobs of New York
• Amendment #10, offered by Mr. Hagedorn of Minnesota
• Amendment #11, offered by Mr. Feenstra of Iowa
• Amendment #12, offered by Mr. Feenstra of Iowa
• Amendment #13, offered by Mr. Feenstra of Iowa
• Amendment #14, offered by Mrs. Miller of Illinois
• Amendment #15, offered by Mr. Austin Scott of Georgia, was withdrawn.
• Amendment #16, offered by Mr. Austin Scott of Georgia
• Amendment #17, offered by Mrs. Fischbach of Minnesota
• Amendment #18, offered by Mrs. Fischbach of Minnesota
• Amendment #19, offered by Mr. Balderson of Ohio
• Amendment #20, offered by Mr. Baird of Indiana
• Amendment #21, offered by Mr. LaMalfa of California
• Amendment #22, offered by Mr. LaMalfa of California
• Amendment #23, offered by Mr. LaMalfa of California
• Amendment #24, offered by Mr. LaMalfa of California
• Amendment #25, offered by Mr. Hagedorn of Minnesota
• Amendment #26, offered by Mr. Baird of Indiana
• Amendment #27, offered by Mr. DesJarlais of Tennessee
• Amendment #28, offered by Mr. Johnson of South Dakota
• Amendment #29, offered by Mrs. Cammack of Florida
• Amendment #30, offered by Mrs. Cammack of Florida
• Amendment #31, offered by Mr. Baird of Indiana
• Amendment #32, offered by Mr. Allen of Georgia
• Amendment #33, offered by Ms. Letlow of Louisiana
• Amendment #34, offered by Mr. Feenstra of Iowa
• Amendment #35, offered by Mr. Thompson of Pennsylvania
• Amendment #36- offered by Mrs Fischbach of Minnesota, not germane
• Amendment #37, offered by Mr. Mann of Kansas, not germane
• Amendment #38, offered by Mr. Feenstra of Iowa, not germane

The House Committee on Agriculture will hold a business meeting to consider the elements of the reconciliation package under their jurisdiction.

Included in this package are multiple bipartisan proposals will provide resources to mitigate climate change, improve quality of life in rural communities, and commit millions of dollars to agricultural education across the country.

Investments include:

• $7.75 billion in investments in agricultural research and infrastructure; other countries like China are outspending the US on research investments and this money will help close the gap.
• $18 billion in rural job-promoting investments to ensure those living in rural America, on tribal lands, and our insular areas have access to clean water and reliable and efficient renewable energy. This funding will also support investment in renewable biofuels infrastructure important to farmers and our fight against climate change, and flexible funding for rural community growth.
• $40 billion in investments in forestry programs to help combat forest fires and contribute to healthy, resilient forests, including $14 billion for “hazardous fuels reduction,” and $4.5 billion for the Civilian Climate Corps for “managing National Forest System land” and “rural and urban conservation and tree planting projects”.
• $300 million divided equally to the Forest Service for the following six climate-related projects:
  • to carry out greenhouse gas life cycle analyses of domestic wood products
  • to assess the quantity of carbon sequestration and storage accomplished by different forest practices when applied in diverse ecological and geographic settings
  • to accelerate and expand existing research efforts relating to strategies to increase carbon stocks on National Forest System land
  • to accelerate and expand existing research efforts relating to the impacts of climate change and weather variability on national forest ecosystems
  • to accelerate and expand existing research efforts relating to strategies to ensure that national forest ecosystems, including forests, plants, aquatic ecosystems, and wildlife, are able to adapt to climate change and weather variability
  • for activities and tactics to reduce the spread of invasive species on non-Federal forested land

Committee Print

• Amendment #1, offered by Mrs. Hartzler of Missouri
• Amendment #2, Offered by Mrs. Hartzler of Missouri
• Amendment #3, offered by Mr. Crawford of Arkansas
• Amendment #4, offered by Mr. Johnson of South Dakota
• Amendment #5, offered by Mr. Baird of Indiana
• Amendment #6, offered by Mrs. Cammack of Florida
• Amendment #7, offered by Mr. Baird of Indiana
• Amendment #8, offered by Mr. Mann of Kansas
• Amendment #9, offered by Mr. Jacobs of New York
• Amendment #10, offered by Mr. Hagedorn of Minnesota
• Amendment #11, offered by Mr. Feenstra of Iowa
• Amendment #12, offered by Mr. Feenstra of Iowa
• Amendment #13, offered by Mr. Feenstra of Iowa
• Amendment #14, offered by Mrs. Miller of Illinois
• Amendment #15, offered by Mr. Austin Scott of Georgia, was withdrawn.
• Amendment #16, offered by Mr. Austin Scott of Georgia
• Amendment #17, offered by Mrs. Fischbach of Minnesota
• Amendment #18, offered by Mrs. Fischbach of Minnesota
• Amendment #19, offered by Mr. Balderson of Ohio
• Amendment #20, offered by Mr. Baird of Indiana
• Amendment #21, offered by Mr. LaMalfa of California
• Amendment #22, offered by Mr. LaMalfa of California
• Amendment #23, offered by Mr. LaMalfa of California
• Amendment #24, offered by Mr. LaMalfa of California
• Amendment #25, offered by Mr. Hagedorn of Minnesota
• Amendment #26, offered by Mr. Baird of Indiana
• Amendment #27, offered by Mr. DesJarlais of Tennessee
• Amendment #28, offered by Mr. Johnson of South Dakota
• Amendment #29, offered by Mrs. Cammack of Florida
• Amendment #30, offered by Mrs. Cammack of Florida
• Amendment #31, offered by Mr. Baird of Indiana
• Amendment #32, offered by Mr. Allen of Georgia
• Amendment #33, offered by Ms. Letlow of Louisiana
• Amendment #34, offered by Mr. Feenstra of Iowa
• Amendment #35, offered by Mr. Thompson of Pennsylvania
• Amendment #36- offered by Mrs Fischbach of Minnesota, not germane
• Amendment #37, offered by Mr. Mann of Kansas, not germane
• Amendment #38, offered by Mr. Feenstra of Iowa, not germane

The Committee on Small Business will hold a hybrid markup at 10:00 A.M. (EDT) on Thursday, September 9, 2021, in Room 2360 of the Rayburn House Office Building and on Zoom. Members who wish to participate remotely may do so via Zoom, information to be provided separately. The Committee will consider Committee Print (providing for reconciliation pursuant to S. Con. Res. 14, the Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2022).

Markup notice and information on filing amendments

Committee Print

Chair’s Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute

Includes provision for $2.1 billion in federal debentures to back small-business loans to acquire renewable energy equipment such as solar panels, wind turbines, or battery storage.

On Thursday, September 9, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. EDT via Webex, and livestreamed on the Committee’s YouTube pages, the Committee on Natural Resources will meet to consider the following postponed recorded votes that were requested at the Committee’s most recent business meeting, and to continue its consideration on legislative proposals to comply with the reconciliation directive included in section 2002 of the Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2022, S. Con. Res.14.

The votes will be on the following Republican amendments:

• Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) amendment designated Boebert #2
• Rep. Lauren Boebert amendment designated Boebert #3
• Rep. Lauren Boebert amendment designated Boebert #4
• Rep. Lauren Boebert amendment designated Boebert #5
• Rep. Jerry L. Carl (R-AL) amendment designated Carl #1
• Rep. Jerry L. Carl amendment designated Carl #2
• Rep. Don Young (R-AK) amendment designated Young #1
• Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-WI) amendment designated Tiffany #1
• Rep. Jenniffer González Colón (R-PR) amendment designated González Colón #1
• Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT) amendment designated Moore #1
• Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT) amendment designated Moore #2
• Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT) amendment designated Moore #3
• Rep. Jenniffer González Colón (R-PR) amendment designated González Colón #2

The committee will then vote on the legislation put forward by the committee chair.

The hearing will be conducted via teleconference.

Text of the Science Committee Print and the Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute by Chair Eddie Bernice Johnson.

The proposed $45.4 billion Science Committee ANS includes:

Department of Energy ($20.6 billion)

• $5 billion for regional innovation initiatives
• $10.4 billion for the Department of Energy Office of Science laboratories, including $1.3 billion for the ITER fusion project
• $349 million for the Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy for NREL projects including the new EMAPS program and ARIES grid simulation
• $408 million for the Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy
• $20 million for the Department of Energy Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management
• $1.08 billion in general funds for Department of Energy National Laboratories, including
  • $377 million for Office of Science
  • $210 million for Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
  • $40 million for Office of Nuclear Energy
  • $190 million for Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management
  • $102 million for the Office of Environmental Management
• $2 billion for fusion research and development
• $1.1 billion for Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy demonstration projects, including wind, solar, geothermal, hydropower, vehicles, bioenergy, and building technologies
• $70 million for a new Clean Energy Manufacturing Innovation Institute
• $52.5 million for university nuclear reactor research
• $10 million for demonstration projects on reducing the environmental impacts of fracking wastewater
• $20 million for the Office of Economic Impact and Diversity
• $50 million for the Office of the Inspector General

Environmental Protection Agency

• $264 million to conduct environmental research and development activities related to climate change, including environmental justice

FEMA

• $798 million for Assistance to Firefighters Grants

NASA ($4.4 billion)

• $4 billion for infrastructure and maintenance
• $388 million for climate change research and development

NIST ($4.2 billion)

• $1.2 billion for scientific and technical research, including resilience to natural hazards including wildfires, and greenhouse gas and other climate-related measurement
• $2 billion for American manufacturing support
• $1 billion for infrastructure and maintenance

NOAA ($4.2 billion)

• $1.2 billion for weather, ocean, and climate research and forecasting
• $265 million to develop and distribute actionable climate information for communities in an equitable manner
• $500 million to recruit, educate, and train a “climate-ready” workforce
• $70 million for high-performance computing
• $224 million for phased-array radar research and development
• $1 billion for hurricane hunter aircraft and radar systems
• $12 million for drone missions
• $743 million for deferred maintenance
• $173 million for space weather

National Science Foundation ($10.95 billion)

• $3.4 billion for infrastructure, including Antarctic bases – $300 million for minority-serving institutions
• $7.5 billion for research grants, including at least $400 million for climate change research and $700 million for minority-serving institutions
• $50 million for Office of the Inspector General

Introduced amendments:

• Amendment #R7 offered by Mr. Weber (R-TX)
• Amendment #009 offered by Ranking Member Lucas (R-OK)
• Amendment #R10 offered by Ranking Member Lucas (R-OK)
• Amendment #085 offered by Mr. Posey (R-FL)
• Amendment #022 offered by Mr. Feenstra (R-IA)
• Amendment #R13 offered by Ms. Bice (R-OK)
• Amendment #029 offered by Mr. Babin (R-TX)
• Amendment #030 offered by Mr. Babin (R-TX)
• Amendment #024 offered by Mr. Feenstra (R-IA)
• Amendment #001 offered by Mr. Ellzey (R-TX)
• Amendment #084 offered by Mr. Posey (R-FL)
• Amendment #054 offered by Mr. Sherman (D-CA)
• Amendment #R6 offered by Mr. Ellzey (R-TX)
• Amendment #R11 offered by Mr. Meijer (R-MI)
• Amendment #010 offered by Mr. Baird (R-IN)
• Amendment #031 offered by Mr. Babin (R-TX)
• Amendment #018 offered by Ms. Bice (R-OK)
• Amendment #019 offered by Ms. Bice (R-OK)
• Amendment #010 offered by Ranking Member Lucas (R-OK)
• Amendment #R8 offered by Ms. Bice (R-OK)
• Amendment #010 offered by Ms. Kim (R-CA)
• Amendment #063 offered by Mr. Waltz (R-FL)
• Amendment #064 offered by Mr. Waltz (R-FL)
• Amendment #R4 offered by Mr. Baird (R-IN)
• Amendment #R9 offered by Mr. Feenstra (R-IA)
• Amendment #008 offered by Ranking Member Lucas (R-OK)
• Amendment offered by Mr. Babin (R-TX)
• Amendment #020 offered by Ms. Bice (R-OK)
• Amendment #023 offered by Mr. Feenstra (R-IA)
• Amendment #021 offered by Mr. Garcia (R-CA)
• Amendment #033 offered by Mr. Gonzalez (R-OH)
• Amendment #R2 offered by Mr. Obernolte (R-CA)
• Amendment #R1 offered by Mr. Waltz (R-FL)
• Amendment #R3 offered by Mr. Weber (R-TX)

The House of Representatives has begun a whirlwind effort to pass the $3.5 trillion “human infrastructure” reconciliation bill known as the Build Back Better Act this month. Practically every committee in the House has some component of the bill, known formally as S. Con. Res. 14, the Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2022, under its jurisdiction.

The House Committee on Natural Resources, chaired by Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-N.Mex.), was the first to handle its section, with a full-day markup last week. The committee will meet again this Thursday to vote on a few Republican amendments before final consideration of its bill.

The largest elements of the bill, dealing with health care, child care, and retirement, are being handled by the House Committee on Ways and Means, chaired by corporate ally Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.). They have two days of markup planned for this Thursday and Friday.

The Science Committee, Education and Labor Committee, and Small Business Committee also are conducting their markups on Thursday.

The Agriculture Committee is holding its markup on Friday.

On Thursday, September 2, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. EDT via Cisco Webex and livestreamed on the Committee’s YouTube page, the Committee on Natural Resources will meet to consider legislative proposals to comply with the reconciliation directive included in section 2002 of the Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2022, S. Con. Res.14.

At the markup, the Committee will decide on provisions in the bill that will raise revenue and protect American taxpayers from unnecessary industry subsidies and giveaways.

The markup is expected to include:

• $3 billion to support the Civilian Climate Corps through the Department of the Interior
• $1 billion for tribal climate resilience and adaptation
• $900 million for national wildfire management
• $500 million for a unique Tribal Civilian Climate Corps
• $225 million for climate resilience and restoration
• $100 million for mitigating climate-induced weather events
• $100 million for tribal wildfire management
• $2.7 billion for overdue Indian water rights settlements
• $2.5 billion to clean up abandoned hardrock mines and redevelop them for productive use
• $2 billion for health facility construction, maintenance, and improvement in Indian Country
• $993 million for hospitals and health infrastructure in U.S. territories
• $500 million for tribal housing improvements

Download the bill text here.

With the so-called “no double-dip” rule, President Biden and 21 senators have negotiated a deal on the Build Back Better agenda that threatens several of his major climate and racial justice initiatives. The senators, all of whom are white, protected industry priorities in their deal.

At risk include programs for restoring minority neighborhoods cleaved by racially unjust highway projects, cut 96 percent, and for replacing all the lead water pipes in the nation, cut 67 percent.

In May, Biden proposed $6 trillion in public investment ($5 trillion in new spending) over ten years, in the form of the $2.3 trillion American Jobs Plan, a $1.9 trillion American Families Plan, and about $1.5 trillion more in other spending.

Biden’s proposed plan was significantly smaller than that advocated by Green New Dealers, who called for $10 trillion in spending over ten years to build a just and sustainable economy.

After months of Senate negotiations, Biden’s plan was cut down to about $4.5 trillion, broken into two legislative components – a $1 trillion ($550 billion in new spending) bipartisan “physical infrastructure” package passed by the Senate by a filibuster-proof majority, and a $3.5-trillion reconciliation package intended to pass with only Democratic votes.

The bipartisan package is a fully detailed bill, while the reconciliation package, at least publicly, remains a top-level skeleton that remains to be fleshed out.

The bipartisan package includes nearly the full amounts requested by Biden for traditional fossil-fuel-intensive infrastructure: $110 billion for roads and bridges, $25 billion for airports, and $17 billion for waterways and ports. In addition, there is $16 billion to bail out oil and gas companies to clean up their abandoned wells.

The “double-dip” deal is this: any initiative which received any monies in the bipartisan package cannot receive more in the reconciliation package. As Politico reported on June 30:

The president said something really important the other day and nobody noticed. At his press conference celebrating the bipartisan infrastructure deal, Joe Biden suggested there would be no coming back for seconds: When it comes to spending on basic physical infrastructure (for roads, bridges, public transportation, etc.), the bipartisan deal is it. There will be no using the parallel, Democrats-only reconciliation package to spend more on those things than Republicans agreed to.

Instead, Biden indicated, the reconciliation bill is exclusively for stuff that Democrats want but Republicans oppose — like spending for family care, climate change and health care.

This may seem like a minor point, but it has big implications. On the left, some progressives have argued that they would simply add to the reconciliation bill anything that wasn’t fully funded in the bipartisan bill. That’s not happening. Biden wanted $157 billion for electric vehicles. The bipartisan bill spends $15 billion. He wanted $100 billion for broadband, and he secured $65 billion. From the White House’s perspective, these issues are now resolved and the reconciliation bill can’t be used to take another crack at them.

We checked with the White House, and officials confirmed that this interpretation is correct.

On the right, some conservatives have argued that voting for the bipartisan deal is pointless because Democrats will simply take what they can get from Republicans on highway spending or airports and then get the rest in the reconciliation bill.

But what’s actually happening is that the bipartisan bill is serving as a brake on what Biden can spend on core infrastructure.

In July, the Senate’s bipartisan package whittled $2.6 billion of Biden’s planned new spending down to $550 billion. Left out completely were major components of Biden’s plan that likely will be taken up in the reconciliation package, including housing, schools, clean energy tax credits, and home and community-based care.

However, because of the “no double-dip” deal Biden and the Senate negotiators made, the following programs face massive cuts that can’t be restored unless the deal is broken:

• Reconnecting minority communities cut off by highway projects, cut 96% from $24 billion to $1 billion
• Replacing the nation’s lead pipes, cut 67% from $45 billion to $15 billion
• Investing in electric school buses, cut 87% from $20 billion to $2.5 billion
• Repairing and modernizing public transit, cut 54% from $85 billion to $39 billion
• Building electric vehicle charging stations, cut 50% from $15 billion to $7.5 billion
• Upgrading and modernizing America’s drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater systems, cut 46% from $56 billion to $30 billion
• Road safety, including “vision zero” programs to protect pedestrians, cut 45% from $20 billion to $11 billion
• Broadband infrastructure, cut 35% from $100 billion to $65 billion
• Investing in passenger and freight rail, cut 18% from $80 billion to $66 billion

This overall cut of nearly half of $441 billion in proposed spending disproportionately targets the urban and rural poor and minority “environmental justice” communities, despite the Biden administration’s stated plans of achieving justice through intentional spending. Biden’s plan was about one-third of what Green New Deal advocates have said is needed for these initiatives.

The Green New Deal Network, a coalition of over 100 organizations, is advocating for the restoration of these funds.

House Transportation Committee chair Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) is intending to challenge the “no double-dip” deal for programs under his jurisdiction, including high-speed rail, connecting neighborhoods, and water systems.

In contrast, the all-white team of 21 U.S. Senators who crafted this deal, led by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio), approved Biden’s requested spending levels for highways, airports, waterways, and major bailouts for industrial polluters responsible for chemical and fracking cleanups.