[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5107 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 5107
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to establish a carbon fee to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 19, 2024
Mr. Durbin introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to establish a carbon fee to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``America's Clean Future Fund Act''.
SEC. 2. CLIMATE CHANGE FINANCE CORPORATION.
(a) Establishment.--
(1) In general.--There is established in the executive
branch an independent agency, to be known as the ``Climate
Change Finance Corporation'' (referred to in this section as
the ``C2FC''), which shall finance clean energy and climate
change resiliency activities in accordance with this section.
(2) Mission.--The mission of the C2FC is to combat climate
change by reducing the dependency of the United States on
fossil fuels, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and building
resilience to the harmful impacts of climate change.
(3) Activities.--
(A) In general.--The C2FC shall reduce the reliance
of the United States on fossil fuels and mitigate the
impacts of climate change by financing--
(i) the deployment of low- and zero-
emissions energy technologies and fuels;
(ii) the construction of climate-resilient
infrastructure;
(iii) research, development, and
commercialization of new climate-smart
technologies and tools to facilitate industrial
decarbonization;
(iv) clean energy and climate projects
identified as too high-risk for private capital
investment; and
(v) projects that encourage the infusion of
private capital and the creation of new
workforce opportunities in clean
transportation, energy, and climate resiliency.
(B) Priority.--In carrying out activities under
subparagraph (A), the C2FC shall give priority to
projects that benefit--
(i) communities disproportionately facing
the harmful impacts of climate change;
(ii) communities that have been
historically overburdened by industrial
pollution from carbon-intensive industries; and
(iii) communities that have historically
relied on carbon-intensive industries for
economic support.
(C) Emissions reduction goals.--In carrying out
activities under subparagraph (A), the goals of the
C2FC shall be to achieve--
(i) by 2030, a net reduction of greenhouse
gas emissions by 45 percent, based on 2018
levels; and
(ii) by 2050, a net reduction of greenhouse
gas emissions by 100 percent, based on 2018
levels.
(4) Exercise of powers.--Except as otherwise provided
expressly by law, all Federal laws dealing with public or
Federal contracts, property, works, officers, employees,
budgets, or funds, including the provisions of chapters 5 and 7
of title 5, United States Code, shall apply to the exercise of
the powers of the C2FC.
(b) Board of Directors.--
(1) In general.--The management of the C2FC shall be vested
in a Board of Directors (referred to in this section as the
``Board'') consisting of 7 members, who shall be appointed by
the President, by and with the advice and consent of the
Senate.
(2) Chairperson and vice chairperson.--
(A) In general.--A Chairperson and Vice Chairperson
of the Board shall be appointed by the President, by
and with the advice and consent of the Senate, from
among the individuals appointed to the Board under
paragraph (1).
(B) Term.--An individual--
(i) shall serve as Chairperson or Vice
Chairperson of the Board for a 3-year term; and
(ii) may be renominated for the position
until the term of that individual on the Board
under paragraph (3)(C) expires.
(3) Board members.--
(A) Citizenship required.--Each member of the Board
shall be an individual who is a citizen of the United
States.
(B) Representation.--The members of the Board shall
represent agricultural, educational, research,
industrial, nongovernmental, labor, environmental
justice, and commercial interests throughout the United
States.
(C) Term.--
(i) In general.--Except as otherwise
provided in this section, each member of the
Board--
(I) shall be appointed for a term
of 6 years; and
(II) may be reappointed for 1
additional term.
(ii) Initial staggered terms.--Of the
members first appointed to the Board--
(I) 2 shall each be appointed for a
term of 2 years;
(II) 3 shall each be appointed for
a term of 4 years; and
(III) 2 shall each be appointed for
a term of 6 years.
(4) Initial meeting.--Not later than 30 days after the date
on which all members of the Board are appointed under paragraph
(1), the Board shall hold an initial meeting.
(c) Working Groups.--
(1) In general.--The Board shall create, oversee, and
incorporate feedback from the following working groups (each
referred to in this section as a ``working group''):
(A) An environmental justice working group.
(B) A worker and community transition assistance
working group.
(C) A research and innovation working group.
(2) Working group members.--
(A) In general.--Each working group shall--
(i) be chaired by a Board member; and
(ii) comprise not less than 10 and not more
than 20 individuals, who shall be experts,
members of directly impacted communities
relating to the subject matter of the working
group, and other relevant stakeholders.
(B) Diversity.--Individuals on a working group
shall, to the maximum extent practicable, represent--
(i) a diverse array of interests related to
the subject matter of the working group; and
(ii) diverse geographical, racial,
religious, gender, educational, age,
disability, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
(3) Meetings.--Each working group shall meet not less than
2 times per year.
(4) Community and stakeholder engagement.--
(A) In general.--Each working group shall create
and engage in meaningful community and stakeholder
involvement opportunities, including through regular
public community engagement activities, for purposes
of--
(i) maintaining up-to-date situational
awareness about the needs of relevant
communities and stakeholders;
(ii) using the feedback obtained through
those opportunities to inform the advice of the
working group to the Board; and
(iii) providing a mechanism for direct and
substantial community feedback relating to the
investment plan and the funding decisions of
the C2FC.
(B) Public awareness.--Each working group shall
inform the public about C2FC investment by engaging in
public awareness campaigns, which shall target relevant
communities through comprehensive and accessible
outreach methods suited for the relevant community.
(C) Broad participation.--In carrying out
subparagraph (A), each working group shall, to the
maximum extent practicable, maximize participation from
a broad group of stakeholders, including by holding
multiple meetings with significant advance notice,
providing access to remote participation in those
meetings, and holding meetings in multiple languages
and at different times and locations.
(5) Tasks.--Each working group shall, as it relates to the
subject matter of the working group--
(A) advise and provide general input to the Board
regarding loans and grants provided by the C2FC; and
(B) consult with, and based on the activities
described in paragraph (4), provide recommendations to,
the Board in the development of and updates to the
investment plan of the C2FC.
(d) Investment Plan.--
(1) In general.--The Board, in consultation with each
working group described in subsection (c)(1), shall develop an
investment plan (referred to in this subsection as the
``investment plan'') for the C2FC in accordance with this
subsection.
(2) Purposes.--The purposes of the investment plan are--
(A) to ensure that investments made by the C2FC--
(i) are equitable and reach the prioritized
communities described in subsection (e)(2);
(ii) are effective at progressing towards
the goals described in subsection (a)(3)(C);
(iii) support the advancement of research
in clean technologies and resilience; and
(iv) are transparent to the prioritized
communities described in subsection (e)(2); and
(B) to provide methods and standards by which the
Board and the working groups described in subsection
(c)(1) shall choose projects in which to invest.
(3) Distribution of grant funds.--The initial investment
plan shall require that, of the total amount of grant funds
provided under subsection (e)(3)(A) each year, not less than 40
percent shall be used to invest in and benefit communities
described in subsection (e)(2)(A).
(4) Investment plan updates.--
(A) In general.--The Board, in consultation with
each working group described in subsection (c)(1),
shall update the investment plan not later than 1 year
after the date of enactment of this Act, and every 4
years thereafter, including by taking into account--
(i) the current needs of the prioritized
communities described in subsection (e)(2);
(ii) the effectiveness of the previous
investment plan in addressing the needs of
those communities;
(iii) the current state of relevant
research and technology;
(iv) the resiliency needs of local
communities;
(v) the goals described in subsection
(a)(3)(C); and
(vi) the 2 most recent program reviews
conducted under subsection (f).
(B) Effectiveness.--An investment plan shall remain
in effect until the date on which the Board approves an
updated investment plan.
(C) Public input.--In updating the investment plan,
the Board and the working groups described in
subsection (c)(1) shall--
(i) engage stakeholders and the public in a
public comment and feedback process; and
(ii) ensure that the prioritized
communities described in subsection (e)(2) have
access to participate in that process.
(5) Public updates.--The Board shall make publicly
available on a quarterly basis information relating to the
expenditure of funds under the investment plan.
(e) Investment Tools.--
(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
(A) Community of color.--The term ``community of
color'' means a geographically distinct area in which
the population of any of the following categories of
individuals is higher than the average population of
that category for the State in which the community is
located:
(i) Black.
(ii) African American.
(iii) Asian.
(iv) Pacific Islander.
(v) Other non-White race.
(vi) Hispanic.
(vii) Latino.
(viii) Linguistically isolated.
(B) Eligible borrower.--The term ``eligible
borrower'' means any person, including a business owner
or project developer, that seeks a loan to carry out
approved practices or projects described in
subparagraph (A)(i) of paragraph (3) from an eligible
lender that may receive a loan guarantee under that
paragraph for that loan, according to criteria
determined by the C2FC.
(C) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity''
means--
(i) a State;
(ii) an Indian Tribe;
(iii) a unit of local government; and
(iv) a research and development institution
(including a National Laboratory).
(D) Eligible lender.--The term ``eligible lender''
means--
(i) a Federal- or State-chartered bank;
(ii) a Federal- or State-chartered credit
union;
(iii) an agricultural credit corporation;
(iv) a United States Green Bank
Institution;
(v) a community development financial
institution (as defined in section 103 of the
Community Development Banking and Financial
Institutions Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4702));
(vi) a minority depository institution (as
defined in section 308(b) of the Financial
Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement
Act of 1989 (12 U.S.C. 1463 note; Public Law
101-73)); and
(vii) any other lender that the Board
determines has a demonstrated ability to
underwrite and service loans for the intended
approved practice for which the loan will be
used.
(E) Environmental justice community.--The term
``environmental justice community'' means a community
with significant representation of communities of
color, low-income communities, or Tribal and indigenous
communities that experiences, or is at risk of
experiencing, higher or more adverse human health or
environmental effects.
(F) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian Tribe'' has
the meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian
Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25
U.S.C. 5304).
(G) Low-income community.--The term ``low-income
community'' means any census block group in which 30
percent or more of the population are individuals with
an annual household income equal to, or less than, the
greater of--
(i) an amount equal to 80 percent of the
median income of the area in which the
household is located, as reported by the
Department of Housing and Urban Development;
and
(ii) 200 percent of the Federal poverty
line.
(H) State.--The term ``State'' means--
(i) a State;
(ii) the District of Columbia;
(iii) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and
(iv) any other territory or possession of
the United States.
(2) Community prioritization.--In providing financial
investment and other assistance under paragraph (3), the C2FC
shall give priority to, as determined by the C2FC--
(A) environmental justice communities, communities
of color, indigenous communities, rural communities,
and low-income communities that--