Today, a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers sent a letter to the bipartisan leadership of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) and Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) calling for inclusion of the Utilizing Significant Emissions with Innovative Technologies (USE IT) Act in the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (FY21 NDAA).
Energy and Commerce Committee Republican Leader Greg Walden (R-OR), Energy Subcommittee Republican Leader Fred Upton (R-MI), and Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee Republican Leader John Shimkus (R-IL) issued the following statement in support of this effort:
"Addressing climate change, reducing emissions, and deploying innovative technologies are all bipartisan priorities. The USE IT Act is a bipartisan bill that would help do all of the above and allow us to further understand, develop, and deploy carbon capture technologies. We thank our House and Senate colleagues for penning this letter to urge support for this important legislation. Unfortunately, House Democratic leadership has prevented it from being enacted for the last two years. If we want to get serious about addressing climate change, the USE IT Act is an innovative, practical way to make that happen," said Walden, Upton, and Shimkus.
The USE IT Act (H.R. 1166), by E&C Reps. Scott Peters (D-CA) and David McKinley (R-WV), would foster innovation in carbon capture technologies, improve scientific understanding of carbon sequestration, address permitting delays, and speed up deployment of these technologies and CO2 pipeline infrastructure. Learn more in Rep. Walden's remarks from this year's Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee hearing titled, "Clearing the Air: Legislation to Promote Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage."