The chairman of an influential House subcommittee this month unveiled a set of principles he believes should guide Congress’ approach to climate change legislation. The framework, which includes a call to increase infrastructure resilience to the changing climate, seems partially intended to change the narrative on Capitol Hill away from the controversial Green New Deal proposal that was introduced earlier this year.
The new principles were developed by Rep. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), who chairs the House Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change – the same panel that holds jurisdiction over the Safe Drinking Water Act. Framed as a starting point intended to help Congress “build a comprehensive national climate action plan,” the document argues that “no options should be off the table” as lawmakers develop future climate change legislation.
Tonko’s plan includes nine key pillars, ranging from achieving domestic greenhouse gas neutrality by midcentury to empowering state and local governments to meet their own defined climate goals. One principle declares that “climate action should strengthen community resilience to better withstand new climate realities,” and specifically states that federal climate policy should “strengthen the resilience of infrastructure and help communities adapt to the increasing occurrence of natural disasters and extreme weather events.” The document does not call out water or wastewater infrastructure specifically, but each would presumably be included in any infrastructure resilience policy that follows this principle.
Tonko’s plan is not legislation, but instead could be used to guide whatever steps his subcommittee takes this year to contribute to the formulation of a larger climate bill. In the near term, the document gives congressional Democrats an alternative climate plan in place of the controversial Green New Deal, which has weathered heavy criticism from conservative Republicans and a tepid response from many moderate lawmakers.
Congressman Tonko is scheduled to address AMWA members in April during the association’s Water Policy Conference in Washington, D.C., providing utility executives with an opportunity to hear more in depth about the path forward on Capitol Hill this year for climate legislation.