Weekly Briefing: Major Bipartisan Permitting Reform Bill Drops in the Senate

July 24, 2024

Big news! For months, CCL has been lobbying for permitting reform legislation to help America ramp up our clean energy deployment. We’ve generated tens of thousands of messages to Congress, asking members to work together on this, and it was a focus of our Capitol Hill lobby meetings last month. And now… there’s a bill!

On Monday, Sen. Joe Manchin (I-WV) and Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) introduced the bipartisan Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024.

“The Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 represents a giant leap down the path of building new clean energy infrastructure that will lower emissions, decrease costs, and increase reliability for people nationwide,” said Ben Pendergrass, CCL's Vice President of Government Affairs, in a statement yesterday.

The legislation includes energy permitting reforms in all of the areas we raised in our June lobby meetings.

Sen. Manchin is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Sen. Barrasso, pictured above with CCL volunteers at a past lobby meeting, is the most senior Republican on the committee. They plan to mark up and vote on the bill in the committee next week.

If you live in a state with a senator on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, you will receive a special action alert from CCL tomorrow, prompting you to call your senator and ask for their “yes” vote next week.

No matter where you’re located, you can continue with our current action to contact Congress about permitting reform — we've updated the template email so you can send a fresh message about this new, exciting bill!

In other news this week:

• PROVE IT Act gains new cosponsors: Support continues to pour in for the House version of the PROVE IT Act, a climate bill we lobbied for on Capitol Hill last month. Since the bill’s introduction on July 9, it has gained four more Republican cosponsors and three more Democratic cosponsors. See them all listed here, and be sure to thank your representative if they have signed onto the bill.

• CCL Canada’s latest lobbying win: Our neighbors to the north put a price on carbon and use the funds to give Canadian households a regular rebate check. CCL Canada has been lobbying for the government to include an explanation with those rebate checks, so people would understand them better. The government recently made this change! See CCL Canada’s posts about this win on Facebook, X, and Threads.

• From crisis to connections: In a new blog post, CCL volunteer Amber Powell shares her experiences with CCL’s resilience trainings and support groups. Check them out for yourself to find connection and encouragement in the face of tough climate news.

Take action this week

If you have a little time: Share this social media post. It can be tough to get a climate change conversation started the first time. We poked a little fun at that challenge with a new post on Instagram, X, and Threads. Share the post and add a bit about your own experience to get the climate conversation started with your own family and friends.

If you have more time: Write a letter to the editor about extreme heat. This past Sunday and Monday were the hottest days ever recorded on Earth, and people have been feeling the heat all across the country this summer. Send a letter to the editor of your local newspaper about this news, connecting it to climate change and urging our lawmakers to act faster. For writing tips and more guidance, check out our July Action Sheet.

Featured chapter: CCL Greater Detroit

CCL’s Greater Detroit chapter, co-led by Julie Budde and Karen Stankye, covers five congressional districts in the southeast of Michigan. They’re still riding high from last month’s Summer Conference and Lobby Day.

The chapter collectively gathered more than 200 constituent letters and brought them to their lobby meetings on Capitol Hill. In the letters, people shared their concerns about climate change and what actions they want Congress to take. “These were very well received in the lobby meetings, and we even read a few particularly impactful ones aloud,” Julie says.

After Lobby Day, Julie shares, “Three of us took the Amtrak back home to Detroit. In the dining car, we ran into two other CCLers from the Chicago chapter and one from the Anchorage chapter [pictured above]. We spent hours sitting and talking with each other. It was a wonderful time for connection and another perk to climate-friendly means of travel!”

What’s next for this chapter? They will table at a “Clean Cruise” electric vehicle event in just a few weeks, continuing their community outreach and connection. Throughout the fall, they will also work hard on voter outreach. “Our chapter has committed to writing and sending out 1000 postcards to encourage people to vote,” Julie says.

Keep up the great work, CCL Greater Detroit!

Want to chat with the Greater Detroit volunteers about their efforts? Join the conversation on CCL Community.

Correction: We featured this chapter in last week's newsletter with the incorrect chapter name in the headline. We regret the error and have included the story again this week with the correct chapter name.

Upcoming trainings

7/25: CCL's Electrification Campaign Overview - Throughout August, CCL will be talking to people in communities across the country about electrifying their homes. Join CCL's VP of Programs Brett Cease for an overview of the campaign goals, support resources, and materials CCL has created to help facilitate thousands of conversations. Join us!

7/30: CCL Social Media Basics - Join CCL's Content Marketing Manager Elissa Tennant for a training on social media as a tool for climate advocacy. Join us!

8/1: Home Electrification and Efficiency Opportunities from the Inflation Reduction Act - In this session, CCL's Research Coordinator Dana Nuccitelli will review the incentives available to homeowners through the Inflation Reduction Act, the benefits of each technology, and the applicable tax credits and rebates. Join us!

To see other topics and past trainings, visit the Training Topics page of CCL Community.

Nerd Corner Chart of the Week

California's clean grid is now handling heatwaves with relative ease

Join the discussion about how California is managing to keep the lights on during extreme heatwaves with a high percentage of clean energy.