Legislation would direct the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office to provide lawmakers with independent gauge of the emissions effect of proposed legislation
Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, and Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Peter Welch (D-VT), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Brian Schatz (D-HI), and Ed Markey (D-MA) today introduced the Carbon Scoring Act, legislation that would charge the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) with providing Congress greater information on the emissions effects of proposed legislation.
“I’ve now held 19 hearings in the Budget Committee to spotlight the increasingly dire warnings from banks, the insurance industry, mortgage companies, scientists, farmers, and corporate consulting firms that climate change is likely to be the cause of America’s next big economic crisis,” said Senator Whitehouse. “With those warnings in hand, Congress needs better tools to accurately assess the emissions effects of proposed policies. CBO has long been an independent partner to Congress on budget scoring, and is a natural fit for providing Congress with transparent carbon scoring that can be trusted by members on both sides of the aisle.”
“Vermonters and families across the country are already seeing the impacts of the climate crisis firsthand–from an increase in extreme weather events to some of the hottest days on record. But we can’t effectively fight climate change without fully understanding how legislation can impact its root causes,” said Senator Welch. “This will ensure that we have an informed climate cost-benefit analysis of proposed legislation.”
“The climate crisis poses an existential threat to nearly every sector of our economy and communities across the country,” said Senator Padilla. “Congress can’t make sound policy and budget decisions without a stronger understanding of how they will impact our greenhouse gas emissions and affect our planet. As we work to combat the effects of climate change, the Carbon Scoring Act is a crucial step that will help us prioritize reducing climate risk in our legislative efforts.”
Congress currently relies on outside organizations to evaluate the emissions reductions potential of different proposed policies. The Congressional Budget Office already has many of the analytic capabilities required to do carbon scoring in-house, and the nongovernment organizations that lawmakers rely on lack CBO’s robust access to government data.
The Carbon Scoring Act directs CBO to develop and keep up-to-date models that can estimate the emissions effects of congressional climate policy. The legislation requires the modeling of the most potent greenhouse gas emissions – including carbon dioxide, methane, hydrofluorocarbons, nitrous oxides, perfluorocarbons, and sulphur hexafluorides – in the power, transportation, industry, and buildings sectors. CBO’s carbon score would include an estimate of the legislation’s effect on U.S. greenhouse gas emissions through the 10-year budget window, and an estimate of the climate-related costs or savings of the bill. The carbon score would also include commentary on how the policy influences emissions in years past the 10-year window, and commentary on how the policy would change global emissions levels.
The legislation directs CBO to prepare emissions estimates for bills requested by the Chair of the Senate or House Budget Committees, and any bills that are reported out of committee, affect any modeled year’s outlays or revenues by at least $500 million, and contain at least one emissions-related provision, including:
- Changes to taxes or tax credits on fuels, power, or emissions;
- Assignments of a dollar value to emissions or products that emit greenhouse gasses; or
- The creation of a standard or cap on emissions or products that emit greenhouse gasses.
The Carbon Scoring Act is endorsed by the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, Environmental Defense Fund, National Wildlife Federation, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Sierra Club.
“In climate change, as in other areas of policy, knowing is half the battle. Congress doesn’t vote on a bill without understanding its impacts on the budget. It shouldn’t vote on a bill without understanding its impacts on the climate, either. Policymakers need better information about the likely climate consequences of proposed legislation – including whether it will raise or lower climate pollution and what the economic damages or benefits, respectively, will be. Senator Whitehouse’s Carbon Scoring Act represents a sensible approach to meet this need, by requiring the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office to inform Congress on the climate-related implications of major legislative proposals. By better understanding the climate impacts of potential legislation, Congress can make more informed decisions about our nation’s future,” said Nat Keohane, President of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions.
“With extreme weather impacting peoples’ day-to-day lives increasingly often, it’s essential that Congress and the American public understand the climate impact of the legislation before Congress. We applaud Senator Whitehouse’s constructive solution that will enable carbon scores to be issued for proposed legislation,” said Joanna Slaney, Associate Vice President of Political Affairs of the Environmental Defense Fund.
“There is no time to waste in fighting the climate crisis, and accurate assessments of the emissions-reducing capability of legislation will help direct resources to where they’re needed most,” said Shannon Heyck-Williams, associate vice president of climate and energy at the National Wildlife Federation. “The National Wildlife Federation is grateful for the leadership of Senator Whitehouse and his colleagues in introducing the Carbon Scoring Act, a smart piece of legislation that would rightfully seek government analysis on the climate impacts of major bills.”
“The Carbon Scoring Act will create climate transparency for legislation proposed in Congress. Lawmakers need access to non-partisan information to understand how proposed laws will impact greenhouse gas emissions – and constituents should know if their member of Congress is voting to abate or exacerbate climate change,” said Jeff Slyfield, Federal Legislative Advocate, of the Natural Resources Defense Council.
“This legislation addresses the undeniable fact that climate change is not just an environmental challenge — it is a profound economic threat. Extreme weather events, food insecurity, infrastructure damage, and geopolitical instability caused and exacerbated by climate change cost the U.S. billions of dollars annually. Outside climate modeling was crucial for Senate Democrats to reach a consensus on the Inflation Reduction Act towards emission reductions and a domestic clean manufacturing Renaissance. By formally bringing these capabilities in-house, Senator Whitehouse’s Carbon Scoring Act will protect key clean energy programs from MAGA attacks and incorporate the true economic benefit of climate action in future budgets,” said Harry Manin, Deputy Legislative Director of Industry and Trade, of the Sierra Club.
The full text of the bill is available here.
