Energy and Environment
Since coming to Congress, Scott Peters has been a strong advocate for fighting the causes of climate change, preparing for the effects of climate change, defending the nation’s environmental laws, and protecting the great outdoors for future generations.
Scott's Plan to Curb Climate Change
Promote Energy Security as National Security: Enable the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) to reduce energy use to complete missions safely and efficiently; boost combat effectiveness through fuel supply diversity and speed up the development of advanced technologies to improve military energy efficiency; support San Diego’s solar and emerging algae-based biofuel industries that partner with the Navy to diversify our energy supply.
Legislation Introduced
- H.R. 3108, the Department of Defense Energy Security Act (DODESA)
- Scott offered three amendments to H.R. 1735 National Defense Authorization Act for FY16 on DOD readiness and energy efficiency that were adopted into NDAA:
- Advancing military installation readiness to prepare for climate change that could pose risks to national security, including expected increased water shortages and instances of wildfire with increased drought, in addition to flooding due to sea level rise and coastal erosion from storm surges.
- Promoting military energy efficiency for the KC-X tanker aircraft that has been used for fuel transport and firefighting efforts.
- Expanding military fuel supply diversity by requiring the DOD to brief the Armed Services Committee on innovative technologies to efficiently improve the range and endurance of tactical vehicles.
- H.R. 1806 COMPETES amendments
- Scott offered an amendment with Rep. Bonamici to the COMPETES Reauthorization, that would allow the Departments of Energy and Defense to continue to develop biofuels to diversify our energy source and reduce our dependence on oil.
- An amendment to H.R. 8, the North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act, that allows federal agencies to enter into ESPCs (Energy Saving Performance Contracts) for the deployment of alternative vehicle fleets and infrastructure, and allows the federal government to participate in any existing or future utility incentive programs that support the use of alternative fueled vehicles, charging stations, or fueling stations that will lower the total cost of adopting more efficient alternative vehicles.
Reduce Federal Emissions and Super Pollutants: Coordinate a response to potent short-lived climate pollutants such as methane, black carbon, and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs); reduce the government’s HFC emissions; promote carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) to reduce carbon emissions from fossil fuel consumption; incentivize methane capture power generation like that utilized by the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar and the Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant; reduce methane emissions from natural gas; support market-based solutions to account for the real cost of greenhouse gas emissions.
Legislation Introduced
- H.R. 508, the Super Pollutant Emissions Reduction (SUPER) Act.
- An amendment, H.AMDT.594 to H.R. 2822, the FY16 Interior and Environment Appropriations bill that would allow the EPA to continue to regulate HFCs through SNAP (Significant New Alternatives Policy) to take action to improve public health and fight the root causes of climate change.
- An amendment to H.R. 8, North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act, that requires the Secretary of Energy to report on energy savings and greenhouse gas emissions reduction from conversion of captured methane to energy.
Legislation Cosponsored
- H.R. 1971 the Climate Solutions Act of 2015
- H.R. 1548, BREATHE Act
Increase Preparedness and Resilience: San Diego continues to experience drought, wildfires, and flooding due to sea level rise. These phenomena are expected to increase and we must provide communities with the tools they need to prepare for, and more quickly recover from, extreme weather events; improve transparency on how much and where federal money is spent on disaster response; follow the lead of industry and the Pentagon by using the social cost of carbon (SCC) in federal rule making to account for the economic and health costs of carbon.
Legislation Introduced
- H.R. 2227, the STRONG Act, bipartisan legislation to prepare communities for the effect of extreme weather
- H.R. 385, the DISASTER Act, legislation to improve transparency on disaster response spending
- Social Cost of Carbon Amendments:
- H.AMDT.704 to H.R. 348, the RAPID Act, sought to strike section K that prohibits agencies from using the social cost of carbon in an environmental review or environmental decision making process.
- H.AMDT.571 to H.R. 2822 the FY16 Interior and Environment Appropriations bill with Reps. Polis and Lowenthal that would have hindered the social cost of carbon to be incorporated into any rulemaking or guidance document
Legislation Cosponsored
- H.R. 3190 PREPARE (Preparedness and Risk Management for Extreme Weather Patterns Assuring Resilience and Effectiveness) Act
- H.R. 1276 the Coastal State Climate Change Planning Act
- H.R. 2553 Coastal Communities Ocean Acidification Act of 2015
- H.R. 2744 Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act Amendments of 2015
- H.R. 1967 Ocean Acidification Innovation Act
Better Fund Drought and Wildfire Prevention and Response: Seek federal support for adoption of San Diego’s innovative water recycling and reuse projects; raise awareness about the increased risk of wildfire due to drought, worsened by climate change, and the need to fund prevention to save lives, taxpayer dollars, and reduce carbon emissions; allow states to apply for hazard mitigation assistance to fight wildfires; ensure firefighters are able to safely utilize new technologies that can help fight wildfires; preserve and maintain the nation’s land and natural resources.
Legislation Introduced
- Scott offered the Motion to Recommit to Rep. Valadao’s water bill to ensure that any changes to water policy leave enough water in reservoirs, lakes, and community supplies to fight wildfires when they occur.
- Led discharge petition on wildfire funding (Petition #10 in 113th Congress, signed by 196 members)
Legislation Cosponsored
- H.R. 167 the Wildfire Disaster Funding Act
- H.R. 1009 the Wildfire Prevention Act
- H.R. 2909 Protecting Firefighters and Promoting Innovation Act
- H.R. 3025 Wildfire Airspace Protect Act of 2015
- H.R. 2983 Drought Recovery and Resilience Act of 2015
- H.R. 291 Water in the 21st Century Act
- H.R. 1775 the Innovative Stormwater Infrastructure Act of 2015
- H.R. 2689 Clarifies the scope of eligible water resources projects under the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 to support the North San Diego Recycled Water Project
- H.R. 1278 the Water Infrastructure Resiliency and Sustainability Act
- H.R. 3720 Water Advanced Technologies for Efficient Resource Use Act
- H.R. 3927 West Coast Ocean Protection Act of 2015
- H.R. 239 Udall-Eisenhower Arctic Wilderness Act
- H.R. 1814 to permanently reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund
- H. Res 142 H.Res.142 - Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that in order to better understand water availability, sustainability, and security at a national scale, the United States should prioritize the assessment of the quality and quantity of surface water and groundwater resources, and produce a national water census with the same sense of urgency that was incorporated in the "Man on the Moon" project to address the inevitable challenges of "Peak Water".
- H.R. 979 to designate a mountain in the John Muir Wilderness of the Sierra National Forest as “Sky Point”
- H.R. 908 California Coastal National Monument Santa Cruz Redwoods Expansion Act
- H.R. 781 Complete America’s Great Trails Act
- H.R. 813 FORECAST Act
Invest to Develop and Deploy Clean Energy Technologies: Bolster San Diego’s green-energy and clean tech economies by investing in carbon capture, utilization, and storage and advanced biofuels innovation; advocate smart policy to increase adoption of solar energy and speed up electric grid modernization to ensure reliability; promote the development of affordable battery and energy storage technology for federal, commercial and residential use; support advanced nuclear research and development to promote new sources of safe, reliable, zero-carbon electricity.
Legislation Introduced
- H.R. 3392, Carbon Capture Research and Development Act, bipartisan legislation to speed the development and deployment of new technologies that can convert captured CO2 to fuels, chemicals, and other products
- An amendment to H.R. 8, the North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act, that includes energy storage as a form of energy that DOE should consider to enhance emergency preparedness for energy supply disruptions during natural disasters
Legislation Cosponsored
- H.R. 2412, New Energy for America Act to extend the ITC and PTC
- H.R. 2132 Nonprofit Energy Assistance Act
- H.R. 2296 Job Creation through Energy Efficient Manufacturing Act
- H.R. 2763 Grants for Renewable Energy Education for the Nation Act
Advance Energy Efficiency at Federal Facilities: Increase energy efficiency and renewable energy programs in federal buildings; promote energy savings through public-private partnerships; improve energy sustainability programs in the military
Legislation Introduced
- H.R. 3577, Unnecessary Government Printing Reform Act of 2015
- H.Res 389, Honest Dynamic Scoring Resolution, with Reps. Delaney and Hanna to ensure that the economic benefits of federal investment in clean energy technology is accurately reflected in budget projections
- An amendment to H.R. 8, the North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act, that allows federal agencies to enter into ESPCs for the deployment of alternative vehicle fleets and infrastructure, and allows the federal government to participate in any existing or future utility incentive programs that support the use of alternative fueled vehicles, charging stations, or fueling stations that will lower the total cost of adopting more efficient alternative vehicles.
Legislation Cosponsored
- H.R. 1629 Energy Savings Through Public-Private Partnerships Act of 2015
- H.R. 1268 Energy Efficient Government Technology Act
More on Energy and Environment
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Congressman Scott Peters (CA-52) was selected by his Democratic colleagues to serve on the House Energy and Commerce Committee during the 115th Congress. The committee has jurisdiction over legislation and regulation pertaining to energy and the environment, healthcare, telecommunications, and interstate commerce, making it one of the most influential policy-making bodies in Congress.
Today, U.S. Congressman Scott Peters (CA-52) helped pass a bipartisan bill that will bring millions of dollars to the San Diego region to improve water security and drought mitigation. The Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act, a comprehensive water bill that decides water infrastructure projects and policy for the next two years, authorizes projects in the San Diego region and allocates federal funds for water desalination, recycling, and storage projects to support drought-ridden southern California.
Includes land exchange at Port, funding for San Diego military construction projects
By Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.)
President Obama and many members of Congress support an “all of the above” national energy supply strategy that relies on power from oil, gas, nuclear and renewables.
But a vital and overlooked component of ensuring we have the power we need is energy conservation – the less we use, the less we have to buy.
WASHINGTON, DC – Last night, the House passed U.S. Congressman Scott Peters’ (CA-52) amendment to the Water Resources Development Act that gives the Army Corps of Engineers the resources to evaluate the structural health of its current infrastructure and construction projects.
Today U.S. Congressman Scott Peters (CA-52) released the following statement on the Zika case and preventive spraying in Mount Hope and the urgent need for bipartisan Congressional action to confront the threat of the Zika virus:
Today, U.S. Congressman Scott Peters (CA-52) voted to pass the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, which allocates all defense spending for the 2017 fiscal year including funding for military personnel, operations and maintenance, procurement, and research and development. The bill included a $6.4 billion boost to address military readiness shortfalls as well as $880 million to train and equip local forces to fight ISIS in Iraq and Syria.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Scott Peters (CA-52), a formal environmental lawyer, helped pass the largest overhaul in national chemical safety laws in 40 years. The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Modernization Act updates an outdated and broken law that has been panned by business and environmental groups alike and is largely blamed for preventing the ban of dangerous chemicals like asbestos.
Throughout yesterday and into the night, U.S. Congressman Scott Peters (CA-52) championed forward thinking military energy security policies, smart and tough strategies to fight terrorism, and San Diego’s defense priorities during the House Armed Services Committee markup of the ‘National Defense Authorization Act,’ (NDAA), which serves as a roadmap for national defense spending for the 2017 Fiscal Year.
By Scott Peters
Last year, 6,300 wildfires burned over 300,000 acres across California. In May 2014, more than a dozen wildfires broke out in San Diego County alone, burning 26,000 acres, taking one life, and costing home and business owners $29.8 million. Five years into the worst drought in California’s history, we know the devastation that comes from wildfire seasons paired with severe drought conditions. Since coming to Congress, I have made it a priority to get our communities the resources they need to protect lives and property from the threat of wildfires.