Press Releases

Representative Carlos Curbelo (FL-26), co-founder and co-chair of the Climate Solutions Caucus and sponsor of the first Republican-led proposal to fund infrastructure while also lowering carbon emissions, issued the following statement commenting on reports of an anti-climate proposal being drafted by the Administration:

“While I supported Clean Power Plan for newer facilities, I did not believe it was an efficient solution to address the growing challenge of rising carbon emissions as a whole. However, the Administration’s expected new plan to placate polluters is also wholly unacceptable. I’ve long said the next meaningful action on climate policy must come from Congress, and a real solution is a bill that would aggressively invest in American infrastructure while protecting the environment by empowering Americans to reduce carbon emissions.

“Threats like sea level rise and salt water intrusion caused by climate change will have devastating long-term effects on our economy, national security and environment. Congress must act on a market-based solution, which is why I introduced the MARKET CHOICE Act to not only combat climate change in a way that exceeds the carbon emission goals of the Clean Power Plan and the Paris Agreement, but also fund a much-needed nation-wide infrastructure modernization. This bill was a conversation starter, and I urge all my colleagues to continue studying market-based solutions and introduce and support proposals like this one that would set the United States on a path to lead and urgently move along this conversation in a constructive way that encourages both parties to come together to address this threat.”

BACKGROUND

Curbelo announced the introduction of H.R. 6463, the Modernizing America with Rebuilding to Kick-start the Economy of the Twenty-first Century with a Historic Infrastructure-Centered Expansion (MARKET CHOICE) Act at an event with Columbia University Center for Global Energy Policy last month. According to an analysis by Columbia University, Curbelo’s proposal would reduce carbon emissions by 27–32 percent in net greenhouse gas emissions levels by 2025 and 30–40 percent by 2030, exceeding goals of the Clean Power Plan and the Paris agreement. The analysis also suggests the proposal would have little economic disruption, and that lowest-income households benefit from the proposal with 10% of revenues being used for transfers/dividends to offset higher energy prices. Businesses representing a wide cross section of the U.S. economyand environmental and energy groups across the political spectrum have praised Curbelo’s effort. 

The MARKET CHOICE Act would: 

•  Set the United States on a path to reduce carbon emissions and not only fulfill, but exceed the commitments set out under the Paris agreement;
• Raise much-needed revenue to modernize our national infrastructure – a bipartisan priority that remains elusive without a new influx of revenue – by providing an additional $285 billion for the Highway Trust Fund and $18 billion for the Airport and Airways Trust Fund;
• Assist communities with enhancement of natural barriers, modernization and maintenance of current infrastructure, such as levees, elevated roads, and floodwalls to protect our waterfront communities from rising seas and tropical storms; 
• Eliminate regressive, inefficient and discriminatory taxes like the gasoline tax and the aviation fuel tax to promote an equitable funding stream for our country's critical infrastructure needs;
• Create long-term regulatory certainty by establishing a moratorium on the EPA from finalizing and enforcing Clean Air Act regulations on greenhouse gas emissions from stationary sources, allowing utilities and businesses to make long-term investments to improve service to consumers; 
• Ensure American producers are not at a competitive disadvantage abroad or against foreign imports by adding a border adjustment on goods from nations without an emissions fee, and a credit to American exporters; and 
• Protect lower-income Americans from higher utility bills and assist any displaced energy-sector workers.