Budget Reconciliation Bill Funds Key Investments to Improve the Clean Energy Economy, Protect Against PFAS & HABs, and Strengthen Flooding Research and Development
Washington, DC – Yesterday, Representative Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11) participated in the House Committee on Science, Space, & Technology's mark-up and voted in support of SST's portion of the Build Back Better Act.
"Yesterday, we passed a package out of committee that invests in our underfunded weather forecasting infrastructure, provides funding to mitigate the danger of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and harmful algal blooms (HABs), and funds our clean energy economy," said Rep. Sherrill. "Whether it's funding grants to protect our firefighters from harmful PFAS, investing in fossil fuel alternatives, funding data collection for extreme precipitation and flooding, or investing in programs that address the impact of HABs on our environment, this package will provide the resources and investments we need to help us address the climate crisis and grow our clean energy economy."
The package that passed out of SST yesterday includes investments that will strengthen NOAA, including:
$1.2 billion for Weather, Ocean and Climate Research and Forecasting,
This funding would be instrumental in increasing the predictive and forecasting capabilities of weather and climate phenomena including hurricanes, tornadoes, extreme precipitation, extreme heat, and flooding, as well as understanding impacts and efforts to mitigate events similar to those seen across New Jersey in the wake of Hurricane Ida.
Similarly, this funding would also increase the understanding of phenomena including harmful algal blooms, hypoxia and deoxygenation, sea level change, and ocean warming;
$765 million for Climate Adaptation and Resilience Activities
$70 million for High Performance Computing
$224 million for Phased Array Radar
$1 billion for the Hurricane Hunter Aircraft
$12 million for Uncrewed Systems
$743 million for facilities and improvements to scientific equipment and instruments
$173 million for Space Weather Next Lagrange Point 1 Mission
$5 million for DOI oversight of NOAA activities
It also includes funding to support and protect firefighters through the FEMA Assistance to Firefighter Grants, including:
$718 million for construction and upgrades of fire stations
$80 million to replace gear containing PFAS
$2 million for oversight
It includes investments to address the climate crisis, including:
$15.6 billion for DOE funding for renewable energy research and development, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy programs, and laboratory infrastructure
$264 million for the EPA Climate Change Research and Development
$4.2 billion for NIST funding including investments in cybersecurity, climate research and development & more
$11 billion for NSF infrastructure, STEM diversity, MSIs, & climate change research, among other programs
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Original source can be found here.
