WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), along with 16 other senators and 23 members of the House of Representatives sent a bipartisan letter calling for the inclusion of the Utilizing Significant Emissions with Innovative Technologies (USE IT) Act in the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (FY21 NDAA).
Barrasso and other members sent the letter to the bipartisan leadership of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) and House Armed Services Committee (HASC).
In the letter, the senators and representatives support including provisions in the final NDAA bill that would support the development and demonstration of vital carbon capture and removal technologies.
Along with Barrasso, the letter was signed by Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Tom Carper (D-DE), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Tina Smith (D-MN), John Hoeven (R-ND), Chris Coons (D-DE), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Steve Daines (R-MT), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Mike Enzi (R-WY), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Brian Schatz (D-HI), along with Reps. David McKinley (R-WV), Scott Peters (D-CA), Kelly Armstrong (R-ND), Mike Bost (R-IL), Anthony Brindisi (D-NY), Cheri Bustos (D-IL), Gil Cisneros (D-CA), Jim Costa (D-CA), Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), Ted Deutch (D-FL), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX), Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE), Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA), Tom O'Halleran (D-AZ), Alex Mooney (R-WV), Fancis Rooney (R-FL), Kathleen Rice (D-NY), David Schweikert (R-AZ), Terri Sewell (D-AL), Pete Stauber (R-MN), Xochitl Torres Small (D-NM), and Susan Wild (D-PA).
Read the full letter here and below.
Dear Chairmen Smith and Inhofe and Ranking Members Thornberry and Reed:
As you finalize the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (“FY21 NDAA”), we urge you to include provisions in the final bill that would support the development and demonstration of vital carbon capture and removal technologies.
The House- and Senate-passed FY21 NDAA bills again recognize that the United States must guard itself from those national security risks otherwise related to changes to the global climate landscape. Investments in carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration (“CCUS”) and direct air capture (“DAC”) technologies would manage these risks, while fostering new industries and creating important domestic jobs as the United States emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The USE IT Act, included in the Senate-passed version of the FY21 NDAA, would do just that, and represents an important step towards addressing those risks by incentivizing the development of CCUS and DAC technologies, and the increased beneficial use of captured carbon.
It is imperative that you maintain the USE IT Act language contained in the Senate-passed bill in order to address not only immediate national security risks, but also the broader issues of energy security, economic vitality, environmental sustainability, and America’s leadership at the forefront of CCUS technologies.
We thank you for considering our request and look forward to working with you on this important issue.
Background Information:
On July 23, 2020, the U.S. Senate passed S. 383, the Utilizing Significant Emissions with Innovative Technologies (USE IT) Act, as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
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