▶ 0:14:55The committee will come to order. The chair recognizes himself for an opening Welcome to today's markup before the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Environment. Today we will consider three pieces of legislation starting with the Brownfields Revitalization for a Better Tomorrow Act. This legislation reauthorizes the Environmental Protection Agency's Brownfields Grants Program and the State Response Program.
▶ 0:15:22Policy in the bill incorporate input from two sub committee hearings, which included testimony from local government officials, state environmental agencies, non-profit organizations, and the private sector. The sub committee considered opportunities such as the value of reusing existing difficulties reusing existing infrastructure at brownfield sites, as well as challenges such as the difficulties rural communities face in putting together competitive grant applications.
▶ 0:15:50Policy improvements in the brownfields revitalization act for a better tomorrow reflect bipartisan negotiations and feedback from the Environmental Protection Agency. This reauthorization bill includes enhancements to existing tools, such as increased grant award amounts, a waiver of cost share requirements for small or disadvantaged communities, and additional oversight of the revolving loan funds.
▶ 0:16:15It also incorporates some new ideas to facilitate the timely remediation of these sites, and ultimately their return to productive reuse. For example, this legislation would support use of brownfields grant funding to help local communities clean up and redevelop former military installations, and locate the building of critical infrastructure at brownfield sites.
▶ 0:16:37It also builds on existing requirements for states receiving funding under the state response programs, directing states to publish an inventory of sites on which this funding was utilized. Our bill also requires EPA to issue guidance to assist federal agencies to more efficiently utilize site specific information and previous environmental reviews in considering redevelopment on brownfield sites.
▶ 0:17:02This legislation reauthorizes these programs consistent with the most recently enacted appropriations While my colleagues on the other side of the aisle would like to see higher authorization levels, we cannot ignore historical regular appropriations We plan to continue discussions with our minority and Senate colleagues on authorization funding levels.
▶ 0:17:24I hope we can work together to get this bill across the finish line rather than allowing the authorization for this important program to continue to lapse. We will also consider HR 2145, the Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Act introduced by Representative Miller-Meeks of Iowa.
▶ 0:17:44Despite partisan legislation, it directs the EPA to establish a pilot program to award grants to states, tribes, local governments, public-private partnerships for projects to increase access to recycling systems, particularly in underserved communities. Increasing recycling rates provides us with an opportunity to recover and reuse more discarded material.
▶ 0:18:06In turn, we can keep more of these products in our domestic supply chains, enhancing our economic and national This legislation will also reduce the cost of implementing recycling programs in underserved communities. Finally, we will also consider HR 4109, the Recycling and Composting Accountability Act.
▶ 0:18:26This legislation, which also enjoys bipartisan support, tasks EPA with collecting data and information to access uh to assess national recycling and composting rates. Plan to take up this legislation as an amendment to the Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Act. With this markup, we hope to further our goal of maximizing the value of our federal dollars and channeling them towards programs that improve the quality of life in communities across our country.
▶ 0:18:56I look forward to hopefully advancing these bills into our continued discussion today. I now recognize the gentleman from New York's 20th District, the ranking member of the subcommittee, Representative for 5 minutes for an opening statement. Uh thank you, Mr. Chair. Today, the Environment Subcommittee will consider three bills to address pressing environmental and economic challenges facing our nation.
▶ 0:19:19HR 2145, the Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Act led by Congresswoman Miller-Meeks, and HR 4109, the Recycling and Composting Accountability Act led by Congressman DeGette, are bipartisan bills to improve recycling systems in our United States. The RIAA would establish a pilot program at the EPA to award grants to improve recycling accessibility in underserved and rural communities.
▶ 0:19:47And the RCAA would improve data collection on our nation's recycling systems and explore the potential of a national composting Legislation would require EPA to collect and publish data on recycling and composting rates to provide an accurate reflection of performance both nationwide and at the state level. Both bills are supported by a diverse coalition of stakeholders, and have been passed by the Senate several times over the past three Congresses.
▶ 0:20:16While these bills will not fix all of the issues with our nation's recycling and waste systems, I believe they are an important first step step to addressing some of the most obvious shortcomings. I do look forward to these bills finally getting over the finish line and enacted this Unfortunately, I have concerns with the third bill before us today, HR 8739. The Brownfields Revitalization for a Better Tomorrow Act.
▶ 0:20:43EPA's Brownfields program has a long history of bipartisan support. It does provide critical resources to state and local governments to support the remediation of blighted properties, which increases property values and local tax revenue, preserves greenfields, and creates jobs. And there are aspects of the bill before us today that would improve the program and align with priorities identified during our legislative hearing back in March.
▶ 0:21:14This includes increasing the maximum award limit to $1 million and waving cost-share requirements for awards to disadvantaged and small communities. These reforms will allow more communities to be able to access the program and enable them to tackle more complex and costly sites. I sincerely appreciate that the majority has worked with us on these and other aspects of the bill.
▶ 0:21:38But unfortunately, the bill also includes significant funding cuts to the program's authorization levels, which I cannot support. H.R. 8739 would reduce the authorization level of EPA's grant program from $200 million to million annually. Similarly, it would reduce the state response program authorization from $50 million to $46.25 million annually.
▶ 0:22:08Not only are these funding levels lower than the bipartisan agreement that has already been advanced by our counterparts in the Senate, they are also below what the majority had proposed in their discussion draft from our March legislative hearing. It is hard to understand why such a cut would be warranted.
▶ 0:22:27Everyone agrees this program is effective, and every hearing witness testified that the program should have more funding, not less, especially as state and local governments prepare to tackle more complex sites with higher award amounts. This program has always been bipartisan, and I hope we can work together before full committee to restore this funding. With that, I thank you, Mr. Chair, and I yield back.
▶ 0:22:53I now recognize the gentleman from Kentucky second district, the chairman of the full committee, Representative Guthrie, for 5 minutes for an opening Thank you, Mr. Chairman. First of all, I think some numbers uh years ago in Hackleburg, Alabama you were born this day, right? So, happy birthday. Were you born in Hackleburg? Born in Haleyville. Haleyville. Oh, Robert Winston County, Robert Aderholt sister. Well, happy birthday to you, Mr. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
▶ 0:23:23Most people don't know where Hackleburg is, but you and I may be the only two. So, thank you, Chairman Chairman Palmer for this uh uh markup today and members of the subcommittee for all the hard work and all the bipartisan hard work. I know there's still some areas to be negotiated, but we certainly appreciate the hard work together. So, H.R. 8739, the Brownfields Revitalization for Better uh Tomorrow Act is a compromise measure reauthorizing EPA's Brownfields Grants Program, which has enjoyed bipartisan support since first first enacted more than 20 years ago.
▶ 0:23:53This bill was negotiated between the majority minority and includes several bipartisan policy reforms to improve the operation effectiveness and accountability of EPA's Brownfields While the reauthorization funding levels may not be as high as my friends across the aisle would like, they are based on the current appropriation levels enacted by Congress as this program's authorization expired in 2023. Through the regular appropriations process, Congress has not historically funded the EPA Brownfields uh grants at full authorized levels.
▶ 0:24:24We will continue to work with our friends in the minority and our colleagues in the Senate to resolve the funding issue for the Brownfield grants, but I'm glad that on substance we are able to consider a strong bill with important bipartisan program updates The second bill we would take up is H.R. 2145, the Recycling Infrastructure and Accountability Act, sponsored by Representative Miller-Meeks.
▶ 0:24:47This bipartisan proposal would establish a pilot program at EPA to help build out waste collection and recycling infrastructure in areas that currently lack household recycling, helping address plastic and other waste streams and support recovery of critical Finally, we also plan to to consider the bipartisan recycling and composting act accountability act as an amendment to HR 2145.
▶ 0:25:15These These two measures were previously combined in 2024 into the year package which fell through, but most importantly during this Congress the Senate combined these two measures into a single bill S351 known as the Stewart Act which passed the Senate by unanimous consent at the end of 2025. Combining the combining the bills today will again unify them into a single measure increasing [snorts] the opportunity for getting this bill signed into law. I appreciate the work on both sides of the aisle to prepare for this markup.
▶ 0:25:43I again wish the chairman a happy birthday and I yield back. Gentleman yields. The chairman now recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey 6th District, the ranking member of the full committee, Representative Pallone for 5 minutes for an opening statement. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Today the subcommittee is marking up three bills, two recycling bills and a bill to reauthorize the Brownfields program. Unfortunately, for the first time in the Brownfields program's history, we're marking up a partisan Brownfields bill that cuts crucial funds from the program.
▶ 0:26:13Since I partnered with the late Republican Representative Paul Gillmor of Ohio over 20 years ago to write the Brownfields law, the program has consistently enjoyed bipartisan support. The Brownfields program is an economic engine and an environmental tool for cleaning up former toxic sites representing a win-win for economic growth and environmental stewardship. Since it was first created, I've worked to ensure the program maintains robust funding and fort Unfortunately, this bill far falls far too short of that bar of that goal.
▶ 0:26:43In fact, the version we're marking up includes dramatic funding cuts to the Republicans' own draft bill that was included in the legislative hearing. A diverse group of stakeholders and all witnesses at every brownfields hearing agree that robust funding is necessary to continue the work of the program. Frankly, we should increase funding for brownfields to ensure it continues its record of success.
▶ 0:27:06And communities need this funding to get toxic contamination out of their land and water and bring areas back to productive use, which is far more important than funding ballrooms or illegal wars. There are good pieces of this bill that we were able to come to a bipartisan agreement on.
▶ 0:27:23We worked across the aisle to raise overall grant levels to keep pace with the increasing complexity of brownfield sites, but the bill removes cost-sharing requirements for small and disadvantaged communities and some of the more contentious language on earlier draft. So, basically, Mr. Chairman, I'm urging my Republican colleagues to restore critical funding to ensure this program continues the work of revitalization in districts and communities across the country.
▶ 0:27:51Now, we're also considering two bipartisan recycling bills that are steps in the right direction on bolstering our domestic recycling and composting. HR 4109, the Recycling and Composting Accountability Act, works to address data gaps and standardize metrics on recycling and composting practices across the nation, which is essential to inform effective policy makers to improve waste management practices nationwide, and I appreciate the the leadership of Representative who's for spearheading this
▶ 0:28:21effort. And HR 2145, the Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Act, directs EPA to establish a pilot pilot program to increase access to recycling services in underserved communities struggling to keep up with increasing waste management demands.
▶ 0:28:37Both of these bills seek to boost important components of our recycling and composting systems, and that's data collection and and So, this is important because our nation's overall recycling and composting rate is only about 32%. So, these bills are positive steps in the right direction, but there's more work to be done.
▶ 0:28:58The plastic pollution crisis for one is polluting our environment and harming public health by by creeping into our waterways, breaking down into harmful breaking down harmful microplastics, creating massive challenges for municipal solid waste management recycling programs. And this is something I hear about a lot at home, particularly on the Jersey Shore where I live, as microplastics are polluting the Atlantic and impacting marine life.
▶ 0:29:25So, we have to explore solutions that match the severity of this crisis, meaning the the plastics crisis. So, I look forward to sending the recycling bills to the full committee. But my hope, Mr. Chairman, is that my Republican colleagues will address the inadequate levels of funding in the Brownfields bill when we get to full committee, so it can be a bipartisan success. It's always been bipartisan in the past, and I would like, obviously, to see that happen again. And I yield back to balance of my time.
▶ 0:29:55Gentleman yields. The chair reminds members that, pursuant to the committee rules, all members' opening statements will be made part of the record. Are there further opening statements? Gentlewoman from California is recognized for 3 minutes. Mr. Chairman, what a disappointment. Families across the country are still living near contaminated sites that need to be cleaned up. We should not on deep cuts to the Brownfields program.
▶ 0:30:26Brownfields is one of the few programs in Washington that has support from both parties cuz it works. It helps communities clean up contaminated land, protect public health, and turn abandoned properties into places people can use again. At a time when communities across the country are asking for more help, not Republicans want to cut this program in almost half.
▶ 0:30:49Apparently, there's always enough money for another billionaire tax break or another Trump vanity project like a or a war with Iran. When it comes to cleaning up toxic sites in American communities, suddenly Republicans say we can't afford it. That makes no sense to the families who live near these contaminated properties every day.
▶ 0:31:17In my district, the Brownfields program secured a $1.8 million clean-up effort in Carson, California. The funding is helping clean up the former Fletcher Oil and Refining Refining Company site. It's a 36-acre property contaminated by oil in the soil and groundwater after decades of industrial activity. Because of this investment, the land can finally be put to productive use again. This site will become part of the Pure Water Southern California project, one of the largest recycled water projects in the world.
▶ 0:31:47That means local jobs and more reliable clean water supply for our Communities in Republican states depend on this program, too. In Maysville, Kentucky, Brownfields funding is helping turn an abandoned hospital site into housing. In Ranson, West Virginia, Brownfields funding is helping clean up old manufacturing sites so they can be turned into housing, shops, and jobs.
▶ 0:32:12This is what the Brownfields program It takes polluted land that has been sitting unused for years and it turns it into something that benefits the Cutting this program in almost half will not help working It will slow down clean-ups. It's going to delay projects and it's going to leave communities behind. We shouldn't have been We should be investing more in the Brownfields not less.
▶ 0:32:39Let's show the American people where our values are, which is in I urge my colleagues to reject this deep proposed cut, and I yield back. Are there further opening statements? Seeing none, the Chair calls up H.R. 8739 and asks the clerk to report. H.R.
▶ 0:33:068739, a bill to amend the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 with respect to the Brownfields Revital- Revitalization Funding and for other purposes. Without objection, the first reading of the bill is dispensed with. The bill will be open for amendment at any point. So ordered. Does anyone seek to be recognized on the bill? For what purpose does the gentleman from Georgia seek recognition? Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.
▶ 0:33:36Gentleman's recognized for 5 minutes to speak on the bill. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the Brownfields Revitalization for a Better Tomorrow Act is a critical piece of legislation that will bolster the program's previous successes while incorporating updates to address the nearly 450,000 brownfield sites still remaining across the country.
▶ 0:33:59This legislation will ensure that we continue the progress we have made with the Brownfields program while ensuring proper oversight and accountability. For example, it institutes a bi-annual requirement for the Inspector General to conduct reviews of audits of grants made under section 104k and section 128a of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act.
▶ 0:34:22Brownfields are sites that often have pre-existing infrastructure that allows them to be easily transformed into facilities to produce energy, critical resources, and much more. This bill requires EPA to develop and periodically upgrade guidance to assist other federal agencies in more efficiently issuing authorizations and conducting environmental reviews for projects on brownfield sites.
▶ 0:34:48It also updates the ranking criteria EPA uses to to evaluate grant applications to facilitate the reuse of brownfield sites for critical infrastructure and the redevelopment of formerly military a former military installations. I want to thank Chairman Guthrie for his leadership on this issue and I urge my colleagues to support this bill. Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
▶ 0:35:14Gentleman yields. The gentleman from California, Mr. Ruiz, is recognized for 5 minutes. Mr.
▶ 0:35:19Mr. Chairman, thank you. I move to strike the last word. Uh brownfield sites, abandoned industrial facilities, old gas stations, dry cleaners, landfills are not just environmental hazards. They are economic wounds. And as a physician, I can tell you you do not heal wounds by ignoring You clean them. You treat [clears throat] them. In my district alone, there are 14 known brownfield sites.
▶ 0:35:46Together, they have received over $581,000 in EPA brownfield funding, touching communities from Brawley to 29 Palms, from El Centro to tribal lands in Riverside County. And that investment goes further than the dollar figure suggests. Nationally, every dollar brownfield funding has leveraged more than $42 billion in cleanup and redevelopment and generated over 220,000 jobs.
▶ 0:36:14Communities see roughly 10.6 jobs created per $100,000 Applied to California's 25th District, our $581,000 could represent over $11 million in leveraged economic activity and more than 60 local jobs. That is federal seed money that multiplies into real opportunity for working families. We've already seen what that looks like.
▶ 0:36:42The Lasica property in Brawley, a long vacant contaminated site, was remediated and transformed into a thriving local car repair business. Good paying jobs, renewed economic activity, restored community dignity, which brings me to what is happening right now. We know these sites cluster in economically distressed communities, places with higher poverty rates, higher unemployment, lower median incomes.
▶ 0:37:08That is a legacy of decades of industrial sitting decisions that consistently placed the heaviest burdens on the communities less equip equipped to bear them. When we choose to cut funding from this we're making a choice about which communities matter. On March 4th, this very committee considered a Republican draft bill, the one we're considering right now, the Brownsville's Revitalization for a Better Tomorrow Act, that actually funded this program at $200 million.
▶ 0:37:38Only 10 weeks later, we're voting on a version of this same bill that cuts the Brownfields program by over $75 million. Same committee, same program, same people.
▶ 0:37:53My Republican colleagues found $1.5 trillion for defense and named a resolution the Investing in Rural America Act, but today they can't find $75 million for a program that creates real jobs in real rural This is not a budget decision. This is a values decision. If you stand for rural America, you fund rural America.
▶ 0:38:18You don't put its name on a bill one week and cut its lifeline the This has always been a bipartisan program and this committee has always treated it this way. In its entire history, the Energy and Commerce Committee has never cut authorization funds for the brownfields until today. It is extremely disappointing that House Republicans are breaking that tradition and and that the communities who will pay the price are the ones that can least afford it. And I yield back.
▶ 0:38:48Gentleman yields. Does anyone else wish to speak? The chair recognizes the gentleman from Kentucky, the chairman of the full committee for 5 minutes to speak on the bill. Thank you, uh, Mr. Chairman. I would like to speak in favor of my bill, the Brownfields Revitalization Act for Better Tomorrow.
▶ 0:39:04Uh, the Environment Subcommittee has undertaken a deliberate process to develop the legislation we're considering today, including multiple hearings, meeting one-on-one with EPA's EPA states, local communities, and other stakeholders, and receiving feedback on a series of discussion drafts released earlier this year.
▶ 0:39:20This blue bill includes many bipartisan reforms, including identifying and prioritizing use of brownfield sites for needed infrastructure projects, increasing the dollar amounts for individual grant awards, updating how these funds can be used to better support cleanup and reuse of sites, and increasing oversight by the EPA Inspector General and the Government Accountability Office. While more work does remain ahead on authorization levels, to be clear, this bill does not cut the actual funding for the brownfields program.
▶ 0:39:51The authorization levels included in this legislation reflect the most recent level of appropriations enacted by Congress, about $170 million in total. We will spend the authorization is what we are currently spending. The reforms in the in the bill are long overdue, and I appreciate the work that has gone into getting us this far, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back.
▶ 0:40:18General Neals, does any um Chair recognize General from New Jersey, the ranking member of the full committee, Mr. Pallone, for 5 minutes to speak on the bill. Thank you, and uh let me say in all due respect to to Chairman Guthrie, I understand that you're bringing the um authorization levels down to the appropriations levels, but that is not what we should be doing. I mean, first of all, I don't believe we should defer to the appropriators.
▶ 0:40:44Often times, they appropriate uh inadequately uh relative to the authorization levels that we set. Uh but that shouldn't be the basis for our action. Our action should be based on what we think should be authorized, and then we try, or at least I try to get the appropriators to move as much as possible towards those uh author- authorization levels.
▶ 0:41:05So, you know, I don't want to be dictated by the appropriators, particularly when they're cutting uh uh the funding uh significantly below what I think we should be authorizing. So, the brownfields program, as I said, is a economic lifeline for communities looking to clean up contamination and revitalize their neighborhoods. Since its inception, more than 42,000 brownfield sites have been revitalized and made ready for development around the nation.
▶ 0:41:32And these projects leverage nearly 230,000 jobs and more than $44 billion in economic development. And working together with the majority, we were able to increase grant amounts across the board to tackle harder-to-reach sites, eliminate the cost-share requirements that made it difficult for small and disadvantaged communities to apply for grants, and broaden the scope of how you could use the grants to allow more flexibility for grantees as they tackle these complex sites.
▶ 0:42:00And we even found common ground on a new program for small community technical assistance, increasing audits and reporting, expanding the state brownfields inventories, and making them public. But the problem is that those gains now take a backseat because of the funding cuts that were suddenly included in their bill. Uh cuts from what Chairman Guthrie actually proposed in the initial bill.
▶ 0:42:23So, this amount was not in the legislative drafts, not in the bipartisan Senate bill, and not part of any negotiation or stakeholder agreements. Uh the over $75 billion cuts, and I I understand they're cuts and authorization, but that's what we deal with. They run counter to on the broad understanding of the value of the program and its ability to spur economic development cuz everything about the brownfields cuts is is frankly disappointing.
▶ 0:42:50Uh I just want to remind my colleagues that every dollar the federal government invests in the brownfields program, we get roughly $20 back in economic return and showcasing the win-win scenario that the program produces. So, I just hope we can all agree that this program was more than worth every dollar we put into it even though the bill uh today does not demonstrate that, and I would urge uh the chairman and my colleagues to come back to the table and fully fund this program at the levels necessary to get the work done.
▶ 0:43:19So, I can't support a bill this bill that cuts a critical lifeline for our districts so they can have access to the funds to remediate and redevelop former toxic sites and and bring them back to economic use. And until that funding is restored, I'd urge my colleagues to oppose the bill. I yield back.
▶ 0:43:37Will the gentleman yield? Yeah, of course. So, I want I want to thank you for your your remarks and and for your your support of the underlying policy of the bill. I understand our differences in the in the the authorization levels, but I I do appreciate the hard work that you've done, our staff has done, and just want to point out that we agree I don't want to put words in your mouth. We agree on the underlying policy that's in the bill.
▶ 0:44:01The difference is uh is the authorization levels, and it this does reflect reflect current House appropriations and intended to it's that's House protocol and reasonable minds can differ on what the appropriation authorization could be in this bill. We've heard repeatedly that the program is oversubscribed with a significant interest with more quality applications that can be satisfied. We understand that.
▶ 0:44:24I would also note that the Senate is working on reauthorizing this program and is in fact considering a higher authorization level than we're voting on today. So, I know that we'll continue to work. We'll also work with the Senate and I look forward to working with you and our colleagues in the House and the Senate and we'll develop a bipartisan bicameral compromise that I believe in the end we can all support. So, thank you and I will yield back to you, Mr. Ranking Member. I appreciate that. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.
▶ 0:44:53Gentleman from New York, does anyone else wish to speak on the bill? Uh gentleman from New Jersey's recognized to speak on the bill for 5 Thank you, Chairman. EPA brownfields is historically a bipartisan program that helps local leaders in New Jersey do incredible work to revitalize our communities and improve quality of life for working families. Brownfields funding helps turn landfills into community parks.
▶ 0:45:16It helps turn abandoned contaminated industrial sites into affordable housing, new businesses, or even solar farms that provide our communities with cheap clean energy. So, I'm incredibly disappointed that at the 11th hour Republicans have decided to cut the funding authorization for this program in half. They're turning their backs on this program and the communities that need it to thrive despite the fact that many local leaders and expert witnesses have told this committee that the program desperately needs additional resources, not less.
▶ 0:45:43Let me read some testimony from Mayor Bollwage of Elizabeth, New Jersey, which I have the privilege of representing. When Mayor Bollwage came before this committee in 2025, he called the brownfields program, {quote} a community game-changer. But, he also told this committee that, {quote} the only downside is the majority of grant applications are not funded due to a lack of resources. And yet, for the first time in history of the successful, bipartisan, and popular program, Republicans are choosing to mark up a partisan bill and cut its funding.
▶ 0:46:12Um this is on top of other funding cuts that they've made in this Congress, cutting a trillion dollars from healthcare for Americans. And let's talk about what Republicans are willing to fund at historic levels. Republicans voted to create a hundred seventy billion dollars slush fund for ICE and immigration enforcement, which is being used to terrorize our communities and tear families apart.
▶ 0:46:37And apparently, that was still not enough for House Republicans, because just two weeks ago, they voted to greenlight another seventy billion dollars in funding for immigration enforcement. Republicans on this committee are also fine with writing a blank check for the Trump administration's war in Iran that was not authorized by Congress, a war that some estimates say has already cost eighty billion dollars.
▶ 0:46:59And more recently, they've had nothing to say about whether taxpayers should foot the bill for the president's ballroom, or about a no-bid contract to paint the Lincoln Memorial's reflecting pool bright blue. That's just how disconnected House Republicans are from the priorities of the American people.
▶ 0:47:18So while I'm glad to see many welcome reforms in this bill, including increased grant caps that will help our communities take on more ambitious projects and remediate more contaminated um I am also glad to see that Republicans threw out many of the worst ideas from their original discussion draft, and I am a strong supporter of this program. As I said in March, I'd be thrilled to work with my Republican colleagues on a bipartisan bill.
▶ 0:47:40Unfortunately, I cannot support unprecedented cuts to this program, cuts that will mean fewer affordable homes, fewer community parks, and less investment in communities like Elizabeth. Uh you know, House Democrats are going to continue to push for priorities that uplift communities across the country, that uplift the American people, Uh but we're just waiting for our Republicans to come to the table and do the same. With that, I yield back. Gentleman yields. Does anyone else wish to speak on the bill? Gentleman from Florida, Mr.
▶ 0:48:08Soto, is recognized for 5 minutes to speak on the Thank you, Chairman. You know, a lot of people may not realize uh in the training up until and through World War II, we had tens of thousands of soldiers come to Central Florida to train on their way to Europe to defend democracy and and defeat the Nazis. Places like Pine Castle bombing range and Army Airfield hosted thousands of these soldiers over the years.
▶ 0:48:37And in the wake of this huge victory for our country and for the world, we saw brownfields throughout Central Florida. These areas have become theme parks, our airport, and local neighborhoods, and have flourished, but it took a lot of incentives to help move this along.
▶ 0:48:56Um when you're investing private dollars, it's a high risk going into a a piece of land that might have been polluted, and when you get the environmental surveys, yeah, it's really uncertain what you might be facing. And so, it's so important this partnership between the government and with the local businesses uh to help incentivize reusing these brownfields. And the grant levels are low in this current bill.
▶ 0:49:21Uh I do applaud the use of cost sharing for small towns we've seen in Central Florida that urban suburban areas have leveraged brownfield funds far more successfully than the rural areas because of the bar to entry. Uh and so, this pilot program also for rural communities will be helpful. But, we can do better. A $75 million cut when we were in the process of talking about a $250 million increase to the brownfields revitalization program is something that we have to do better on.
▶ 0:49:49This is a great potential jobs bill if done right. And we're the authorizers. We're not subservient to the appropriators. We We need to do what we think is right. Unemployment is rising, so is inflation. And so, this is an opportunity for us to turn the corner and invest in our communities, especially to help revitalize communities that have been left behind. Uh and with that, I yield back. Anyone else wish to speak on the bill?
▶ 0:50:16I will recognize myself um for 5 minutes. For clarity and accuracy's sake, there are no cuts in spending. What the bill does is match authorization to appropriated spending. We will continue to spend what we've been spending. I yield back. Are there any amendments? Seeing none, question now occurs on adopting H.R. 8739.
▶ 0:50:45All those in favor say I. Those opposed, no. The eyes have it, the bill is adopted and forward to the full committee. Chair calls up H.R. 2145 and asks the clerk to report. H.R. 2145, a bill to establish a pilot grant program to improve recycling accessibility and for other purposes.
▶ 0:51:14Without objection, the first reading of the bill is dispensed with and the bill will be open for amendment at any point. So ordered. Does anyone seek to be recognized on the bill? What purpose does the lady seek recognition? Move to strike the last word. The lady is recognized. Uh thank you, Chairman Palmer, for bringing up this important bill to mark up. As a representative from Iowa, I know firsthand the challenges rural communities face in accessing recycling services.
▶ 0:51:41Over 36% of Iowa households lack access to recycling, and that's over 450,000 families. This is an economic and a national security imperative. Our US manufacturing sector depends on recycled materials as feedstocks. Yet, we're watching China and other competitors purchase our scrap at above market prices while our own factories struggle to source domestic materials.
▶ 0:52:06The data shows we're landfilling millions of tons of valuable manufacturing materials every year, materials that should be creating jobs and strengthening supply chains right here in America. In Iowa alone, we're capturing less than half of our aluminum cans and only 15% of our steel cans. And for information, 90% of American steel and aluminum is from recycled material.
▶ 0:52:30So, that's not just waste, it's lost economic opportunity for our manufacturers and increased dependence on foreign suppliers. This challenge extends beyond traditional materials. We recycle and keep critical materials materials and critical minerals in American hands, not ship them overseas. That's why I've introduced the Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Act.
▶ 0:52:52RIAA would establish a pilot grant pilot grant program specifically targeting communities like many in my district, those without a recycling facility within 75 miles. This bipartisan legislation has earned endorsements from industry leaders here today, environmental groups, and manufacturers who understand that recycling infrastructure is manufacturing infrastructure, and that domestic material supply is economic security.
▶ 0:53:18I urge my colleagues on this committee to support RIAA and advance it to the full committee. Our rural communities, our manufacturers, and our economy cannot wait any longer for the infrastructure they need to keep American materials in American supply chains. Thank you, and I yield back. The gentle lady yields. Does anyone else seek recognition? Mr. Carter from Louisiana is recognized for 5 [clears throat] minutes to speak on the Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
▶ 0:53:43I'm proud to co-sponsor HR 2145, the Recycling [clears throat] Infrastructure and Accessibility Act of This bill makes targeted common-sense investments in the recycling programs that rural and underserved communities in Louisiana across this country desperately need. We know that recycling works when communities have access to it.
▶ 0:54:09But right now, too many communities have little to no curbside recycling, no drop-off facilities, and no path forward without federal support. This bill can change that. A recent study by the Recycling Partnership found that Louisiana and the Gulf Coast region are among the best in the country for end market for recycling, end markets for recycling materials.
▶ 0:54:35We have large fiber mills, as well as aluminum, glass, and plastic producers ready and waiting to buy
▶ 0:54:42what other communities collect. The demand and market are here, right in our communities. What's missing is the infrastructure to get materials from our neighborhoods to those facilities.
▶ 0:54:57This bill will help close that gap. By investing in recycling infrastructure programs in rural and underserved areas, this bill fuels economy economic growth while serving our environment. It can put recycle recyclable materials back in Louisiana's manufacturing supply chain, creating jobs and economic Louisiana is ready.
▶ 0:55:21The market is ready, and it's time for Congress to make the investment in our communities that we need to fuel this economic growth and build a cleaner, stronger community, cleaner, stronger environment, and I urge my colleagues to support this common sense well-needed bill. I yield. Gentlemen yields, does anyone else seek recognition to speak on the bill? Are there any amendments?
▶ 0:55:50Gentlemen from Colorado, Mr. Evans is recognized. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk RIAA_01. Clerk will report the amendment. Amendment to 2145 offered by Mr. Evans of Colorado. Out of objection the reading the amendment is dispensed with and the gentleman is recognized for 5 minutes in support of the amendment. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
▶ 0:56:14Uh this amendment to HR 2145, the Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Act, would add bipartisan provisions to harmonize the bill with legislation that's previously passed in the United States Senate. The amendment directs the EPA to coordinate with state, local, and tribal governments to collect data related to composting and recycling in the United States and to compile a nationwide inventory of material recover materials recovery facilities every 4 years.
▶ 0:56:44Additionally, my amendment allows the EPA to develop a standardized estimated rate of recyclable materials that have been brought to recycling or composting facilities, as well as an estimated annual national recycling rate. The intention is to arm the EPA with the data and authorization it needs to collaborate with states, cities, and tribes across America to help improve composting and recycling rates.
▶ 0:57:11By strengthening recycling systems and improving information collection on recyclable materials and composting, Congress can not only reduce reliance on landfills, but we can also enhance domestic manufacturing supply chains.
▶ 0:57:25In 2024, Colorado recycled just 15% of its municipal waste, lagging severely behind other states due to factors like mismanagement at the state level and isolated pockets of communities across our geographically diverse state. Policies like this can help address the lackluster recycling rate, create jobs, and improve the circular economy.
▶ 0:57:50As this subcommittee works to advance common sense legislation to support the expansion of advanced recycling, I'm proud to offer this amendment to build on the great work my colleague from Iowa has done. I urge bipartisan support and your back. The gentleman yields. Is there discussion of the amendment? There's no further discussion. The vote on the amendment occurs. All those in favor will signify by saying I. All those opposed, nay.
▶ 0:58:21The eyes have it and the amendment is agreed to. Are there further amendments? Question now occurs on adopting HR4 2145 as amended. All those in favor say I. Those opposed, no. The eyes have it. The bill's adopted and forwarded to the full committee.
▶ 0:58:58The staff has authority to make all conforming and technical changes. Committee stands adjourned.