Hello and welcome to Climate Change Solutions!

June marks the start of hurricane season, wildfire season, and a summer of projected record-breaking heat. From New Jersey to Alaska to North Carolina, this issue dives into how communities around the country are responding to extreme weather, with a focus on hurricanes, extreme rainfall, and storm surge. And speaking of flooding, earlier this month, the House was deluged with bills to help these communities prepare for and mitigate extreme heat, wildfires, and other hazardous weather events—check out the On the Hill section below.

For more on the extreme heat front, join EESI and the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) today at 2:00 p.m. EDT in 2168 Rayburn House Office Building (Gold Room) or online for Beating the Heat: A 2025 Heat Policy Agenda! This Congressional briefing will showcase FAS’s new heat policy agenda and highlight how extreme heat impacts public health, agriculture, the electric grid, wildfire risk, and more. To help everybody stay cool, ice cream will be provided—RSVP to grab a scoop and a seat!

Designing with Vision: Funding Pre-Disaster Adaptation in New Jersey
[8 min. read]

ResilienCity Park in Hoboken, New Jersey, can hold nearly 1.1 million gallons of water across its stormwater retention tank and above-ground green infrastructure. ResilienCity was made possible with $54 million in federal and state grants and loans, and has contributed to an 88% reduction in flooding. [click for more]

Wildfire Bill Spreads Like, Well, Wildfire to the President’s Desk: The House passed the Aerial Firefighting Enhancement Act of 2025 (S.160). Originally introduced by Sens. Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), the bill would improve aerial wildfire combat through the purchase of excess military aircraft. It will now move to President Trump’s desk for his signature.

Cross-Border Sewage Bill Flows to the Senate: The House overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan bill (H.R.1948) sponsored by Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) to increase federal revenue streams to address toxic sewage, flood control, and water conservation in the Tijuana River, which traverses the U.S.-Mexico border. The funding is expected to completely cover the costs of repairing and expanding the border’s wastewater treatment plant.

Weather Forecasting Gets a Bipartisan Boost: Reps. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) reintroduced the Weather Act Reauthorization bill (H.R.3816) to improve forecasting of extreme weather events. The bill would create new weather forecasting programs, forge private-public partnerships to increase information sharing, strengthen disaster preparedness efforts, and provide farmers and ranchers with resources to bolster their climate resilience. EESI’s briefing, Innovations in Weather Forecasting for a Changing Climate, explored how weather intelligence technologies help build communities’ resilience to extreme weather events.

The House Turns Up the Heat: House lawmakers introduced four bills to address extreme heat. Reps. Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.) and Michael Lawler (R-N.Y.), cochairs of the new House Extreme Heat Caucus, lead the Heat Management Assistance Grant Act of 2025 (H.R.3738) to help state and local governments respond to extreme heat events. Rep. Yassamin Ansari  (D-Ariz.) introduced the Extreme Heat Economic Study Act of 2025 (H.R.3702/S.1743), the Excess Urban Heat Mitigation Act of 2025 (H.R.3703/S.1166), and the Coordinated Federal Response to Extreme Heat Act of 2025 (H.R.3704/S.325). Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) leads the Excess Urban Heat Mitigation Act of 2025 and Coordinated Federal Response to Extreme Heat Act of 2025 in the Senate.

We track all environmental, energy, and climate legislation and hearings happening on Capitol Hill. See the full legislative trackers for June 2-5 and June 9-13.

Beating the Heat: A 2025 Heat Policy Agenda
TODAY!
2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. EDT
Rayburn House Office Building 2168 (Gold Room) and online

EESI and the Federation of American Scientists will discuss the 2025 Heat Policy Agenda, which outlines policy considerations for Congress and the Administration to prevent infrastructure damage, economic impacts, and loss of life from extreme heat. Speakers will describe opportunities to improve federal and subnational coordination on heat preparedness, management, and resilience. RSVP here.

2025 Congressional Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency EXPO and Policy Forum
Thursday, July 24, 2025
9:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. EDT
Rayburn House Office Building Foyer and Gold Room (Room 2168)

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) and the House and Senate Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucuses invite you to join us for the 28th Annual Congressional Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency EXPO and Policy Forum (EXPO 2025). Top-level speakers will showcase technologies and solutions that reduce carbon emissions, save households money, improve the economy, build resilience, and protect our security interests. The EXPO is free to attend and open to the public. The Policy Forum panels will be streamed live. RSVP here.

Latest Media Coverage

• EESI President Daniel Bresette was quoted in a Christian Science Monitor article about the impacts of the reconciliation bill on the clean energy industry.
• The Cool Down cited EESI’s PFAS issue brief in an article highlighting a Michigan State University study, which found elevated levels of forever chemicals in people exposed to contaminated water three years prior.
• Also in The Cool Down, EESI's fact sheet on fossil fuel externalities was cited in a piece comparing customer satisfaction with electric products versus their gas-powered counterparts.
• Our fossil fuel externalities fact sheet was also cited in a Center on Budget and Policy Priorities report analyzing the impact of climate cuts within the House’s budget proposal.
• The Assembly, a North Carolina news outlet, cited EESI's 2019 fact sheet on fossil fuel subsidies in an article about North Carolinians’ opposition to a proposed natural gas pipeline extension.