Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) and Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials celebrated on Wednesday a $13 million USDA no-interest loan to a group of seven South Carolina electric cooperatives to make energy-savings improvements to approximately 1,300 co-op member homes. "The Environmental and Energy Study Institute welcomes this funding and Congressman Clyburn's continued support for energy efficiency initiatives. We have been working closely with South Carolina cooperatives—and cooperatives throughout the United States—to help their members reduce their energy use and bills, while improving their home comfort," said EESI Executive Director Carol Werner.

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Today, by a vote of 93-6, the U.S. Senate passed final legislation that contains $1.68 billion for Hurricane Florence recovery as well as reforms to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that will increase the availability of “pre-disaster mitigation” (PDM) grants to help communities better withstand future disasters. The provisions are part of H.R. 302, a package of bills that includes the long-awaited five-year reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which also addresses resilience to extreme weather impacts and power outages at airports.

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"The proposed Affordable Clean Energy rule is another failure in leadership by this Administration to protect the public and is a sharp divergence from the fundamental mission of the Environmental Protection Agency," said EESI Executive Director Carol Werner.

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Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a five-year reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) by a vote of 393 to 13. With the Disaster Recovery Reform Act (DRRA) included in the FAA measure as Title VI, the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (H.R. 4) also reforms federal disaster policy by shifting more investment into pre-disaster mitigation and ensuring that post-disaster assistance enables communities to build back to the latest model building codes. EESI applauds policymakers for recognizing the value of investing in mitigation and smart rebuilding as a common-sense alternative to spending billions for post-disaster rebuilding only to have it destroyed by the next storm.

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The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) and the National Cooperative Business Association CLUSA International (NCBA CLUSA) today announced their new Partnership for Advancing an Inclusive Rural Energy Economy. The Partnership will put more money in the pockets of people in rural communities by supporting rural electric cooperatives (co-ops) in developing on-bill financing programs for energy efficiency upgrades, community projects in solar, and clean energy storage.

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EESI is deeply disappointed by the EPA decision today to formally repeal the Clean Power Plan, which had aimed to reduce U.S. carbon emissions from power plants by approximately one-third by 2030 (from 2005 levels). EPA has a legal obligation to regulate carbon emissions, following a 2007 Supreme Court decision and the EPA's own 2009 determination that carbon dioxide is a pollutant under the Clean Air Act.

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"Seventy-six years ago, the United States led the free world in defeating an existential menace. Today, the world is confronted with another existential menace: climate change. But instead of stepping up to the plate and assuming its leadership role, the United States is shirking its responsibilities. The rest of the world must not succumb to the same mistake, but rally to defend the agreement," said EESI Chair Jared Blum.

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The Trump administration's full budget proposal for fiscal year 2018, released on May 23, is little changed from the initial budget outline released on March 16. Despite widespread concern from both political parties in Congress, government advisers, and the private sector, over the highly questionable items included in the "skinny budget," the administration has dug in on dismantling vital environmental, scientific, and social programs. "Although the administration frames their proposals as beneficial to taxpayers and job creation, these cuts would reduce the economy's long-term productivity and harm public health," said EESI Executive Director Carol Werner.

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Home energy efficiency improvements will get a boost thanks to the loans announced today, May 10, by USDA's Rural Utilities Service for the new Rural Energy Savings Program (RESP). These loans will result in reduced energy costs for many rural households across the country.

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The White House announced today, March 28, that it is retracting the Clean Power Plan, the Obama Administration's signature climate policy. The Clean Power Plan would have represented the first-ever federal limits on carbon emission from power plants, which represent 40 percent of all energy-related greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. Carol Werner, EESI's Executive Director, gave a statement.

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