11.19.21

Grijalva Praises Passage of Build Back Better Act, Cites Strong Environmental Provisions

Washington, D.C. – Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) issued the following statement following the House passage of the Build Back Better Act, highlighting the Act’s strong conservation provisions, including funding for climate adaptation and firefighting, drought relief, and coastal restoration similar to the provisions passed by the Committee in September.

Chair Grijalva noted the bill’s strong investments in environmental justice and funding to increase community input on major federal actions.

“The bill we passed today is a historic step toward meeting the many challenges facing this country,” Grijalva said. “It makes unprecedented investments in protecting the environment and restoring ecosystems ravaged by extractive industries. It recognizes that climate change is making droughts, hurricanes and other disasters stronger and more dangerous to human life, and it addresses those challenges head on. It also begins to restore the relationship of trust between the federal government and tribal governments that diminished under the past administration. This bill is a significant accomplishment, and I’m proud to support it.”

Among other measures in the Committee’s jurisdiction, the reconciliation bill approved today includes: 

  • $6 billion for coastal and Great Lakes restoration and climate resiliency projects
  • An end to new offshore fossil fuel leasing in federal waters along the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts and the Eastern Gulf of Mexico
  • An end to fossil fuel leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
  • $2.5 billion for ecosystem resiliency and restoration projects on public lands
  • $945 million for Indian Health Service health facility construction, maintenance, and improvement
  • $730 million for Bureau of Indian Affairs roads maintenance and construction
  • $550 million for Bureau of Reclamation domestic water supply projects for disadvantaged communities 
  • $500 million for tribal and Native Hawaiian climate resilience and adaptation
  • $500 million for wildfire management
  • $500 million for new employees at the National Park Service
  • $490 million for tribal public safety and justice
  • $180 million for mitigating climate-induced weather events
  • $100 million for projects to mitigate impacts of reduced water availability to inland water bodies
  • $100 million for water recycling projects that mitigate water shortages
  • $100 million for urban parks
  • $100 million for urban Indian organizations (UIOs)
  • $75 million to support historic preservation efforts and national heritage areas
  • $25 million for emergency drought relief for tribes 

 

Today’s bill includes measures to raise public money, including:  

  • Directing the Department of the Interior (DOI) to hold offshore wind lease sales in federal waters around American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands
  • Directing DOI to hold renewable energy lease sales in federal waters off the coasts of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and in the Gulf of Mexico. 
  • Increasing outdated oil and gas royalty rates and fees

Press Contact

Media Contact: David Shen

(202) 225-6065 or (202) 860-6494 mobile