Maryland’s US senators, Ben Cardin (D) and Chris Van Hollen (D), praised the new federal legislation going to President Biden’s desk, and said it would have a big impact on the resistance to change. or the climate of the state.
Cardin and Van Hollen said Wednesday that the Inflation Reduction Act, which passed along party lines in the Senate on Sunday, would provide protections for the Chesapeake Bay, incentives for homeowners to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. in their homes, making more money available for clean energy. production, providing more funding for conservation and climate resilience programs, and enhancing environmental justice initiatives.
“This is a fantastic bill,” Cardin told reporters on a Zoom call.
The move is headed for a vote in the House of Representatives on Friday, where it is expected to pass narrowly, possibly along party lines. Biden is likely to sign the bill next week.
Cardin and Van Hollen spoke confidently about the bill’s passage — and predicted its impact would be felt immediately in the state.
“Hundreds of millions of dollars in these programs will now flow to Maryland, and they will both protect the Bay and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” Van Hollen said on the Zoom call.
While the full scope of funding for Maryland agencies and initiatives is still unclear, about $369 billion of the $700 billion legislative package is expected to broadly address climate change, and supporters of bill states that climate measures will reduce US carbon emissions by nearly 40% by 2030.
Joel Dunn, president and CEO of the Chesapeake Conservancy, said the Inflation Reduction Act “makes record investments to address climate change from multiple angles.”
Cardin, as a senior member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and Van Hollen, an appropriator, both had a hand in crafting the law. Van Hollen is also a longtime proponent of a measure, dating back to his service in the House of Representatives, that was included in the legislative package: The creation of a federal green bank, which, he said, would help encourage the private investments in renewables. energy and act as a “type of multiplier at the national level.”
Maryland has its own green bank, the Maryland Clean Energy Center, which has already seen increased funding and responsibility through the Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022, which passed the General Assembly this spring. Montgomery County also has a green bank, and a small Baltimore-based nonprofit, the Climate Access Fund, has effectively become a green bank, working with private industry to allocate funding for clean energy supplies. The initial $20 billion investment for the proposed federal Clean Energy Accelerator will ultimately help all three state-based green banks expand their missions.
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Other provisions of the bill that will help improve the climate and protect the environment in Maryland, according to the senators:
- Funding that will provide tax incentives to homeowners who reduce greenhouse gas emissions in their homes through conversion programs such as electrification, which according to the senators, will lead to lower utility bills;
- Funding to grow programs and initiatives in agricultural conservation and management that help farmers reduce runoff and other pollution on their land – Van Hollen said less than 20% of applications for grants Maryland farmers for these programs have been awarded in recent years;
- More funding for the state’s five national wildlife refuges.
The Inflation Reduction Act isn’t just about climate change, though. The senators said it would provide more security for Marylanders who receive health insurance through the federal Affordable Care Act, lower prescription drug and insulin prices for some, and better enable four historically Black which Maryland colleges and universities compete for federal research dollars.
Even as the bill passes, Maryland climate activists and public health advocates are scheduled to gather Thursday morning in Baltimore, outside the Episcopal Archdiocese of Maryland, to urge its passage. Cardin and Van Hollen will join them, along with former state Del. Aruna Miller, the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski (D), and Howard County Executive Calvin Ball (D).
“I have to tell you, this has been a historically productive time for the United States Congress,” Cardin said Wednesday. “Recognize that the Senate is 50-50, Republican and Democrat, that the House has the smallest Democratic margins, and yet we’ve gotten a lot of bills through Congress and on the president’s desk.”
Asked why Biden’s poll numbers remain low despite a flurry of Democratic legislative successes on Capitol Hill in recent weeks, Cardin and Van Hollen were optimistic about the upcoming midterm elections.
“We’ll let the midterms speak for themselves,” Cardin said, “but as Democrats, we’re optimistic.”
Van Hollen, who chaired the House and Senate campaign committees of the Democrats in the last election, predicted that voters will appreciate the Democrats’ attempts to solve the country’s problems.
“Elections are about choices,” he said. “While our Republican colleagues in the Senate are talking a lot about inflation, they are not working to do anything about inflation.”
