September 25, 2020

Van Hollen Applauds House Passage of the Clean Economy Jobs and Innovation Act

Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) applauded the U.S. House of Representatives’ passage of H.R. 4447, the Clean Economy Jobs and Innovation Act, sweeping legislation to invest in clean energy and clean energy jobs.  

“Not only are clean energy technologies better for our environment, they also have enormous potential to boost our economy and create good-paying jobs. I’ve been proud to introduce legislation to promote the growth and development of the clean energy sector, including our National Climate Bank bill, the HOPE for HOMES Act, and a plan to invest in the innovative research performed by the Department of Energy’s ARPA-E. I applaud the House of Representatives for including all these measures in their legislative package. Now that the House has acted on this legislation, I urge my Senate colleagues to follow suit immediately. There is no better time to invest in our nation’s economic growth and sustainability,” said Senator Van Hollen.   

Priorities of Senator Van Hollen’s that were incorporated into this legislation include:

  • The Senator’s National Climate Bank Act, co-led by Senator Ed Markey (D-Mass.), to create a federal bank to leverage public and private funds to invest in clean energy technologies and infrastructure. H.R. 2 makes a $20 billion investment in this innovative initiative.
  • The Senator’s HOPE for HOMES Act, legislation to help save energy efficiency jobs during and after the coronavirus pandemic. The bill also includes rebates to help homeowners retrofit their homes to cut their monthly energy costs, stimulate the energy efficiency market for jobs and suppliers, and help protect the environment by investing in clean, efficient technology.
  • The Senator’s ARPA-E Reauthorization Act, legislation to reauthorize funding for the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E). ARPA-E works to advance high-potential, high-impact energy technologies in the early stages of development.