Today, U.S. Congressmen Scott Peters (CA-52) and David McKinley (WV-01) introduced H.R. 1166, the Utilizing Significant Emissions with Innovative Technologies (USE IT) Act, a bipartisan, bicameral bill that supports the development and demonstration of vital carbon capture and removal technologies. The bill authorizes $35 million in competitive prize funding for direct air capture technology and allocates $50 million toward research and development of technologies that transform captured carbon dioxide into commercial products. The USE IT Act also facilitates the construction and development of carbon capture, utilization and sequestration (CCUS) infrastructure projects. The bill promotes emerging net negative emissions technologies, particularly Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology. DAC technology prevents CO₂ emissions by removing CO₂ directly from the atmosphere.

“Congress must incentivize innovative approaches to solve America’s—and the world’s—most pressing energy challenges. The USE IT Act provides a step toward a clean energy economy by reducing emissions, diversifying our nation’s energy resources, and spurring new technologies and uses for carbon. It also offers a new approach to reducing carbon pollution: instead of releasing CO₂ into the atmosphere, we can convert it into new uses,” said Rep. Peters.

“America must do more to encourage innovation and ensure we can use our energy resources in the cleanest way possible. We must continue to advocate for a reasonable, innovation-focused approach,” Rep. McKinley said. “This bipartisan legislation builds off our work in the last Congress to expand tax credits for carbon capture technology and will promote utilization technologies that will lower emissions and allow us to use all of our energy resources for years to come.”

Rep. Peters first introduced this bill in 2018 with Reps. David McKinley, Cheri Bustos (IL-17), and Marc Veasey (TX-33). This year, Rep. David Schweikert (AZ-06) joins as a co-lead. Senators John Barrasso (R-WY) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) introduced an identical bill in the Senate.

“With a struggling farm economy and changing weather patterns, we need to do everything we can to help our agricultural producers succeed and aggressively tackle this climate crisis,” Rep. Bustos said. “Carbon capture, storage, and utilization is a largely untapped financial opportunity for our Illinois ethanol producers, and this common-sense, bipartisan bill is an important first step to help them prosper and make our all-American, homegrown energy cleaner. As a member of the House Agriculture Committee, I’ll continue working across the aisle to support our producers, grow the economy in rural areas and address climate change threats that impact livelihoods in the Heartland.”

“I’m proud to join my colleagues in introducing the USE IT Act, a piece of legislation that will reduce emissions and keep America leading in clean energy technology,” said Rep. Veasey. “By making these investments, we take important action on climate change while fostering new industries and creating jobs. This legislation also complements a comprehensive bipartisan bill I introduced last Spring with Rep. David McKinley that will work to create critical investments in carbon capture, carbon utilization, and methane emissions reduction technology.” 

“I am pleased to see this legislation introduced. The USE IT Act will set a precedent to invest in new, forward-thinking technology for carbon capture research, and will support federal and state-level involvement on coordinating and streamlining the permitting process of CO2 pipelines. By offering this practical alternative, where many proposals today do not meet reality, this is an important, meaningful step in investing in research while also supporting more jobs and the economy,” said Rep. Schweikert.

The bill is supported by the Carbon Capture Coalition, Bipartisan Policy Center Action, Carbon180, Carbon Wrangler, Clean Air Task Force, ClearPath Action, the Nature Conservancy, Third Way, the Utility Workers Union of America, and others.

Since coming to Congress in 2013, Rep. Peters has advocated for addressing energy and climate protection. As a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, he is committed to lasting bipartisan approaches to climate change and energy resiliency.