Sec. 2. Climate Change Finance Corporation
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There is established in the executive branch an independent agency, to be known as the Climate Change Finance Corporation (referred to in this section as the C2FC ), which shall finance clean energy and climate change resiliency activities in accordance with this section. The mission of the C2FC is to combat and reduce the effects of climate change by building resilience among communities facing harmful impacts of climate change and supporting a dramatic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions— through the deployment of clean and renewable technology, resilient infrastructure, research and development, the commercialization of new technology, clean energy manufacturing, and industrial decarbonization; and to meet the goals of— by 2030, a net reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 45 percent, based on 2018 levels; and by 2050, a net reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 100 percent, based on 2018 levels.
The C2FC shall carry out the mission described in subparagraph
(A)by— financing investments in clean energy and transportation, resiliency, and infrastructure; using Federal investment to encourage the infusion of private capital and investment into the clean energy and resilient infrastructure sectors, while creating new workforce opportunities; and providing financing in cases where private capital cannot be leveraged, while minimizing competition with private investment. Except as otherwise provided expressly by law, all Federal laws dealing with public or Federal contracts, property, works, officers, employees, budgets, or funds, including the provisions of chapters 5 and 7 of title 5, United States Code, shall apply to the exercise of the powers of the C2FC. The management of the C2FC shall be vested in a Board of Directors (referred to in this section as the Board ) consisting of 7 members, who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. A Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of the Board shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, from among the individuals appointed to the Board under paragraph (1). An individual— shall serve as Chairperson or Vice Chairperson of the Board for a 3-year term; and may be renominated for the position until the term of that individual on the Board under paragraph (3)(C) expires. Each member of the Board shall be an individual who is a citizen of the United States. The members of the Board shall fairly represent agricultural, educational, research, industrial, nongovernmental, labor, and commercial interests throughout the United States. Except as otherwise provided in this section, each member of the Board— shall be appointed for a term of 6 years; and may be reappointed for 1 additional term. Of the members first appointed to the Board— 2 shall each be appointed for a term of 2 years; 3 shall each be appointed for a term of 4 years; and 2 shall each be appointed for a term of 6 years. Not later than 30 days after the date on which all members of the Board are appointed under paragraph (1), the Board shall hold an initial meeting. The Board shall create, oversee, and incorporate feedback from the following working groups (each referred to in this section as a working group ): An environmental justice working group. A worker and community transition assistance working group. A research and innovation working group. Each working group shall— be chaired by a Board member; and comprise not less than 10 and not more than 20 individuals, who shall be experts, members of directly impacted communities relating to the subject matter of the working group, and other relevant stakeholders. Individuals on a working group shall, to the maximum extent practicable, represent— a diverse array of interests related to the subject matter of the working group; and diverse geographical, racial, religious, gender, educational, age, disability, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Each working group shall meet not less than 2 times per year. Each working group shall create and engage in meaningful community and stakeholder involvement opportunities, including through regular community engagement activities, for purposes of— maintaining up-to-date situational awareness about the needs of relevant communities and stakeholders; using the feedback obtained through those opportunities to inform the advice of the working group to the Board; and providing a mechanism for direct and substantial community feedback relating to the investment plan and the funding decisions of the C2FC. Each working group shall inform the public about C2FC investment by engaging in public awareness campaigns, which shall target relevant communities through electronic media, newspapers, radio, direct mailings, canvassing, or other outreach methods suited for the relevant community. In carrying out subparagraph (A), each working group shall, to the maximum extent practicable, maximize participation from a broad group of stakeholders, including by holding multiple meetings with significant advance notice and holding meetings at different times and in multiple languages. Each working group shall, as it relates to the subject matter of the working group— advise and provide general input to the Board regarding loans and grants provided by the C2FC; and consult with and, based on the activities described in paragraph (4), provide recommendations to, the Board in the development of and updates to the investment plan of the C2FC. The Board, in consultation with each working group described in subsection (c)(1), shall develop an investment plan (referred to in this subsection as the investment plan ) for the C2FC in accordance with this subsection. The purposes of the investment plan are— to ensure that investments made by the C2FC— are equitable and reach the prioritized communities described in subsection (e)(2); are effective at progressing towards the goals described in subsection (a)(2)(A)(ii); support the advancement of research in clean technologies and resilience; and are transparent to the public; and to provide methods and standards by which the Board and the working groups described in subsection (c)(1) shall choose projects in which to invest. The initial investment plan shall require that, of the total amount of grant funds provided under subsection (e)(3)(A) each year, not less than 40 percent shall be used to benefit communities described in subsection (e)(2)(A). The Board, in consultation with each working group described in subsection (c)(1), shall update the investment plan not later than December 31, 2023, and every 4 years thereafter, including by taking into account— the current needs of the prioritized communities described in subsection (e)(2); the effectiveness of the previous investment plan in addressing the needs of those communities; the current state of relevant research and technology; the resiliency needs of local communities; the goals described in subsection (a)(2)(A)(ii); and the 2 most recent program reviews conducted under subsection (f). An investment plan shall remain in effect until the date on which the Board approves an updated investment plan. In updating the investment plan, the Board and the working groups described in subsection (c)(1) shall— engage stakeholders and the public in a public comment and feedback process; and ensure that the prioritized communities described in subsection (e)(2) have access to participate in that process. The Board shall make publicly available on a quarterly basis information relating to the expenditure of funds under the investment plan. In this subsection: The term community of color means a geographically distinct area in which the population of any of the following categories of individuals is higher than the average population of that category for the State in which the community is located: Black. African American. Asian. Pacific Islander. Other non-White race. Hispanic. Latino. Linguistically isolated. The term eligible borrower means any person, including a business owner or project developer, that seeks a loan to carry out approved practices or projects described in subparagraph (A)(i) of paragraph
(3)from an eligible lender that may receive a loan guarantee under that paragraph for that loan, according to criteria determined by the C2FC. The term eligible entity means— a State; an Indian Tribe; a unit of local government; and a research and development institution (including a National Laboratory). The term eligible lender means— a Federal- or State-chartered bank; a Federal- or State-chartered credit union; an agricultural credit corporation; a United States Green Bank Institution; a community development financial institution (as defined in section 103 of the Community Development Banking and Financial Institutions Act of 1994 ( 12 U.S.C. 4702 )); a minority depository institution (as defined in section 308(b) of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 ( 12 U.S.C. 1463 note; Public Law 101–73 )); and any other lender that the Board determines has a demonstrated ability to underwrite and service loans for the intended approved practice for which the loan will be used. The term environmental justice community means a community with significant representation of communities of color, low-income communities, or Tribal and indigenous communities that experiences, or is at risk of experiencing, higher or more adverse human health or environmental effects. The term Indian Tribe has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act ( 25 U.S.C. 5304 ). The term low-income community means any census block group in which 30 percent or more of the population are individuals with an annual household income equal to, or less than, the greater of— an amount equal to 80 percent of the median income of the area in which the household is located, as reported by the Department of Housing and Urban Development; and 200 percent of the Federal poverty line. The term State means— a State; the District of Columbia; the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and any other territory or possession of the United States. In providing financial and other assistance under paragraph (3), the C2FC shall give priority to, as determined by the C2FC— environmental justice communities, communities with populations of color, communities of color, indigenous communities, and low-income communities that— experience a disproportionate burden of the negative human health and environmental impacts of pollution or other environmental hazards, such as natural disasters; or may not have access to public information and opportunities for meaningful public participation relating to human health and environmental planning, regulations, and enforcement; deindustrialized communities or communities with significant local economic reliance on carbon-intensive industries; low-income communities at risk of impacts of natural disasters or sea level rise exacerbated by climate change; public or nonprofit entities that serve dislocated workers, veterans, or individuals with a barrier to employment; and communities that have minimal or no investment in the approved practices and projects described in paragraph (3)(A)(i). The C2FC— shall provide grants to eligible entities and loan guarantees to eligible lenders issuing loans to eligible borrowers for approved practices and projects relating to climate change mitigation and resilience measures, including— energy efficiency upgrades to infrastructure; electric, hydrogen, and clean transportation programs and deployment, including programs— to purchase personal vehicles, commercial vehicles, and public transportation fleets and school bus fleets; to deploy electric vehicle charging and hydrogen infrastructure; and to develop and deploy low carbon sustainable aviation fuels; clean energy and vehicle manufacturing research, demonstrations, and deployment; battery storage research, demonstrations, and deployment; development or purchase of equipment for practices described in section 6; development and deployment of clean energy and clean technologies, with a focus on— carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration, bioenergy with carbon capture and sequestration, direct air capture, and infrastructure associated with those processes, including construction of carrier pipelines for the transportation of anthropogenic carbon dioxide; energy storage and grid modernization; geothermal energy; commercial and residential solar; wind energy; and any other clean technology use or development, as determined by the Board; measures that anticipate and prepare for climate change impacts, and reduce risks and enhance resilience to sea level rise, extreme weather events, heat island impacts, and other climate change impacts, including by— building resilient energy, water, and transportation infrastructure; providing weatherization assistance for low-income households; and increasing the resilience of the agriculture sector; and natural infrastructure research, demonstrations, and deployment; and may implement other investment tools and products approved by the Board, pursuant to subparagraph (C), to achieve the mission of the C2FC described in subsection (a)(2). In providing loan guarantees under subparagraph (A), the C2FC shall cooperate with eligible lenders through agreements to participate on a deferred (guaranteed) basis. In providing a loan guarantee under subparagraph (A), the C2FC shall guarantee 75 percent of the balance of the financing outstanding at the time of disbursement of the loan. Notwithstanding the provisions of the constitution of any State or the laws of any State limiting the rate or amount of interest that may be charged, taken, received, or reserved, the maximum legal rate of interest on any financing made on a deferred basis under this subsection shall not exceed a rate prescribed by the C2FC. With respect to each loan guaranteed under this subsection (other than a loan that is repayable in 1 year or less), the C2FC shall collect a guarantee fee, which shall be payable by the eligible lender, and may be charged to the eligible borrower in accordance with subclause (II). A guarantee fee described in subclause
(I)charged to an eligible borrower shall not— exceed 2 percent of the deferred participation share of a total loan amount that is equal to or less than $150,000; exceed 3 percent of the deferred participation share of a total loan amount that is greater than $150,000 but less than $700,000; or exceed 3.5 percent of the deferred participation share of a total loan amount that is equal to or greater than $700,000. The Board may, based on market needs, develop and implement any other investment tool or product necessary to achieve the mission of the C2FC described in subsection (a)(2) and the deployment of projects described in subparagraph (A)(i), including offering— warehousing and aggregation credit facilities; zero interest loans; credit enhancements; and construction finance. The Board shall provide— funds to United States Green Bank Institutions as necessary to finance projects that are best served by those entities; and technical assistance as necessary to States and localities seeking to establish green banks. All laborers and mechanics employed by eligible entities and eligible borrowers on projects funded directly by or assisted in whole or in part by the activities of the C2FC under this section shall be paid at wages at rates not less than those prevailing on projects of a similar character in the locality as determined by the Secretary of Labor in accordance with subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United States Code (commonly known as the Davis-Bacon Act ). With respect to the labor standards specified in subparagraph (A), the Secretary of Labor shall have the authority and functions set forth in Reorganization Plan Numbered 14 of 1950 (64 Stat. 1267; 5 U.S.C. App.) and section 3145 of title 40, United States Code. All iron, steel, and manufactured goods used for projects under this section shall be produced in the United States. The Board may waive the requirement in subparagraph
(A)if the Board finds that— enforcing the requirement would be inconsistent with the public interest; the iron, steel, and manufactured goods produced in the United States are not produced in a sufficient and reasonably available amount or are not of a satisfactory quality; or enforcing the requirement will increase the overall cost of the project by more than 25 percent. Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter, the Board shall— conduct a review of the activities of the C2FC and identify projects and funding opportunities that were a part of the current investment plan; and submit to Congress and make publicly available a report that— describes the projects and funding opportunities that have been most successful in progressing towards the mission described in subsection (a)(2) during the time period covered by the report; includes recommendations on the clean energy and resiliency projects that should be prioritized in forthcoming years to achieve that mission; quantifies the total amount and percentage of funding given to prioritized communities described in subsection (e)(2); and identifies barriers for disadvantaged groups to receive C2FC funding and provides recommendations to address those barriers. There is appropriated to carry out this section, out of any funds in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, $7,500,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 and 2023, to remain available until expended.
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- Pub. L. 101-73
- 64 Stat. 1267
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Sec. 2
Climate Change Finance Corporation
Pub. L.Pub. L. 101-73
Stat.64 Stat. 1267
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