Transportation and Infrastructure

The U.S. needs a unified climate-change strategy that will strengthen our energy security while empowering manufacturers, the NAM told the House of Representatives’ Energy, Climate and Conservation Task Force this week.

What’s happening: The Republican task force is one of seven recently created by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to enact targeted policy solutions to current challenges and guard against future crises.

• Among these are rising energy prices, supply chain instability and a lack of critical minerals—all dilemmas that can be fixed through sound policy, NAM Vice President of Energy and Resources Policy Rachel Jones told the task force.

What can be done: “We welcome the ECC Task Force’s proposals that will address current challenges, including increasing domestic energy production; stabilizing and securing supply chains—particularly domestic production and processing of critical materials, minerals and chemicals; permitting reform that provides regulatory certainty for the development and deployment of projects; and innovation policies that incentivize an all-of-the-above energy approach rather than picking winners and losers,” Jones said.

Why it matters: Jones urged task force members to seek solutions found in the NAM’s comprehensive climate blueprint, The Promise Ahead, as well as its supply chain recommendations and energy and environmental policy agendas.

• Jones stressed the need for a unified domestic and global approach to tackling climate change while strengthening U.S. energy security.

Manufacturers matter: Jones also hammered home the importance of including manufacturers in the conversation about climate and energy fixes.

“An agenda for the future must recognize manufacturers as the solution to emerging environmental challenges and build on the strong steps manufacturers have already taken to become more sustainable and tackle climate change; apply sound science and evidence-based approaches in new proposals; and appropriately balance the United States’ economic and environmental interests so that achieving one goal does not mean ignoring the other.”