Lobbyists tell Mountain View committee federal agency moves and bill deadlines are constraining local climate plans
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Summary
Federal agency actions, project cancellations and rebate deadlines are shrinking some federal levers for local climate programs, but appropriations and introduced bills still present targeted funding opportunities, federal lobbyists told the committee.
Federal legislative and agency actions this year are creating both constraints and targeted opportunities for local climate work, lobbyists told the Mountain View Council Sustainability Committee on Nov. 6.
John O'Donnell of MMO Partners told the committee that many of the federal initiatives that supported local climate projects are facing "strong headwinds." He said the Department of Energy had announced termination of about 223 projects totaling more than $7,500,000,000 across multiple DOE programs and warned that these changes could affect planned grid improvements and other projects. "A lot of initiatives in Washington DC that were at the forefront of the previous administration are facing some pretty strong headwinds at this time," O'Donnell said.
Kiriakos Pagonas of MMO Partners reviewed several near‑term deadlines and agency actions that local governments should watch. He said homeowners have an approaching Dec. 31 deadline to claim certain federal credits referenced in the reconciliation bill for measures including heat pumps, water heaters and insulation. Pagonas identified the Trump administration's "Unleashing American Energy" executive order and the EPA's proposed rulemaking to rescind the 2009 endangerment finding as among notable executive actions; he said DOT has taken steps to eliminate a greenhouse gas measurement rule and to review or rescope some transit grant awards, including zero‑emission bus grants.
Pagonas and O'Donnell also identified financial and legislative opportunities: an appropriations package that included a city request for Charleston Slough funding was still pending, a House committee had advanced a FEMA restructuring bill that could increase local mitigation formula funding if enacted, and Representative Mike Thompson had introduced an "Energy Independence and Affordability Act" to restore some energy tax credits (Pagonas said it had about 112 cosponsors as of the presentation).
Committee members asked whether the FEMA bill addressed flood insurance (it does not) and whether the legislation includes funding for weather reporting and monitoring; MMO Partners said they would follow up to verify the details.
The presentation was informational; the committee took no formal action on federal policy.