Congressman Carter Introduces LIFT Act to Smooth & Incentivize America’s Transition to Clean Energy

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Troy A. Carter, Sr. (D-La.), member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, introduced the House version of the Local Infrastructure Funding & Technical Assistance Act of 2022, or the LIFT Act. This is the companion bill to Senator Edward J. Markey’s (D-Mass.) version in the Senate, S.2552.

This legislation would give the federal government the tools it needs to create the next generation of resilient climate infrastructure innovation. Too often, these types of projects face roadblocks in conducting predevelopment tasks such as market assessments, community engagement, site acquisition, and permitting costs. Because these steps are a requisite for construction, barriers to completing them can often stymie completion of climate-smart infrastructure needed to adapt to the climate crisis. The LIFT Act would provide $15 billion in grants to help communities across America overcome these stumbling blocks and launch their green infrastructure projects through the critical predevelopment stage.

“As our nation continues to battle COVID-19 and a severe economic downturn, the LIFT Act picks up where other historic legislation like the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act left off to continue our nation’s economic recovery and energize our existential battle against the climate crisis,” said Congressman Troy Carter. “By providing funding into the communities that need it the most – the LIFT Act will allow our country to better overcome predevelopment roadblocks and realize the enormous potential that recent historic federal investments have to jumpstart transformative climate-resilient infrastructure.”

“Communities that have been historically left behind should be helped, not hindered, in their efforts to access the historic investments passed by the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,” said Senator Edward J. Markey. “I am proud to be joining Congressman Carter in introducing the LIFT Act, which would provide technical assistance and create a pipeline of climate-ready infrastructure projects that will keep communities across the country safe and healthy.”

The full text of the LIFT Act as introduced in the House is available here.

Specifically, the LIFT Act promotes long-term economic recovery and job creation in underserved communities through a total of $15 billion in grants up to $500,000 through the Economic Development Agency. It is estimate that these projects will leverage $16-$20 in economic benefits for every dollar spent, unleashing up to $300 billion in total. Out of these funds, $10 billion are reserved for climate resilient infrastructure project predevelopment and $5 billion for technical assistance.

The grants authorized by this legislation will finance tasks that need to be completed before project construction and outside investment can occur, such as:

• Market assessments and economic feasibility studies
• Business plan preparation
• Architectural, design and engineering work
• Capacity building for local governments, institutions, and nonprofits including strategic reviews
• Research and grant-writing technical support
• Community engagement, including stipends for planning process participation
• Site/lease acquisition costs
• Permitting and pre-interconnection costs
• Training for unionized labor to execute on pre-development projects

Equity provisions included in the legislation would ensure these grant investments support community-driven projects and reach historically disinvested communities and those with the greatest need. The bill directs at least 50 percent of funding to be allocated to eligible groups in this category such as economic development districts, Tribal communities, cities and states, institutions of higher education, and non-profit organizations.

The legislation further prioritizes projects with goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, to increase climate adaptation and resiliency, that result in major public health improvements, and will help modernize communities.

This legislation is also supported by many advocacy organizations including Groundswell, Elevate, Northeast Clean Energy Council, Capacity Building at the Greenling Institute, American Flood Coalition, Center for Financial Markets, Milken Institute, Hummingbird, Partnership for Southern Equity, GreenRoots, Inc.

“Representative Carter and Senator Markey’s leadership on the LIFT Act will equip local communities to build climate resilient futures by eliminating a hugely frustrating roadblock - equitable access to predevelopment funding and technical support,” commented Michelle Moore, CEO of Groundswell, a nonprofit that builds community power. Michelle continued, “Groundswell sees it every day in our work. Neighborhoods that were subjected to redlining and other policies that were designed to deprive people of wealth, health, and opportunity suffer infrastructure gaps that make everything harder and more expensive to plan and build. While policies like redlining are no longer the law of the land, they’re still hurting people because they're literally built into the infrastructure. The LIFT Act helps close the gap by directing vital planning and development resources to the places where it’s needed the most and will make the biggest difference. It’s a practical and very thoughtfully designed solution to a pressing problem that impacts every state and territory in the US, and I applaud Representative Carter and Senator Markey for their vision."

“For the first time in our nation’s history, we are seeing massive federal investment to combat climate change. But investment alone is not enough,” said Emi Wang, Associate Director of Capacity Building at the Greenlining Institute. Lawmakers have a responsibility to ensure the communities on the frontlines of climate change–often low-income communities and communities of color–can equitably access pre-development resources. That’s why The LIFT Act is so important. Not only is it the right thing to do to center the needs of communities that have long faced systemic disinvestment, but it is necessary to ensure no one gets left behind in our collective efforts to combat climate change.”

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