H.R. 1135

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1135 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1135

To impose an assessment related to fossil fuel emissions, to establish 
the Polluters Pay Climate Fund, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

February 7, 2025

Mr. Nadler (for himself, Ms. Chu, Ms. Castor of Florida, Ms. Dean of 
Pennsylvania, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Ms. Tlaib, Ms. Norton, Mrs. Ramirez, 
Mrs. Watson Coleman, Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania, Mr. Raskin, Ms. 
Schakowsky, Ms. Balint, Ms. Jayapal, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. McGovern, Mr. 
Jackson of Illinois, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Carson, and Ms. Omar) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on Transportation and 
Infrastructure, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To impose an assessment related to fossil fuel emissions, to establish 
the Polluters Pay Climate Fund, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act of 
2025''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds that--
(1) climate change, resulting primarily from the combustion 
of fossil fuels, is an immediate, grave threat to the 
communities, environment, and economy of the United States;
(2) severe consequences of climate change have already 
materialized in the United States, including rising sea levels, 
increasing temperatures, extreme weather events, flooding, heat 
waves, loss of biodiversity, and other climate change-driven 
ecosystem threats;
(3) the Federal Government jointly with States and 
localities must develop and implement protective measures to 
counteract the adverse effects of climate change, protect 
communities, and build resilience to extreme weather;
(4) the government response must include protections for 
communities that are most vulnerable to climate change impacts, 
especially communities of color, low-income communities, and 
Tribal and Indigenous communities that are also more likely to 
have experienced systemic disinvestment and be overburdened by 
fossil fuel pollution;
(5) the protective measures necessary to respond to the 
adverse effects of climate change in the United States will 
require trillions of dollars of new investment during the 
decade after the date of enactment of this Act;
(6) climate change related extreme weather events, such as 
those described in paragraph (2), cost the United States at 
least $150,000,000,000 each year and disproportionately affect 
underserved and overburdened communities, according to the 
Fifth National Climate Assessment;
(7) the $100,000,000,000 each year that fossil fuel 
companies are collectively assessed for the Polluters Pay 
Climate Fund established in this Act represents only a small 
portion of the total cost to the Federal government to respond 
to climate change related extreme weather events and make 
needed climate change adaptation and resilience investments;
(8) peer-reviewed research can now determine with great 
accuracy the share of carbon dioxide released into the 
atmosphere by the operations and products of specific fossil 
fuel companies, which is what informs the formulas to determine 
carbon dioxide emissions that are used in the amendments made 
by this Act;
(9) the fossil fuel industry has been aware of the central 
role that their product plays in causing climate change since 
before the year 2000;
(10) the fossil fuel industry must now increase their 
contribution to government expenditures to protect the Nation 
from climate disaster; and
(11) this Act and assessments under the amendments made by 
this Act are not intended--
(A) to be a determination of fault; or
(B) to have any impact on the ability of any person 
or other government to hold polluters accountable for 
harms caused.

SEC. 3. TAX RELATING TO CURRENT STOCK OF GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS.

(a) In General.--Chapter 38 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 
amended by adding at the end the following new subchapter:

``Subchapter E--Certain Fossil Fuel Emissions

``Sec. 4691. Imposition of tax.

``SEC. 4691. IMPOSITION OF TAX.

``(a) Imposition.--Each assessable person shall pay to the 
Secretary of the Treasury not later than the applicable payment date a 
tax in an amount determined under subsection (b).
``(b) Determination of Amount.--
``(1) In general.--With respect to each assessable person, 
the tax under this section shall be equal to an amount that 
bears the same ratio to $1,000,000,000,000 as--
``(A) the assessable person's applicable share of 
covered carbon dioxide emissions taken into account 
under this section, bears to
``(B) the aggregate applicable shares of covered 
carbon dioxide emissions of all assessable persons 
taken into account under this section.
``(2) Determination of applicable share.--
``(A) In general.--The applicable share of covered 
carbon dioxide emissions taken into account under this 
section for any assessable person shall be the excess 
(if any) of--
``(i) the covered carbon dioxide emissions 
attributable to such person (determined in 
metric tons), as determined by the Secretary 
based on product-related carbon dioxide 
emissions of such person, over
``(ii) 1,000,000,000 metric tons.
``(B) Adjustment.--The Secretary may adjust the 
amount determined under subparagraph (A)(i) with 
respect to an assessable person who is described in 
subsection (c)(2)(B)(ii) (or who is a successor in 
interest to a person described in such subsection) if 
such person establishes to the satisfaction of the 
Secretary that a portion of such amount was--
``(i) attributable to the extraction of 
crude oil by another assessable person who is 
described in subsection (c)(2)(B)(i) (or a 
successor in interest to a person described in 
such subsection), and
``(ii) taken into account in determining 
such amount for such other assessable person.
``(c) Assessable Person.--For purposes of this section--
``(1) In general.--The term `assessable person' means--
``(A) any person that is described in paragraph 
(2), or
``(B) any successor in interest to a person 
described in paragraph (2).
``(2) Person described.--A person is described in this 
paragraph if such person--
``(A) is a United States person or is engaged in a 
trade or business within the United States during the 
period beginning on the date of the enactment of this 
Act and ending on December 31, 2025,
``(B) during any part of the covered period, was 
engaged in the trade or business of--
``(i) extracting any fossil fuel, or
``(ii) refining any crude oil, and
``(C) is determined by the Secretary to be 
responsible for more than 1,000,000,000 metric tons of 
covered carbon dioxide emissions.
``(3) Controlled groups.--
``(A) In general.--For purposes of this subsection, 
all persons treated as a single employer under 
subsection (a) or (b) of section 52 or subsection (m) 
or (o) of section 414 shall be treated as a single 
assessable person.
``(B) Inclusion of foreign corporations.--For 
purposes of subparagraph (A), in applying subsections 
(a) and (b) of section 52 to this section, section 1563 
shall be applied without regard to subsection (b)(2)(C) 
thereof.
``(4) Joint and several liability.--If more than one person 
is liable for payment of the tax under subsection (a) with 
respect to a single assessable person by reason of the 
application of paragraph (3), all such persons shall be jointly 
and severally liable for payment of such tax.
``(d) Other Definitions and Rules.--For purposes of this section--
``(1) Applicable payment date.--The term `applicable 
payment date' means September 30, 2026.
``(2) Covered carbon dioxide emissions.--The term `covered 
carbon dioxide emissions' means, with respect to any person, 
the total quantity of carbon dioxide released into the 
atmosphere during the covered period by reason such person 
engaging in the trade or business of extracting fossil fuels or 
of refining crude oil.
``(3) Covered period.--The term `covered period' means the 
period that--
``(A) began on January 1, 2000, and
``(B) ended on December 31, 2023.
``(4) Fossil fuel.--The term `fossil fuel' means coal, 
crude oil, and fuel gases.
``(5) Coal.--The term `coal' means anthracite, bituminous, 
subbituminous, and lignite coal.
``(6) Crude oil.--The term `crude oil' means oil or 
petroleum of any kind and in any form, including bitumen, oil 
sands, heavy oil, conventional and unconventional oil, shale 
oil, natural gas liquids, condensates, and related fossil fuel 
liquids.
``(7) Fuel gases.--The term `fuel gases' means natural gas, 
associated natural gas, conventional and unconventional gas, 
shale gas, and related methane gas production.
``(8) Determination of carbon dioxide emissions.--In 
determining the amount of carbon dioxide emissions with respect 
to any assessable person--
``(A) an amount equivalent to 942.5 metric tons of 
carbon dioxide shall be treated as released for every 
1,000,000 pounds of coal,
``(B) an amount equivalent to 432,180 metric tons 
of carbon dioxide shall be treated as released for 
every 1,000,000 barrels of crude oil, and
``(C) an amount equivalent to 54,440 metric tons of 
carbon dioxide shall be treated as released for every 
1,000,000,000 cubic feet of fuel gases.
``(e) Election To Pay Liability in Installments.--
``(1) In general.--An assessable person may elect to pay 
the tax under this section in 9 annual installments of the 
following amounts:
``(A) 20 percent of the tax under this section in 
the case of the first installment.
``(B) 10 percent of the tax under this section in 
each of the following 8 installments.
``(2) Date for payment of installments.--If an election is 
made under paragraph (1), the first installment shall be paid 
on the applicable payment date and each succeeding installment 
shall be paid on the same date as the applicable payment date 
for each calendar year following the calendar year with respect 
to which the preceding installment was made.
``(3) Acceleration of payment.--If there is an addition to 
tax for failure to timely pay any installment required under 
this subsection, a liquidation or sale of substantially all the 
assets of the assessable person (including in a title 11 or 
similar case), a cessation of business by the assessable 
person, or any similar circumstance, then the unpaid portion of 
all remaining installments shall be due on the date of such 
event (or in the case of a title 11 or similar case, the day 
before the petition is filed). The preceding sentence shall not 
apply to the sale of substantially all the assets of an 
assessable person to a buyer if such buyer enters into an 
agreement with the Secretary under which such buyer is liable 
for the remaining installments due under this subsection in the 
same manner as if such buyer were the assessable person.
``(4) Proration of deficiency to installments.--If an 
election is made under paragraph (1) to pay the tax under this 
section in installments and a deficiency has been assessed with 
respect to such tax, the deficiency shall be prorated to the 
installments payable under paragraph (1). The part of the 
deficiency so prorated to any installment the date for payment 
of which has not arrived shall be collected at the same time 
as, and as a part of, such installment. The part of the 
deficiency so prorated to any installment the date for payment 
of which has arrived shall be paid upon notice and demand from 
the Secretary. This subsection shall not apply if the 
deficiency is due to negligence, to intentional disregard of 
rules and regulations, or to fraud with intent to evade tax.
``(5) Election.--Any election under paragraph (1) shall be 
made not later than the applicable payment date and shall be 
made in such manner as the Secretary shall provide.
``(6) Installments not to prevent credit or refund of 
overpayments or increase estimated taxes.--If an election is 
made under paragraph (1) to pay the tax under this section in 
installments--
``(A) no installment of such tax shall--
``(i) in the case of a request for credit 
or refund, be taken into account as a liability 
for purposes of determining whether an 
overpayment exists for purposes of section 6402 
before the date on which such installment is 
due, or
``(ii) for purposes of sections 6425, 6654, 
and 6655, be treated as a tax imposed by 
section 1, section 11, or subchapter L of 
chapter 1, and
``(B) the first sentence of section 6403 shall not 
apply with respect to any such installment.
``(f) Regulations.--Not later than 18 months after the date of 
enactment of this section, the Secretary shall promulgate such 
regulations as are necessary to carry out this section.''.
(b) No Deduction.--Section 275(a) of such Code is amended by adding 
at the end the following new paragraph:
``(7) Taxes imposed by subchapter E of chapter 38.''.
(c) Clerical Amendment.--The table of subchapters for chapter 38 of 
such Code is amended by adding at the end the following new item:

``subchapter e--certain fossil fuel emissions''.

SEC. 4. POLLUTER PAYS CLIMATE CHANGE FUND.

(a) Establishment of Fund.--
(1) In general.--Subchapter A of chapter 98 of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the 
following new section:

``SEC. 9512. POLLUTERS PAY CLIMATE FUND.

``(a) Establishment.--There is established in the Treasury of the 
United States a trust fund, to be known as the `Polluters Pay Climate 
Fund' (hereinafter in this section referred to as the `Fund'), 
consisting of amounts as are appropriated or credited to such Trust 
Fund as provided in this section and section 9602(b).
``(b) Transfers.--There are hereby appropriated to the Fund amounts 
equivalent to the taxes received in the Treasury under section 4691.
``(c) Expenditures From the Fund.--Amounts in the fund shall be 
available, as provided in appropriations Acts, for the purpose of 
making expenditures to carry out the purposes of section 4(b) of the 
Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act of 2025.''.
(2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections for 
subchapter A of chapter 98 of such Code is amended by adding at 
the end the following new item:

``Sec. 9512. Polluters Pay Climate Fund.''.
(b) Expenditures From Fund.--
(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
(A) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' 
means the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
Agency.
(B) Environmental justice community.--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 as compared to other communities.
(C) Fund.--The term ``Fund'' means the Polluters 
Pay Climate Change Fund established under section 9512 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
(D) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the 
Secretary of the Treasury.
(2) Use of fund amounts.--
(A) General purposes.--The Secretary, in 
consultation with the Administrator and the heads of 
other relevant agencies, shall use amounts in the Fund 
for the purposes of furthering a comprehensive and 
equitable Federal response to climate change impacts 
through investments in climate resilience, adaptation, 
disaster response, and environmental justice, 
including--
(i) climate-related disaster recovery and 
mitigation support;
(ii) climate change adaptation support 
through climate and disaster planning 
assistance, funding for climate-resilient 
infrastructure, and improved climate and 
extreme weather prediction capabilities;
(iii) initiatives that increase the climate 
resilience of energy systems through energy 
efficiency, grid resilience, and distributed 
electricity generation initiatives;
(iv) initiatives that increase the climate 
resilience of the food system through support 
for climate-resilient farming practices;
(v) initiatives that increase the climate 
resilience of the transportation system through 
planning and climate change adaptation support;
(vi) initiatives that increase the climate 
resilience of ecosystems through conservation, 
restoration, and wildfire management 
activities;
(vii) support for climate-related public 
health initiatives, including efforts to 
address extreme heat; and
(viii) initiatives that increase the 
climate resiliency of drinking water and 
stormwater infrastructure.
(B) Specified uses.--In carrying out subparagraph 
(A) each fiscal year and to the greatest extent 
practicable, the Secretary shall use amounts in the 
Fund--
(i) to provide funding of not less than 
$15,000,000,000 to the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency for response and resilience 
programs of the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency to address climate-related disasters, 
including hurricanes, flooding, extreme heat, 
and wildfires, of which not less than 
$3,000,000,000 shall be used to carry out the 
Building Resilient Infrastructure and 
Communities program under section 203 of the 
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5133); and
(ii) to provide funding of not less than 
$6,000,000,000 for grants and technical 
assistance under section 138 of the Clean Air 
Act (42 U.S.C. 7438), subject to the condition 
that the Administrator may determine the 
appropriate amounts to be used for those grants 
and that technical assistance.
(C) Environmental justice set aside.--Of the 
amounts appropriated from the Fund each fiscal year, 40 
percent shall be used for investments that benefit 
environmental justice communities.
(D) Selection.--For the purpose of determining how 
to award amounts appropriated from the Fund in excess 
of the amounts required to be used under subparagraph 
(B), the Secretary, in coordination with the 
Administrator and the heads of other relevant agencies, 
shall establish selection criteria, which shall give 
the highest priority to projects or other activities 
that are most impactful in achieving the purposes 
described in subparagraph (A), as determined by the 
Secretary, in coordination with the Administrator and 
the heads of other relevant agencies.

SEC. 5. AVAILABILITY OF REMEDIES.

(a) In General.--Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this 
Act shall be construed to relieve any person from liability at common 
law or under any State or Federal law.
(b) Effect on Claims Related to Climate Change.--Nothing in this 
Act or the amendments made by this Act, the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 
7401 et seq.), or Federal common law preempts, displaces, or restricts 
any right or remedy of any person, State, unit of local government, or 
Tribal government under any State or local law (including common law) 
relating to an allegation of--
(1) deception concerning the effects of fossil fuel on 
climate change;
(2) damage or injury resulting from the role of fossil fuel 
in contributing to climate change; or
(3) the failure to avoid damage or injury related to 
climate change, including claims for nuisance, trespass, design 
defect, negligence, failure to warn, or deceptive or unfair 
practices and claims for injunctive, declaratory, monetary, or 
other relief.
(c) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this Act or the amendments 
made by this Act shall--
(1) require the repayment of any funds made available from 
the Polluter Pays Climate Change Fund established under section 
9512 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and used pursuant to 
section 4(b) as a result of any award of damages imposed by a 
court of law relating to any causes of action or allegations 
described in subsection (b); or
(2) permit the use of any such funds--
(A) as evidence in such an action or allegation; or
(B) to offset any award of damages in such an 
action or allegation.

SEC. 6. NON-PREEMPTION OF AUTHORITIES.

Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this Act shall be 
construed to preempt or supersede any State or local law, regulation, 
policy, or program, including laws, regulations, polices, and programs 
that--
(1) limit, set, or enforce standards for greenhouse gas 
emissions;
(2) monitor, report, and keep records of greenhouse gas 
emissions;
(3) provide cost recovery for climate adaptation, 
mitigation, or resilience; or
(4) conduct or support investigations.
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