Congress this month will consider a $47 billion emergency funding request from the White House as part of a “continuing resolution” (CR) spending bill that would avoid a partial government shutdown starting Oct. 1. (Roll Call, Sept. 6, White House request, Sept. 2) 

Legislative Timing 

• Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said this week, "We're hoping the CR would go to about mid-December and then we might do an omnibus"—a bill that would fund the government through the remainder of the federal fiscal year (Sept. 30, 2023). However, the November mid-term elections could push consideration of an omnibus budget to the congressional lame-duck session. (Reuters, Sept. 7)
  
  
• The CR may also include legislation to fast-track federal permits for energy projects, which Schumer and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) agreed to last month in principle as part of the Democrats’ effort to pass the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA).
  
  
• Schumer said on Wednesday, “Permitting reform is part of the IRA, and we will get it done.” (PoliticoPro, Sept. 7 and E&E Daily, Sept. 8) 

The IRA & CRE 

• The IRA, passed on strict party-line votes in both chambers last month, is a $790 billion tax-and-spending package that includes the largest federal clean energy investment in U.S. history. (Roundtable Weekly, Aug. 12)
  
  
• Roundtable fact sheets detail the IRA’s impact on Clean Energy Tax Incentives and Revenue Provisions affecting commercial real estate.
  
  
• The Real Estate Roundtable has encouraged Congress for several years to develop clean energy tax incentives that are more usable for building owners, managers, and financiers—and more impactful to help meet national carbon reduction goals.
  
  
• The Roundtable will stay engaged with lawmakers as the Treasury Department proposes rules and guidance on a range of issues to implement the IRA’s provisions. 

Clean Energy Spending 

• The Biden administration confirmed last week that its top climate advisor Gina McCarthy is leaving her post. The White House also announced that John Podesta, above, will become a senior advisor for clean energy innovation, oversee the implementation of the IRA’s climate and energy spending, and serve as chair of President Biden’s National Climate Task Force. Podesta led former President Barack Obama’s climate strategy. (Wall Street Journal and CNBC, Sept. 2)
  
  
• Private sector investments in battery factories, solar panel manufacturing and other projects in the weeks since President Biden signed the IRA are part of the New York Time’s Sept. 7 article, “Clean Energy Projects Surge After Climate Bill Passage.” 

Roundtable members will meet in Washington, DC on Sept. 20-21 to discuss the IRA’s impact on CRE, the outlook for the midterm elections, and other topics, such as the Federal Reserve’s concurrent meeting on monetary policy. 

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