©2026 League of Conservation Voters
Issues
Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) sponsored a motion to instruct (MTI) to Senate conferees on H.R. 4521, the United States Innovation and Competition Act (USICA) of 2021, which would undermine the president’s authority to declare a national, major disaster, or public health emergency, or to invoke the authorities of the Defense Production Act because of climate change. At a moment where we do find ourselves in a climate emergency, we must be able to use all the available tools to tackle this crisis, including these important presidential emergency powers. On May 4 the Senate agreed to Senator Capito’s MTI by a vote of 49-47 (House roll call vote 157). NO IS THE PRO-ENVIRONMENT VOTE. While agreed to here, these attacks on presidential emergency powers were not included in the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) & Science Act (H.R. 4346), the final version of this bill which the president signed into law on August 9.
©2026 League of Conservation Voters