THIS WEEK IN CLIMATE ACTION – MAY 16, 2025

Your weekly resource to learn what the environmental movement is saying about the news of the day and the political fight of our generation. This week, we’re covering House reconciliation markups, the administration’s attempts to weaken PFAS protections, and the House and Senate’s bipartisan criticism of the administration’s proposed budget. 

Be sure to follow LCV on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, BlueSky, and TikTok.

QUOTES OF THE WEEK:

“I’ve read [the House reconciliation bill], and I think it’s going to have a do-over.”

– Senator Chuck Grassley, Senate President pro tempore, told Politico in reference to the House Agriculture Committee’s reconciliation bill.

“Republicans are creating a mockery of our environmental laws by allowing Big Oil and Gas to simply bribe government agencies to acquire permits free of scrutiny.”

– Representative Frank Pallone, Ranking Member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, during markup of the House reconciliation bill. 

“It’s the role of the federal government to care for the people of this country when disaster strikes.”

– Pete Maysmith, LCV President, in an LA Times article about Trump’s moves to dismantle the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

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TOP NEWS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE

STATE NEWS

PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION OF NEVADA OPENS INVESTIGATION INTO NV ENERGY: On Wednesday evening, staff of the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada (PUCN) requested to open an investigatory docket looking into NV Energy overcharging at least 80,000 customers more than $17 million since as early as 2001 — and to find out whether NV Energy broke the law and owes refunds to affected customers. At least 3,177 of these customers also had their electricity shut off by NV Energy due to overdue bills, the staff report notes, potentially multiple times. Only 20,000 customers so far have received any sort of refund, all which NV Energy capped to paying back six months worth of overcharges, despite some overcharges happening over the course of many years.

CHISPA NV TAKE: Chispa Nevada Program Director Audrey Peral said, “Low-income Nevadans have already been struggling, in some cases sacrificing medicine and groceries, to pay high electricity bills. Now we find out over two decades, NV Energy wrongfully took more than $17 million from at least 80,000 customers, some who had their electricity shut off because they couldn’t keep up with their bills. It is outrageous that NV Energy would harm so many customers like this and not report it or fully repay them. We call on the PUCN to ensure NV Energy faces immediate consequences, starting with paying back every stolen cent — with interest, as they prefer — and to deny NV Energy’s latest rate increase request. Nevada lawmakers must pass Assembly Bill 452 quickly to protect utility customers from these kinds of abuses. Hard-working families can’t keep paying the price for NV Energy’s wrongdoing.”

CHISPA TX BRINGS COMMUNITY DEMANDS TO THE CAPITOL: Chispa TX members traveled to Austin this week to demand bold action from state lawmakers on urgent environmental and community issues. They called for more funding for water infrastructure, a stop to harmful desalination projects and industrial expansion, greater investment in public schools, and the protection of higher education. They also spoke out against efforts to privatize Boca Chica Beach. Members hand-delivered signed postcards to Representatives Villalobos, Lozano, Hunter, and Senator Hinojosa to ensure their communities’ voices were heard. Representative Penny Morales Shaw also joined the group in conversation and reaffirmed her support for legislation addressing salinity requirements, PFAs, and public health protections.

With just 19 days left in the Texas Legislative Session, Chispa TX is making it clear: our water, schools, and beaches are not for sale. Check out photos here!

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CLIMATE ATTACKS FROM THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION AND CONGRESS

WAYS AND MEANS, ENERGY AND COMMERCE COMMITTEES PASS PIECES OF REPUBLICANS’ ANTI-ENVIRONMENTAL BILLIONAIRE TAX SCAM SLASHING CLEAN ENERGY TAX CREDITS: On Wednesday, the House Ways and Means committee approved Republicans’ tax bill which includes provisions to roll back clean energy tax credits, cut taxes for wealthy corporations, and increase taxes on Republican targets, such as non-profit organizations. Ahead of the vote, LCV joined two letters urging members of the committee to reject the bills. You can check out our memo previewing the markups, too.

OUR TAKE: LCV Vice President of Government Affairs Sara Chieffo said, “Make no mistake. This Ways and Means reconciliation bill is a full repeal of vital clean energy tax incentives that are bringing affordable energy onto the grid, creating good jobs across the country, revitalizing U.S. manufacturing, and making us more competitive. The extreme proposal from the Energy and Commerce Committee includes huge giveaways to polluters that would lead to dirtier, more unhealthy air for our children and communities around the country, and higher energy costs for everyone.

“Families and businesses will be harmed deeply by this legislation, and Big Polluters and billionaires are the only ones who come out ahead. The House must reject this bill that would only add to the chaos manufactured by Trump and his allies and protect our communities, our environment, and our future generations.”

TAKE 2: From the letter to the House Committee on Ways and Means, “Make no mistake, this bill takes a sledgehammer approach. It is effectively a full repeal of a suite of widely supported clean energy incentives. The bill strikes down clean electricity credits while calling it a ‘phaseout.’ This is a retroactive tax increase that upsets the rules of the road that projects have operated under for more than a decade, and would, in particular, make large-scale projects that require a longer timeframe for development – such as new geothermal – all but impossible. This bill will undermine investment certainty and sow chaos by making it difficult to finance projects and forcing businesses to navigate an impossible maze of requirements.”

TAKE 3: From the letter to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, “Instead of working toward addressing environmental harms and helping communities prosper, the Energy and Commerce proposal doubles down on fossil fuel giveaways. The bill lets major fossil fuel infrastructure projects – such as cross-border pipelines and liquefied natural gas export terminals – simply pay a fee to be approved, to bypass permitting and other legally-required analyses altogether, and to protect them from lawsuits, allowing powerful corporations to run roughshod over local communities. Even more astonishingly,  if, even after all these sweetheart exemptions from the standard permitting and judicial review processes, a project runs afoul of the law, the legislation offers fossil fuel and nuclear companies – and only them – taxpayer money as ‘compensation.’”

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION WEAKENS PFAS PROTECTIONS: EPA announced it will weaken protections against four PFAS “forever chemicals” in drinking water. PFAS exposure can cause cancer and damage to the immune system and liver, among other adverse health effects.

OUR TAKE: LCV Healthy Communities Program Director Madeleine Foote said, “Trump promised the ‘cleanest air and cleanest water’ on the campaign trail, but this outrageous announcement to weaken protections against toxic PFAS chemicals in our drinking water demonstrates this was just another empty promise. Even though EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has claimed to have ‘long been concerned’ by PFAS and supported limits during his time in Congress, and despite the White House seemingly acknowledging the detrimental harms of PFAS to communities on Earth Day, their hypocritical actions show that they are putting Big Polluters and corporations above the health of our families. These limits must be reinstated and strengthened to truly make America healthy again and protect our communities, environment, and future generations.”

ZELDIN AT HOUSE AND SENATE APPROPRIATIONS: EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin appeared before both Senate and House Appropriations Subcommittees this week.  He drew bipartisan criticism for the administration’s proposed 55% cut to the EPA’s budget, which Senator Lisa Murkowski said was “unserious” and “problematic,” and House Republican appropriators said they “likely cannot agree to.”   

REP. PINGREE TAKE: Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Subcommittee Chellie Pingree said, “Your leadership decisions are endangering the health of millions of Americans, jeopardizing the quality of our air and water, and threatening to wreak havoc on our economy.”

SEN. MERKLEY TAKE: Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Interior-Environment Subcommittee Jeff Merkley said, “A budget is a statement of values and your values are clearly to put the profits of polluters over the interests of the people.”   

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ICYMI: NATIONAL NEWS

GROUPS URGE CONGRESS TO BOLSTER FUNDING FOR JUDICIAL SECURITY AND UPHOLD THE JUDICIARY’S INDEPENDENCE: A coalition of 25 organizations sent a letter to leaders of the House and Senate appropriations committees, urging them to increase funding for judicial security that supports the branch’s independence. At a time when threats against judges and their families have more than tripled, this intimidation puts their safety – and the independence of the judicial branch – at risk. For our judiciary to remain independent and do its job, which is vital as the Trump administration dismantles the federal government, we need judicial security funding to keep pace with the threats we face.   

COALITION TAKE: From the letter, “As judges confront an increasing and unprecedented number of threats, we urge you to use your power of federal spending to bolster appropriations for judicial security and reject efforts to undercut the judiciary’s independence.”

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NEW ON THE POWER SOURCE BLOG AND SOCIALS:

ON THE BLOG: Stay tuned for exciting upcoming content on The Power Source Blog!

ON OUR SOCIALS: We’re on the streets, at the Capitol, and on socials fighting for this and the right to vote, breathe clean air, and have clean, affordable energy  

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COMING UP:

MAY 21: 4-6pm Rally at the Capitol: Stop Clean Energy Bans and Polluter Giveaways! Register here.
JUNE 14: No Kings Mass Mobilization.