Energy And Environment

Senator Blumenthal, Rep. Larson, and East Windsor First Selectman Jason Bowsza

Rep. Larson believes that we must address climate change, and do so in a way that modernizes our economy, grows jobs, and lowers household energy costs. In Congress, he is championing legislation that will protect our environment, lower energy bills for Connecticut families, and reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

Affordable Energy

As a Member of the Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Larson helped write the Inflation Reduction Act, landmark legislation to make the greatest investment in combating climate change in our nation’s history. This legislation invested in American families, incentivizing the employment of technology that would increase our energy supply, drive down household costs, and create thousands of good paying jobs.

Unfortunately, President Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans repealed much of the Inflation Reduction Act as part of their so-called “Big Beautiful Bill.” Thanks to their legislation, energy costs and emissions will rise, all so they were able to give a tax cut to the nation’s wealthiest households. Rep. Larson will continue to fight to reinstate and expand these incentives.

Fighting Back Against the Trump Administration’s Attacks on Our Climate and Environment

Rep. Larson is fighting back against Trump Administration policies that are making your air dirtier and your energy bills more expensive.  Since President Trump took office, Rep. Larson has:

Voted against Republican-led resolutions undoing regulations that improved energy efficiency standards and promoted cost-savings (H.J.Res 75 – Vote #78, H.J.Res.42 - Vote #59, H.J.Res. 24 – Vote #77, H.J.Res. 20 – Vote #53, H.J.Res 87 – Vote #111, H.J.Res.88 - Vote #114, and H.J.Res. 89 - Vote #112).

Opposed H.R. 26, Republican legislation to block administrations from restricting dangerous fracking projects.

Cosponsored a resolution in support of the landmark Paris Climate Accords, which President Trump withdrew the United States from on Day One.

Sent a letter to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin demanding the restoration of funding for the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which was modeled after the Connecticut Green Bank, and has provided our state with almost $63 million in federal funding to improve energy efficiency in homes and buildings.

Cosponsored the COAST Anti-Drilling Act (H.R. 2881), to block President Trump and future administrations from opening up new areas to offshore drilling, including Long Island Sound and the entire New England coastline.

Sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. to reverse layoffs at the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which provides life-saving utility assistance for CT’s most vulnerable residents.

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the Trump Administration’s attacks on the environment. Under this Administration, regulations are being repealed, staffing at agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Energy, and the Department of the Interior has been decimated, and scientific research has been degraded.

Leading on Climate Change

Throughout his career in Congress, Rep. Larson has long been a climate champion and served on the subject’s first ever Congressional committee in 2007, the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, and he is fighting tirelessly to ramp up needed clean energy investment and to bring down your energy bills. He joined Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to introduce the Green New Deal. 

Leading on Hydrogen

Rep. Larson is the founder of the House Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Caucus, which raises awareness of the environmental and economic benefits of the development, manufacture, and deployment of fuel cell and hydrogen technologies. Connecticut companies pioneered the development of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. Working with our Congressional colleagues and industry, we can continue to promote them for our planet and our local economies.  Rep. Larson’s Hydrogen Production Tax Credit was passed in the Inflation Reduction Act. The tax credit incentivizes the production of clean, no and low-carbon hydrogen for use as an energy source, growing our local economy and investing in new clean energy technologies. Unfortunately, the Republicans’ 2025 tax plan will phase this tax credit out by 2027. Rep. Larson will continue to work with Connecticut’s hydrogen fuel cell leaders to reintroduce this bill and fight for this growing industry. He also introduced the bipartisan Technology for Energy Security Act to extend the Inflation Reduction Act’s Investment Tax Credit for fuel cells and linear generators for another eight years.

Addressing PFAS Contamination - “Forever Chemicals”

Research in recent years has exposed the long-term negative impacts Per- or Poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) can have on humans and the environment alike. The prevalence of these chemical compounds in everyday items puts our environment at a unique risk for contamination. Connecticut is no stranger to this, experiencing two major PFAS contamination incidents in 2019. When firefighting crews at Bradley Airport used firefighting foam contaminated with PFAS, 50,000 of gallons of contaminated materials leaked into the Farmington River, calling into question whether the state was equipped with environmentally adequate tools to address immediate emergencies. As a member of the Congressional PFAS Task Force, Rep. Larson isn’t just committed to drawing attention to PFAS contamination, he’s actually doing something about it.

Congressman Larson moved quickly to take action at the federal level, supporting the passage of the PFAS Action Act as an amendment to the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, providing states with federal resources to clean up PFAS-contaminated sites. The bill also included a provision directing the Department of Defense to begin phasing out the usage of PFAS foam, a big step in ridding the contaminant from everyday items. While fighting to ban PFAS firefighting foam from usage at airports, Rep. Larson helped pass two important pieces of legislation to fight PFAS contamination; H.R. 535 (116^th Congress) to federally designate PFAS as a hazardous material, and the PFAS Action Act of 2021(117^th Congress), creating EPA standards for air emissions, requiring public cleanup of contaminated sites, and beginning the phase out of PFAS in commercial items. In 2024, Congressman Larson helped pass the FAA Reauthorization Act, which finally began phasing out the usage of PFAS contaminated firefighting foam at all airports across the country.