Climate Change Legislation

110th Congress
The Global Change Research Improvement Act, S. 2307: The purpose of the bill is to update the Global Change Research Act of 1990. Introduced by Kerry, cosponsors: Klobuchar, Nelson, Snowe. Approved by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. No direct House counterpart bill, but the Global Change Research and Data Management Act of 2007, HR. 906, introduced by Congressman Mark Udall, has some similarities.

The Climate Change Adaptation Act, S. 2355: This bill directs the US Global Change Research Program to develop a National Strategic Plan for Climate Change Adaptation, and NOAA to develop a “National Climate Service” and prepare ocean and coastal impacts assessments and adaptation plans. Introduced by Senator Cantwell, cosponsors: Klobuchar, Kerry, Lautenberg. Approved by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. There is no House companion bill. UCAR has provided comments, which have influenced the language of the bill considerably, and has been generally supportive of this bill. But we do have some reservations regarding potential overreach by NOAA and the need for clear roles for and coordination with other federal agencies.

The Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring Act, S. 1581: Introduced by Senator Lautenberg and 7 cosponsors. Approved by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, this bill has a house counterpart, the FOARAM Act, HR. 4174, introduced by Allen with 14 cosponsors. Passed the House 7/9/08 (House Report 110-749) and has been placed on the Senate Calendar.

111th Congress