July Climate Solutions Caucus Round-Up

Dear Stakeholder,

Please see below for highlights from July and a preview of what’s to come.

July Engagement:

Co-Chairs Garbarino (left) and Houlahan (right) discuss climate security with retired 4-Star General Middendorp of the Netherlands (middle)

• In early July, Co-Chairs Garbarino and Houlahan met with retired 4-Star General Middendorp of the Royal Netherlands Army and the Head of the Economic Network of the Netherlands for a briefing on climate security and the International Military Council on Climate & Security, which General Middendorp chairs.

SEFI state and federal partners, including DOE Loan Program Office’s Director Jigar Shah, brief caucus staffers.

• Staff gathered for a briefing on State Energy Financing Institutions (SEFIs), which work at the state level to unlock federal funds to deploy clean energy projects. Caucus staffers were joined by Director Jigar Shah from the Department of Energy’s Loan Program Office and representatives from the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority (PEDA), New York State Energy Research & Development Authority (NYSERDA), and the California Strategic Growth Council



• Caucus staffers met in late July to discuss clean, firm, baseload power generation options. They were joined by trade organizations, advocacy groups, and private sector partners working on nuclear and geothermal energy solutions, including ClearPath, C2ES, Sage, Constellation Energy, and Good Energy Collective. 

Co-Chair Houlahan champions a bipartisan amendment to the FY25 Energy & Water Appropriations Bill on the House Floor

• Co-Chair Houlahan (D-PA) led a bipartisan amendment to H.R. 9887, the Energy & Water Development & Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2025, calling for the Department of Energy to address domestic shortages of electrical transformers using existing authorities within the Defense Production Act. Co-Chair Garbarino (R-NY) and Caucus Members Bergman (R-MI) and Bacon (R-NE) cosponsored the amendment, which passed unanimously on the House Floor. Watch Co-Chair Houlahan advocate for the bipartisan amendment here.

Co-Chair Houlahan met with Members of the Parliament of Australia to discuss extreme weather, insurance, and adaptation. From left to right: Dr. Jill Charker (Deputy Coordinator General, National Emergency Management Agency), Andrew Hall (CEO, Insurance Council of Australia), Janelle Saffin MP, Parliament of New South Wales, Senator Dean Smith, Susan Templeman MP, Co-Chair Houlahan, Senator Perin Davey, and Garth Hamilton MP.

• Co-Chair Houlahan met with the American Chamber of Commerce in Australia, Members of the Parliament of Australia, and the Insurance Council of Australia to discuss the impacts of extreme weather on the insurance sector and adaptive strategies for building resilient communities.

Looking Ahead:

In August, the Climate Solutions Caucus will take a pause from programming as members are spending considerable time at home in their respective communities.

In September, Members plan to gather for a discussion on bolstering the clean energy workforce.

Caucus staffers will gather for internal planning meetings in August. Staff will meet twice during September to discuss 1) international conservation & global security and 2) permitting reform.



As always, stakeholders are encouraged to approach the Climate Solutions Caucus with priorities and engagement ideas as the 2024 programmatic calendar continues to develop. 

Please do not hesitate to reach out to Niko Keddy with Co-Chair Garbarino (Niko.Keddy@mail.house.gov) or Ingrid Izaguirre (Ingrid.Izaguirre@mail.house.gov) and Harrison Jumper (Harrison.Jumper@mail.house.gov) with Co-Chair Houlahan.