Bill > HR1135

This bill establishes the Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act of 2025, which imposes a significant financial assessment on fossil fuel companies for their historical carbon dioxide emissions between 2000 and 2023. The legislation creates a new tax mechanism that will require fossil fuel companies responsible for over 1 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions to collectively pay $100 billion, with the amount each company pays determined by their proportional share of total emissions. The collected funds will be deposited into a dedicated trust fund managed by the Treasury Secretary, in consultation with the Environmental Protection Agency, to support comprehensive climate change response efforts. These efforts include climate disaster recovery, infrastructure resilience, ecosystem conservation, public health initiatives, and environmental justice programs, with 40% of funds specifically designated to benefit communities most vulnerable to climate change impacts. Importantly, the bill explicitly preserves existing legal remedies for states, local governments, and individuals to pursue climate-related litigation against fossil fuel companies and does not prevent future legal actions related to climate change damages. The legislation emphasizes that the assessment is not an admission of fault but a mechanism to help fund critical climate adaptation and mitigation strategies, recognizing the significant economic and environmental challenges posed by climate change.

Budget and Finance

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1135/all-info