IMPACT Act

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1534) to strengthen and enhance the competitiveness of American industry through the research and development of advanced technologies to improve the efficiency of cement, concrete, and asphalt production, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 1534, the bill now under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1534, the Innovative Mitigation Partnerships for Asphalt and Concrete Technologies Act, or IMPACT Act.

Today, much of the world is reliant on cement and concrete produced in China, which is home to the world's largest cement industry. It should go without saying that it is a big problem to be at the whims of the Chinese Communist Party when it comes to materials that are absolutely critical to our national defense, economic security, and our energy independence.

Beyond that, this reliance comes with severe negative environmental impacts. China's greenhouse gas emissions exceed all of the developed nations in the world combined. In fact, U.S. industrial manufacturing is nearly 28 percent cleaner than our competitors, including China.

If we want a cleaner, healthier environment and global security, U.S. leadership in this sector is an absolute must. The IMPACT Act ensures this by propelling America to the front in the cement, concrete, and asphalt industries. It will increase our Nation's competitiveness against global adversaries while also achieving significant reductions in emissions from manufacturing processes.

Specifically, this bill supports the research and development of innovative technologies, primarily at the Department of Energy. It builds off the cross-cutting Industrial Emissions Reduction Technology Development program established by the Energy Act of 2020 and provides specific direction for the advancement of tools, technologies, and methods related to cement, concrete, and asphalt production.

Concrete is the second most commonly used material on Earth, surpassed only by water. The demand is unlikely to decrease soon, making it crucial to allocate the Federal Government's top scientific resources to assist manufacturers in meeting our strategic goals, while ensuring the concrete supply that supports our economy continues to grow and thrive.

The IMPACT Act positions our country to rise to that challenge and become a resource for the entire world.

I thank Science, Space, and Technology Committee members, Mr. Miller and Mrs. Foushee, for cosponsoring this bill and working in a bipartisan fashion.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my House colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Miller).

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I am prepared to close. I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1534 is commonsense legislation that passed unanimously last Congress. It has the support of major industry associations, including the Portland Cement Association, the National Asphalt Pavement Association, and the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association. It also has the endorsement of those groups affected by downstream impacts, like the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association and Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions.

This diverse support is a testament to just how important it is for the United States to retain its global competitive edge when it comes to advanced industrial technologies.

I urge my colleagues to join me in backing this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I enthusiastically rise in support of the Innovation Mitigation Partnerships for Asphalt and Concrete Technologies Act, or the IMPACT Act, H.R. 1534.

A good gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Miller) and a fantastic gentlewoman from North Carolina (Mrs. Foushee) have reintroduced this bipartisan bill, and I salute them.

Mrs. Foushee is very much a leader on the Science, Space, and Technology Committee, a cutting-edge voice in artificial intelligence, a ranking member on the Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee, and we are very grateful for her leadership and acumen here.

As our chair just extrapolated, the United States produces approximately 95 million metric tons of cement each year, representing nearly 400 million cubic yards of concrete, with another 454 million metric tons of asphalt pavement materials produced per year.

Now, as a Member of Congress, I am not fully in the composites business, but we must understand where our materials come from and how they are procured and produced. We must look it squarely in the face as to how we do not remain overly reliant on competitive countries for access.

A byproduct of these industrial processes are certainly greenhouse gas emissions. There is a State representative from Michigan, State Representative Kelly Breen of Novi, who has, on occasion, spoken to me at length about the materials used in our roads. We know right now that the byproduct of the industrial processes for these cement applications accounts for 8 percent of human-induced carbon dioxide emissions.

Now, I come from the Motor City. We like our paved roads. We like access to cement. Demand is not decreasing. It is going up. Demand is expected to increase by 12 percent when we hit the mid-21st century mark.

We here in the United States of America are building roads, bridges, factories, schools, so many things. It is really quite exciting, and the IMPACT Act can play a role. The bill will improve cost- effectiveness, durability, and material demand efficiency of widely used cement, and similar materials while achieving measurable greenhouse gas emissions reductions in their production processes. We like to call this a win-win.

H.R. 1534 would also accomplish this goal by directing the Secretary of Energy to support research, development, and demonstration of innovative technologies that could become commercially viable.

Again, the State representative from Michigan, Kelly Breen, has talked to me about her desire to see this in Oakland County, Michigan. We have been working on this in the Motor City.

My colleagues from North Carolina and Ohio have put forward national legislation that will benefit us all, and we have got next-generation technologies that are a significant improvement over the processes used by these industries today, ensuring that we can continue to build while reducing negative environmental impacts that come about from producing building materials.

We have a good, practical bill to maximize our production capabilities while minimizing any negative impacts, and we have research and development and demonstration of novel cement, concrete, and asphalt processes.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on a bill I am very excited about, H.R. 1534, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Mrs. Foushee) to speak on behalf of H.R. 1534.

Mr. Speaker, I also have no further requests for time to speak on this bill, and I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

Mr. Speaker, I again thank my colleagues from the committee, Mr. Miller and Mrs. Foushee, for their work on this bill. I urge a ``yes'' vote on H.R. 1534. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1534, the bipartisan Innovative Mitigation Partnerships for Asphalt and Concrete Technologies Act, or the IMPACT Act, which will strengthen the competitiveness of American manufacturing through innovation and development of technologies to decarbonize and improve the efficiency of cement, concrete, and asphalt production.

U.S. producers are leading the way in the innovation of critical building materials production, and we have a real opportunity in front of us to bolster our Nation's infrastructure while making significant strides to reduce global emissions.

The climate crisis remains one of the most pressing issues of our lifetime, and it is vital that we take action now by investing in clean technologies and creating pathways here at home to accelerate and commercialize these new opportunities to reduce harmful emissions.

Globally, cement manufacturing accounts for nearly 8 percent of all carbon emissions, and we have a unique opportunity to reduce pollution in industrial emissions by creating new manufacturing opportunities here at home that can take the place of aging processes based on fossil fuels.

This bill will enable partnerships between industry, innovators, and the U.S. Government that will enhance existing production methods, unlock new and innovative techniques, and offer technical assistance to entities seeking to promote the application of low-emission cement, concrete, and asphalt.

Together, the IMPACT Act--alongside IMPACT Act 2.0, introduced in the House earlier this month by Congressman Miller and me, and the Senate's Concrete and Asphalt Innovation Act, led by Senators Coons and Tillis-- will bolster U.S.-led efforts to deploy clean technologies in the industrial sector while enhancing the global competitiveness of American innovation.

The United States is leading the way into the 21st century, and this can be seen in my own district, North Carolina's Fourth, where local startup Biomason is revolutionizing the cement industry through its use of biotechnology to manufacture low-carbon concrete.

With global demand for building materials set to rise through this century, we must prioritize investments in advanced materials science and scale-up domestic manufacturing by fostering an innovation pipeline that creates jobs and enhances our competitiveness on the world stage. This bill does just that.

With this commonsense piece of legislation, everyone wins. It will help us achieve measurable and meaningful emissions reductions, modernize manufacturing, and improve workers' health and public health, all while creating good-paying jobs across America.

I am proud to join Representative Max Miller in introducing the IMPACT Act, which passed the House last Congress and through the House Science Committee unanimously. It has received strong and bicameral support from industry and industry partners, innovators, climate organizations, manufacturing, and trade associations nationwide.

I encourage my colleagues to support this bipartisan and commonsense legislation, which will unlock innovation and clean manufacturing in the United States, create domestic job opportunities, and protect our planet.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1534, the Innovative Mitigation Partnerships for Asphalt and Concrete Technologies Act, or more simply known as the IMPACT Act, which is a lot easier to say.

I introduced this bill with my Science Committee colleague Mrs. Foushee because we understand that the production of cement, concrete, and asphalt play a fundamental role in supporting United States infrastructure, national defense, and economic security.

The cement and concrete industry contributes over $130 billion to the United States economy and employs over 577,000 people. In Ohio alone, this industry has an economic contribution of $4.6 billion to the State.

It is no secret that the processes behind these products are extremely difficult to decarbonize and that American cement and concrete manufacturers must compete in a market that increasingly values lower carbon products. The leading companies and associations of this industry have committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 and have made impressive progress thus far, reducing their carbon footprint by 21 percent since 2014.

However, more progress can be made. With projected demand for cement expected to increase 12 percent by 2050, utilizing the best scientific resources of the Federal Government will help manufacturers further reduce emissions of the products essential to our economy and civilization.

The IMPACT Act will support those resources while strengthening and enhancing the competitiveness of American manufacturing through advanced

technologies that can be exported around the globe.

We all want to see cement, concrete, and asphalt production continue to rise and help grow our country. That is critical to our economic well-being. We all want to see this growth go hand in hand with environmental stewardship, leaving our air and water just as pristine for the next generation.

The IMPACT Act builds on previous industrial decarbonization efforts by focusing specifically on cement, concrete, and asphalt. It enables industry and the Department of Energy to work collaboratively on fundamental research that will enhance existing production methods and unlock new, innovative techniques. This will ensure that the world- class tools and technologies at DOE are being used by the very taxpayers who funded them.

It also enables DOE, in consultation with other Federal agencies, to offer technical assistance to entities seeking to promote the commercial application of low-emission cement, concrete, and asphalt. This ensures that industry can continue their cutting-edge research unencumbered, but if they do hit a roadblock, there are subject matter experts available to assist them.

This bill is the perfect example of how the Federal Government can advance tangible environmental goals for construction material production without sacrificing material performance or, more importantly, economic growth that benefits every single citizen throughout our country.

I thank the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Mrs. Foushee) for cosponsoring this bill and working in a bipartisan fashion to get it here today. I urge all my colleagues to support this bill.