[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 99 (Thursday, June 13, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E765]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        CARBON CAPTURE PRIZE ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. GRACE MENG

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 13, 2019

  Ms. MENG. Madam Speaker, we stand at a critical juncture where the 
decisions we make today about combating climate change will have 
lasting consequences for generations to come. Each year, millions of 
metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) are emitted into the 
atmosphere. These emissions are causing the planet to warm and creating 
more sudden, severe weather-related storms. On top of that, significant 
amounts of CO2 already reside in the atmosphere. While it is 
critical that all nations transition to a low-carbon future, we must 
also explore technologies that remove and sequester carbon pollution to 
keep global average temperatures from rising above 1.5 degrees.
   That is why, today, I am introducing the Carbon Capture Prize Act, 
which would direct the Department of Energy (DOE) to create a prize 
competition to incentivize research, development, and commercialization 
of direct air capture technology to remove and permanently sequester 
CO2 from the atmosphere.
   Technologies, like direct air capture, can provide nations the tools 
needed to reduce carbon pollution in the atmosphere. The benefit of 
this technology is that it can be located anywhere, making its 
potential scale of deployment enormous. A major challenge facing direct 
air capture technology, however, is cost, which can range between $800 
and $250 per metric ton of CO2 removal from the atmosphere.
   My legislation would address this issue by establishing a prize 
competition for direct air capture technology that reduces 
CO2 in the atmosphere. This bill authorizes an aggregate 
prize amount of $30,000,000, and DOE may run the competition 
individually or with other agencies. Prize competitions have long been 
an effective tool to find cost-effective solutions for expensive 
problems.
   Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the Carbon Capture 
Prize Act. It is undeniable that the fate of our children and future 
generations rests on the decisions we make today about fighting climate 
change.

                          ____________________