CCL Alameda lobbies in Washington
On July 22, 850 CCL lobbyists took part in over 400 meetings with members of Congress. The hundreds of meetings shared one overarching goal: advancing clean energy for a safer climate and affordable power.
Six CCL Alameda members attended the Lobby Day: Navaneet Baniya, Steve Brown, Trish Clifford, Nick Despota, Andra Pligavko, and Wenyue Wan (Jennie). Our team had productive conversations with staff of Congresswoman Simon (CA 12) and Congressman Garamendi.
Our Asks included fully funding two Department of Energy programs that promote clean energy technologies; clean energy permitting reform; support for the Fix Our Forests Act (FOFA), aimed at reducing wildfires through better forest management; and, for Republican offices, the Foreign Pollution Fee Act.
Within that broad swath of legislation and programs, certain provisions resonate deeply with particular members of Congress. Each lobby team emphasized those provisions that reflected the interests of a member’s constituents.
Congresswoman Simon (CA12) priorities are clear: securing equal rights for all residents, and addressing the economic and social conditions that can impact their health and security. Accordingly, in our meeting with Simon’s Legislative Director, Tom Clancy, we underscored energy affordability and reducing the harmful effects of wildfire smoke.
We presented data showing that renewable energy development is currently hamstrung by insufficient transmission capacity. We also highlighted Senator Padilla’s contribution to the Senate version of the FOFA, which will further reduce the risk of wildfires. Driving home the point, members of our team recounted personal experiences with the deadly Oakland Hills fire. And they recalled more recent events: smoke-filled skies that only added to the air pollution load that West Oakland’s residents already bear.
Mr. Clancy fully understood the connection of our legislative goals to Congresswoman Simon’s priorities. We’re confident that our chapter’s relationship with the Congresswoman will continue to grow.
Our CA08 lobby team met with Congressman Garamendi’s office. Although the Congressman was not at the actual lobby meeting we did have the pleasure of encountering him in the hallway outside his office before the meeting started. He was very supportive and congenial as he knows CCL well and has been engaged with us for years.
We met with Legislative Fellow, Ryan Nesselrodt, who was in our Zoom lobby meeting last December as well. Garamendi and his staff are very supportive of climate initiatives. They are also aware of the importance of permitting reform in order to meet our climate goals. Garamendi was also a cosponsor of the Fix Our Forests Act.
Near the end of our meeting Ryan turned the tables on us and asked for our support for several of Garamendi’s upcoming initiatives. It was great to know that they consider us an effective partner for their climate work. The initiatives address streamlining permitting reform in states with strong environmental laws, tax parity for geothermal energy development and health and safety for America’s energy workers. There are several refineries in CA08 and the Congressman is concerned with recent regulatory rollbacks that will affect workers and nearby communities. We are following up on these requests with CCL.
At the end of the meeting Ryan made a heartfelt statement of how glad he was to see young people — Jennie & Navaneet — in the meeting.
– Trish Clifford, Nick Despota, Andra Pligavko