Sponsor
Richard Joseph Durbin
Senator · D-IL
Senator · D-IL
The bill channels substantial federal resources and a carbon‑pricing framework to accelerate decarbonization, support clean‑energy jobs, and aid disadvantaged communities, while trading off higher near‑term energy and goods prices, increased federal fiscal exposure and program complexity, and privacy and eligibility tradeoffs that may leave some affected people or industries vulnerable.
Low- and middle-income households receive regular carbon-fee rebates and quarterly cash payments (tax‑free and exempt from means tests), offsetting higher energy costs and delivering direct income support.
The bill establishes clear emissions targets (45% by 2030; net‑zero by 2050) and a carbon pricing mechanism plus sustained funding to accelerate decarbonization, aligning federal investment toward measurable greenhouse‑gas reductions.
New federal financing (C2FC capitalization, grant programs, and credit enhancements) and Buy America/prevailing‑wage rules support clean‑energy deployment, domestic manufacturing, and good construction jobs, mobilizing private capital and creating employment opportunities.
Households and businesses face higher energy and goods prices from the carbon fee, which will raise living costs—especially burdening low‑ and middle‑income families despite rebates.
Large upfront appropriations, mandated Trust Fund allocations, and federal credit guarantees expose taxpayers to significant fiscal pressure and risk of loan losses, increasing deficits or crowding out other priorities.
Complex compliance, monitoring, interagency coordination, Buy America and prevailing‑wage requirements, and reporting burdens increase administrative costs and can delay project implementation and fund disbursement.
Based on analysis of 9 sections of legislative text.
Imposes a federal carbon fee, creates a trust fund to finance rebates, farm transition payments, a Climate Change Finance Corporation, and community/workforce transition grants, and sets national GHG targets.
Official title: Amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to establish a carbon fee to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and for other purposes.
Introduced September 4, 2025 by Richard Joseph Durbin · Last progress September 4, 2025
Creates a federal carbon-fee system and a dedicated trust fund that pays quarterly rebates to individuals, funds agricultural transition payments, finances a new Climate Change Finance Corporation (C2FC) to back clean-energy and resilience projects, and supports community and workforce transition grants. It sets nationwide emissions-reduction goals (45% below 2018 by 2030; net-zero by 2050), requires periodic evaluation of fee performance, and directs federal agencies to develop carbon sequestration targets and programs. The bill changes the tax code to impose fees (a “carbon fee”) starting for tax periods after 2026, establishes the America’s Clean Future Fund to allocate net fee revenue among rebates, farm transition payments, the C2FC, and community transition assistance, and creates new programs at USDA, Commerce, EPA/CEQ, and the Treasury to administer payments, grants, and studies supporting decarbonization and affected workers and communities.