Rep. Castor Leads SEEC Institute’s Release of Thriving Economy Project Report

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Castor today joined the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC) Institute to release the Thriving Economy Project report, a first-of-its-kind menu of more than 800 policy recommendations for Congress to consider now for long-term economic and job growth and affordable, reliable, and cleaner energy for all American families and businesses. The report is the product of a coalition of members of Congress and a diverse set of energy, environmental, and economic policy subject-matter experts, including private-sector leaders and advocates, and former senior officials and advisors spanning several past presidential administrations and Congressional offices and committees. Rep. Castor is the Chair of the Thriving Economy Project and is one of nine Members of Congress who worked on the report. Rep. Castor also collaborated with Samantha Medlock on the chapter on Thriving, Affordable, and Resilient Communities. “My neighbors are facing rising costs, including from increasingly deadly and costly extreme weather. Geopolitical uncertainty and growing competition from abroad drive difficult decisions at the gas pump and on our farms,” said Rep. Castor. “The Thriving Economy Project provides a menu of practical, common-sense solutions that will lower costs and keep our communities safe. It’s a roadmap to help every family, in every zip code, share in a healthier and more secure future.” The Thriving Economy Project is an effort of SEEC Institute, a nonprofit founded in 2024 to advance climate and clean energy solutions. The report was shaped by nearly two years of public input, including convenings around the country and more than 1,300 policy recommendations and other responses received from communities and business leaders, experts, advocates, and policymakers across the country and economic sectors. The ideas highlighted in the report focus on the challenges affecting American families and businesses today, and cover themes like rising household costs, reliable and affordable energy, economic competitiveness, access to good jobs, ways to make our supply chains more efficient and effective, environmental protection, public lands protections, and government efficiency. Among the policy recommendations included in the chapter Rep. Castor led are: Create an independent FEMA, with a Senate-confirmed administrator and IG. Reestablish FEMA as an independent, cabinet-level agency reporting directly to the President, with a Senate-confirmed Administrator and Deputy Administrator and a dedicated Inspector General. Additional policy recommendations included in the report include: Make sure federal energy assistance helps families keep their homes cool as summers get hotter. Ensure LIHEAP adequately addresses home cooling needs. Create an energy reserve that states could draw on to keep energy prices low. Create a Strategic Energy Affordability Reserve drawing from windfall oil and gas profits to give states resources to secure energy price stability for their residents. Create a permanent White House office responsible for protecting U.S. energy security from global disruptions. Establish a permanent Office of Global Energy Security (OGES) with adequate funding and staff as a component of the White House Executive Office of the President (EOP), structured similarly to the Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD). Create a 30% tax credit for major new transmission lines and upgrades that increase the capacity of existing lines. Establish a 30% Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for new high voltage interregional and interstate lines, and for upgrades to existing lines using advanced transmission technologies and reconductoring that increases line capacity. Download a copy of the report from the SEEC Institute website at https://www.seecinstitute.org/thriving-economy-project . Media Contacts: Castor Office Media Contact: Jay Rhoden Communications Director Jay.Rhoden@mail.house.gov SEEC Institute Media Contact: Pearson Croney-Clark Director of External Affairs SEEC Institute pearson@seecinstitute.org