II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5047 

To require carbon scoring by the Congressional Budget Office. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 12, 2024 

Mr. WHITEHOUSE (for himself, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. WELCH, Mr. PADILLA, 

Ms. WARREN, Mr. HEINRICH, Mr. SCHATZ, and Mr. MARKEY) introduced 

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 

on the Budget 

A BILL 

To require carbon scoring by the Congressional Budget 

Office. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Carbon Scoring Act 

5 of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The function of the Congressional Budget 

9 Office is to provide the Committee on the Budget of 

10 the Senate and the Committee on the Budget of the 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 5047 IS

1 House of Representatives with information on budg2 et authority, outlays, revenues, and changing condi3 tions that might impact the Federal budget and the 

4 legislative activities of Congress. 

5 (2) Unforeseen economic shocks, such as the 

6 2008 mortgage crisis and the COVID–19 pandemic, 

7 have contributed greatly to the public debt of the 

8 Federal Government. 

9 (3) Climate change poses systemic risks to the 

10 financial system of the United States. 

11 (4) The increased severity and frequency of ex12 treme weather events caused by climate change costs 

13 the United States economy an estimated 

14 $150,000,000,000 every year, and the cost is grow15 ing. 

16 (5) Predicted economic shocks from climate 

17 change could cost the economy of the United States 

18 $14,500,000,000,000 over the next 50 years, reduce 

19 the gross domestic product of the United States by 

20 10 percent by the end of the century, and add tril21 lions of dollars to the public debt of the Federal 

22 Government. 

23 (6) Current damages associated with climate 

24 change are straining the Federal budget and strainVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:32 Sep 18, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5047.IS S5047

ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 5047 IS

1 ing insurance and home mortgage markets from 

2 California to Florida. 

3 (7) The exacerbation of extreme weather, 

4 drought, and warming is undermining agricultural 

5 yields, the durability of infrastructure, and supply 

6 chain reliability, all of which contribute to rising 

7 consumer prices. 

8 (8) Policies that limit greenhouse gas emissions 

9 could offer long-term savings for the Federal budget. 

10 SEC. 3. GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS MODELING CAPAC11 ITY AND REPORTING. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 202 of the Congressional 

13 Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 602) is amended by adding 

14 at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(h) GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS MODELING.— 

16 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

17 ‘‘(A) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ 

18 means the Director of the Congressional Budg19 et Office. 

20 ‘‘(B) GREENHOUSE GAS.—The term 

21 ‘greenhouse gas’ has the meaning given that 

22 term in section 211(o)(1) of the Clean Air Act 

23 (42 U.S.C. 7545(o)(1)). 

24 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHING AN EMISSIONS MODELING

25 CAPACITY.— 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 5047 IS

1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall 

2 prepare and maintain economic models that can 

3 provide estimates of the effect of various poli4 cies on greenhouse gas emissions— 

5 ‘‘(i) for the power sector, by not later 

6 than 1 year after the date of enactment of 

7 the Carbon Scoring Act of 2024; 

8 ‘‘(ii) for transportation, by not later 

9 than January 1, 2026; 

10 ‘‘(iii) for industry, by not later than 

11 January 1, 2028; 

12 ‘‘(iv) for buildings, by not later than 

13 January 1, 2030; and 

14 ‘‘(v) for all other emitting sectors, as 

15 soon as is practicable. 

16 ‘‘(B) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than 

17 December 31, 2025, and December 31 of each 

18 year thereafter, the Director shall publish a re19 port that— 

20 ‘‘(i) provides an overview of the green21 house gas emissions modeling capabilities 

22 of the Congressional Budget Office; 

23 ‘‘(ii) discusses any updates made to 

24 models related to the greenhouse gas emisVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:32 Sep 18, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5047.IS S5047

ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 5047 IS

1 sions estimating function of the Congres2 sional Budget Office; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) discusses how any updates made 

4 to models affect the emissions baseline re5 quired under paragraph (3). 

6 ‘‘(C) ONGOING IMPROVEMENT.—The Di7 rector shall work to continually improve the ac8 curacy and granularity of the economic models 

9 described in subparagraph (A). 

10 ‘‘(D) EXISTING FEDERAL RESOURCES.—In 

11 preparing economic models under this para12 graph, the Director may, where applicable, con13 sider using modeling resources developed by the 

14 Federal Government, such as the National En15 ergy Modeling System published by the Energy 

16 Information Administration. 

17 ‘‘(3) EMISSIONS BASELINE.—Not later than 

18 February 15, 2025, and February 15 of each year 

19 thereafter, the Director shall develop and publish a 

20 detailed estimate of greenhouse gas emissions in the 

21 United States during the year during which the re22 port is issued and each fiscal year thereafter 

23 through the last fiscal year covered by the most re24 cent baseline prepared in accordance with section 

25 257, based on laws enacted through the date of the 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 5047 IS

1 report and taking into account projected economic 

2 factors. 

3 ‘‘(4) PRIORITIZATION OF GREENHOUSE GAS4 SES.—For purposes of economic models, emissions 

5 baselines, and greenhouse gas emissions estimates 

6 under paragraphs (2) and (3) of this subsection and 

7 section 402A, the Director— 

8 ‘‘(A) shall make best efforts to consider all 

9 greenhouse gas emissions for any economic 

10 model, emissions baseline, or greenhouse gas 

11 emissions estimate prepared on or after the 

12 date of enactment of the Carbon Scoring Act of 

13 2024; and 

14 ‘‘(B) shall consider— 

15 ‘‘(i) carbon dioxide for any economic 

16 model, emissions baseline, or greenhouse 

17 gas emissions estimate prepared on or 

18 after the date of enactment of the Carbon 

19 Scoring Act of 2024; 

20 ‘‘(ii) methane for any economic model, 

21 emissions baseline, or greenhouse gas emis22 sions estimate prepared on or after Janu23 ary 1, 2027; and 

24 ‘‘(iii) all greenhouse gas emissions for 

25 any economic model, emissions baseline, or 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 5047 IS

1 greenhouse gas emissions estimate pre2 pared on or after January 1, 2030.’’. 

3 (b) EMISSIONS ESTIMATES BY CONGRESSIONAL

4 BUDGET OFFICE.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Title IV of the Congres6 sional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 651 et seq.) is 

7 amended by inserting after section 402 the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 402A. EMISSIONS ESTIMATES BY CONGRESSIONAL 

10 BUDGET OFFICE. 

11 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

12 ‘‘(1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means 

13 the Director of the Congressional Budget Office. 

14 ‘‘(2) EMISSIONS BASELINE.—The term ‘emis15 sions baseline’ means an estimate of greenhouse gas 

16 emissions prepared under section 202(h)(3). 

17 ‘‘(3) GREENHOUSE GAS.—The term ‘greenhouse 

18 gas’ has the meaning given that term in section 

19 211(o)(1) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 

20 7545(o)(1)). 

21 ‘‘(4) GREENHOUSE GAS-RELATED PROVISION.— 

22 The term ‘greenhouse gas-related provision’ means a 

23 provision that meets any of the following conditions: 

24 ‘‘(A) Creates, raises, or lowers a tax or tax 

25 credit on any aspect of fuel production or 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 5047 IS

1 usage, power production or usage, the emission 

2 or capture of a greenhouse gas, or a technology 

3 or a direct alternative to a technology that uses 

4 fuel. 

5 ‘‘(B) Otherwise assigns a dollar value to 

6 the emission of a greenhouse gas or to the sale 

7 or use of a product whose combustion or leak8 age leads to an emission of a greenhouse gas. 

9 ‘‘(C) Sets a performance standard or cap 

10 based on— 

11 ‘‘(i) the emission of a greenhouse gas; 

12 or 

13 ‘‘(ii) the use of a product— 

14 ‘‘(I) that directly emits green15 house gases; or 

16 ‘‘(II) whose combustion, leakage, 

17 or degradation leads to an emission of 

18 a greenhouse gas. 

19 ‘‘(5) RELEVANT COMMITTEES.—The term ‘rel20 evant committees’ means the Committee on the 

21 Budget of the Senate, the Committee on the Budget 

22 of the House of Representatives, the committee of 

23 the Senate with jurisdiction of the relevant bill or 

24 joint resolution, and the committee of the House of 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 5047 IS

1 Representatives with primary jurisdiction of the rel2 evant bill or joint resolution. 

3 ‘‘(6) SIGNIFICANT BUDGETARY EFFECT.—The 

4 term ‘significant budgetary effect’, with respect to a 

5 bill or joint resolution, means that the Director esti6 mates the bill or joint resolution will increase or de7 crease annual outlays or revenues by not less than 

8 $500,000,000 in any fiscal year covered by the most 

9 recent baseline under section 257. 

10 ‘‘(7) SOCIAL COST OF A GREENHOUSE GAS.— 

11 The term ‘social cost of a greenhouse gas’ means the 

12 monetary value of the net harm to society from 

13 emitting a metric ton of a greenhouse gas into the 

14 atmosphere in a given year, as determined by the 

15 Director based on the best and most recent science 

16 that, for carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, 

17 is not less than the amounts listed for those gases 

18 using a near-term Ramsey discount rate of 2 percent 

19 in the report of the Environmental Protection Agen20 cy entitled ‘Report on the Social Cost of Greenhouse 

21 Gases: Estimates Incorporating Recent Scientific 

22 Advances’, dated November 2023. 

23 ‘‘(b) ESTIMATES.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To the extent practicable, 

25 the Director shall prepare and submit to the relVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:32 Sep 18, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5047.IS S5047

ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 5047 IS

1 evant committees a greenhouse gas emissions esti2 mate with respect to any bill or joint resolution or3 dered reported by a committee of the Senate or the 

4 House of Representatives— 

5 ‘‘(A) that— 

6 ‘‘(i) would have a significant budg7 etary effect; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) contains 1 or more greenhouse 

9 gas-related provisions; or 

10 ‘‘(B) for which the Director previously esti11 mated the effects of the greenhouse gas-related 

12 provisions of the bill or joint resolution. 

13 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—A greenhouse gas emissions 

14 estimate under paragraph (1) with respect to a bill 

15 or joint resolution shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) provide an estimate of the effects of 

17 each greenhouse gas-related provision in the bill 

18 or joint resolution on greenhouse gas emissions 

19 with respect to the year during which the green20 house gas-related provision takes effect and 

21 each fiscal year covered by the most recent 

22 emissions baseline, including an estimate of the 

23 change in greenhouse gas emissions relative to 

24 the most recent emissions baseline; 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 5047 IS

1 ‘‘(B) provide an estimate of the climate-re2 lated costs or savings of each greenhouse gas3 related provision in the bill or joint resolution, 

4 which shall be calculated as the sum of the 

5 products obtained by multiplying the change in 

6 the emission of each greenhouse gas relative to 

7 the most recent emissions baseline, as described 

8 in subparagraph (A), by the social cost of the 

9 greenhouse gas during the year of the change; 

10 ‘‘(C) include commentary on the expected 

11 effects of the greenhouse gas-related provisions 

12 on greenhouse gas emissions after the end of 

13 the period described in subparagraph (A); and 

14 ‘‘(D) include commentary, to the extent 

15 practicable, on the effects of the greenhouse 

16 gas-related provisions on global greenhouse gas 

17 emissions. 

18 ‘‘(3) INCLUSION IN REPORT.—If the Director 

19 timely submits to a committee of the Senate or the 

20 House of Representatives estimates and commentary 

21 under this subsection with respect to a bill or joint 

22 resolution containing 1 or more greenhouse gas-re23 lated provisions, the committee shall include the esti24 mates and commentary in the report accompanying 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 5047 IS

1 the bill or joint resolution, if the committee submits 

2 such a report. 

3 ‘‘(4) ESTIMATES REGARDING OTHER LEGISLA4 TIVE PROVISIONS.—To the extent practicable, upon 

5 a request by the Chairman of the Committee on the 

6 Budget of the Senate or the Committee on the 

7 Budget of the House of Representatives, the Direc8 tor shall publish a greenhouse gas emissions esti9 mate in accordance with this subsection with respect 

10 to any legislative provision. 

11 ‘‘(5) ESTIMATES WHILE DEVELOPING MOD12 ELS.—If the Director determines that a reported bill 

13 or joint resolution for which a report is required 

14 under paragraph (1) contains 1 or more greenhouse 

15 gas-related provisions that primarily affect the 

16 greenhouse gas emissions of a sector for which the 

17 Director has not yet developed an economic model 

18 under section 202(h)(2), the Director shall— 

19 ‘‘(A) omit those greenhouse gas-related 

20 provisions from the greenhouse gas emissions 

21 estimate of the Director; 

22 ‘‘(B) indicate in the greenhouse gas emis23 sions estimate that the Director made that de24 termination; and 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 5047 IS

1 ‘‘(C) include in the greenhouse gas emis2 sions estimate the reasons for that determina3 tion. 

4 ‘‘(c) MANDATORY APPROPRIATION.—In addition to 

5 amounts otherwise made available to the Director, there 

6 are appropriated for each of fiscal years 2025 through 

7 2034 to the Director, out of any money in the Treasury 

8 not otherwise appropriated, $20,000,000 to carry out this 

9 section and section 202(h). Amounts appropriated under 

10 this subsection shall remain available until expended.’’. 

11 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of 

12 contents in section 1(b) of the Congressional Budget 

13 and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 is amended 

14 by inserting after the item relating to section 402 

15 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 402A. Emissions estimates by Congressional Budget Office.’’. 

Æ 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS