I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2644 

To provide direct funding to local, Tribal, and territorial governments to 

establish Green New Deal programs and initiatives, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 19, 2021 

Ms. BUSH (for herself, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Mr. BOWMAN, Ms. OMAR, Ms. 

NORTON, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Ms. WILSON of 

Florida, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Mr. JONES, Mr. CONNOLLY, Ms. 

JAYAPAL, Mr. RASKIN, Ms. NEWMAN, Ms. BARRAGA ́N, Mr. ESPAILLAT, 

Ms. TLAIB, Mr. GARCI ́A of Illinois, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. VARGAS, 

Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. COHEN, Mr. TORRES of New York, Mr. HUFFMAN, 

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. GOMEZ, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, and Mr. THOMPSON of 

California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on 

Transportation and Infrastructure, Natural Resources, Agriculture, Financial Services, Education and Labor, and the Judiciary, for a period 

to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

A BILL 

To provide direct funding to local, Tribal, and territorial 

governments to establish Green New Deal programs and 

initiatives, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act: 


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1 (1) CLIMATE MITIGATION.—The term ‘‘climate 

2 mitigation’’ means policies and activities intended to 

3 reduce the greenhouse gas forcing of the climate sys4 tem. 

5 (2) FPIC.—The term ‘‘FPIC’’ means free, 

6 prior, and informed consent. 

7 (3) FRONTLINE COMMUNITY.—The term 

8 ‘‘frontline community’’ means a community with sig9 nificant representation of communities of color, low10 income communities, deindustrialized communities, 

11 fossil fuel communities, or Tribal and indigenous 

12 communities, that experiences, or is at risk of expe13 riencing, higher or more adverse climate change, 

14 human health, or environmental effects, as compared 

15 to other communities. 

16 (4) LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘‘local 

17 government’’ means a territory or any unit of local 

18 government within a State or territory, including a 

19 county, borough, municipality, city, town, township, 

20 parish, local public authority, transit agency (includ21 ing multistate transit agencies), special district, 

22 school district, intrastate district, council of govern23 ments, any other instrumentality of local govern24 ment. 


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1 (5) LOCAL GREEN NEW DEAL PROGRAM PRO2 POSAL.—The term ‘‘local Green New Deal program 

3 proposal’’ means a proposal of a local government or 

4 a Native American Nation that commits— 

5 (A) to achieve zero greenhouse gas emis6 sions, by 2030, through a fair and just transi7 tion for all communities and workers; 

8 (B) to create hundreds of good, high-wage 

9 jobs and ensure prosperity and economic secu10 rity for all people of the local government or 

11 Native American Nation; 

12 (C) to invest in the infrastructure and in13 dustry of the local government to sustainably 

14 meet the challenges of the 21st century; 

15 (D) to secure for all people of the United 

16 States for generations to come— 

17 (i) clean air and water; 

18 (ii) climate and community resiliency; 

19 (iii) healthy and sustainably produced 

20 food; 

21 (iv) access to nature; and 

22 (v) a sustainable environment; and 

23 (E) to promote justice and equity by stop24 ping current, preventing future, and repairing 

25 historic oppression of indigenous peoples, comVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:53 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2644.IH H2644

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1 munities of color, migrant communities, 

2 deindustrialized communities, depopulated rural 

3 communities, the poor, low-income workers, 

4 women, the elderly, the unhoused, people with 

5 disabilities, incarcerated communities, and com6 munities experiencing police violence and youth. 

7 (6) NATIVE AMERICAN NATION.—The term 

8 ‘‘Native American Nation’’ means— 

9 (A) the governing body of any individually 

10 identified and federally recognized Indian or 

11 Alaska Native Tribe, band, nation, pueblo, vil12 lage, community, affiliated tribal group, or com13 ponent reservation in the list published pursu14 ant to section 104(a) of the Federally Recog15 nized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 

16 5131(a)); 

17 (B) the governing body of any individually 

18 identified Indian or Alaska Native Tribe, band, 

19 nation, pueblo, village, community, affiliated 

20 tribal group, or component reservation, exclud21 ing tribal corporations; and 

22 (C) a State recognized Tribe. 


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1 TITLE I—GREEN NEW DEAL FOR 

2 CITIES, COUNTIES, STATES, 

3 TRIBES, AND TERRITORIES 

4 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 

5 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Green New Deals for 

6 Cities Act of 2021’’. 

7 SEC. 102. GREEN NEW DEAL FOR CITIES, TOWNS, AND NA8 TIVE AMERICAN NATIONS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—From amounts appropriated to 

10 carry out this title, the Secretary of Housing and Urban 

11 Development, in coordination with the Secretary of En12 ergy, the Secretary of Labor, and the Office of Domestic 

13 Climate Policy, shall be allocated directly to eligible local 

14 or State entities in the same manner as amounts appro15 priated under sections 602 and 603 of title VI of the So16 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), as applicable, 

17 to carry out eligible Green New Deal projects. 

18 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible local or State entity 

19 receiving an allocation under this section— 

20 (1) may use such funds to carry out an eligible 

21 Green New Deal project; 

22 (2) shall allocate not less than 50 percent of 

23 such allocation for projects related to climate mitiga24 tion; 


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1 (3) with respect to an eligible local or State en2 tity that includes at least 1 frontline community, 

3 shall ensure not less than 50 percent of such alloca4 tion is invested in frontline communities; and 

5 (4) may not use such funds for— 

6 (A) fossil fuel procurement, development, 

7 infrastructure repair that would in anyway ex8 tend lifespan or production capacity, or any re9 lated subsidy; 

10 (B) carbon capture and storage (CCS) or 

11 carbon capture, utilisation, and storage 

12 (CCUS); 

13 (C) direct air capture; 

14 (D) the procurement of nuclear power; 

15 (E) research and development; 

16 (F) the establishment or advancement of 

17 carbon markets, including cap and trade; 

18 (G) geoengineering; 

19 (H) highway expansion; 

20 (I) road improvements or automobile infra21 structure, other than electric vehicle charging 

22 stations; 

23 (J) industrial scale bioenergy, including 

24 biofuels, biomass, and biogas, development or 

25 any related subsidy; or 


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1 (K) any investments or projects supporting 

2 law enforcement, immigration detention centers, 

3 and prisons, including buildings and vehicles 

4 under the control of law enforcement or a pris5 on. 

6 (c) REQUIREMENT.—As a condition of accepting an 

7 allocation provided under this section, an eligible local or 

8 State entity shall agree to take steps, in consultation with 

9 community groups and tenant advocates, to secure exist10 ing housing in neighborhoods receiving benefits from an 

11 allocation under this section, including through the use of 

12 rent control, rent stabilization, and other methods to pre13 vent gentrification and stabilize property values. 

14 (d) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out the program 

15 established under subsection (a), the Secretary shall con16 sult with Administration of the Environmental Protection 

17 Agency, the Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Indian 

18 Affairs, and the Council on Environmental Quality. 

19 (e) NATIVE AMERICAN FPIC.—Prior to the author20 ization of any project on land that may affect a Native 

21 American Nation, the Secretary shall ensure that such 

22 Nation has given FPIC. 

23 (f) MATERIAL REQUIREMENT.—In carrying out any 

24 eligible Green New Deal project that uses renewable en25 ergy materials, an eligible local or State entity shall use 


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1 only renewable energy materials from Initiative for Re2 sponsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) certified mines. 

3 (g) COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT.—In carrying out 

4 any eligible Green New Deal project, an eligible local or 

5 State entity shall develop a public participation plan to 

6 establish steps for ensuring decision-making inclusion of 

7 frontline communities for such eligible Green New Deal 

8 project. 

9 (h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

10 (1) ELIGIBLE LOCAL OR STATE ENTITY.—The 

11 term ‘‘eligible local or State entity’’ means a State, 

12 local government, or Native American Nation that 

13 has a local Green New Deal program proposal. 

14 (2) ELIGIBLE GREEN NEW DEAL PROJECT.— 

15 The term ‘‘eligible Green New Deal project’’ includes 

16 a project and associated labor— 

17 (A) for solar power procurement, installa18 tion, maintenance, and operations; 

19 (B) for wind power procurement, installa20 tion, maintenance, coating, and operations; 

21 (C) to carry out an American Society of 

22 Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning 

23 Engineers (ASHRAE) level II audit for com24 mercial buildings; 


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1 (D) to procure dialysis machines or other 

2 equipment known to save lives of the most vul3 nerable populations in extreme weather events 

4 that may cause power outages; 

5 (E) to provide grants for acquisition of pri6 vate lands by Native American Land Trusts, 

7 nations, and Tribes; 

8 (F) to build electrification for heating, hot 

9 water, and cooking; 

10 (G) for public electric vehicle procurement; 

11 (H) to build capacity for communities to 

12 endure extreme weather events, such as invest13 ments to cooling and heating centers and dis14 aster preparedness; 

15 (I) for community farming initiatives that 

16 promote and foster food sovereignty; 

17 (J) to procure, install, and operate geo18 thermal power; 

19 (K) for phasing out existing fossil fuel in20 frastructure; 

21 (L) for testing of soils and waters in 

22 parks, playgrounds, and other sites for haz23 ardous and radioactive wastes as well as dan24 gerous chemicals, including PFAS; 


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1 (M) for the establishment of local Worker 

2 and Community Protection Funds (WCPF) to 

3 support fossil fuel workers, families of such 

4 workers, and impacted communities in the en5 ergy transition; 

6 (N) to repair gas pipeline leaks and cover 

7 orphan wells, so long as such pipelines and 

8 wells in no way expand fossil fuel production; 

9 (O) to build, expand, and maintain public 

10 parks, trails, forests, and recreation sites; 

11 (P) for installation of weatherization and 

12 efficiency measures, including reflecting coat13 ings; 

14 (Q) for adaptation measures; 

15 (R) to procure and install electric vehicle 

16 charging stations; 

17 (S) to remediate lead paint, mold, and as18 bestos; 

19 (T) to support reparations programs for 

20 Black and Indigenous people and communities; 

21 (U) for investment in new or improved 

22 public green space, parks, playgrounds, or com23 munity gardens; 


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1 (V) for the zero energy construction or im2 provement of public or rent-secured housing or 

3 community land trusts; 

4 (W) to provide, electrify, improve, expand, 

5 maintain, or operate public transit and public 

6 school buses; 

7 (X) for remediation of a brownfield; 

8 (Y) for air quality monitoring; 

9 (Z) for pollution cleanup; 

10 (AA) to procure, install, and maintain 

11 clean drinking water infrastructure piping and 

12 transmission lines, including replacing lead 

13 pipelines; 

14 (BB) for public utility procurement, mod15 ernization, and decarbonization; 

16 (CC) for wetland, forest, and public land 

17 revitalization and other climate adaptation 

18 measures; 

19 (DD) for public sanitation, broadband, and 

20 utility expansion for frontline communities; 

21 (EE) for community solar power; 

22 (FF) to construct and improve bike and 

23 pedestrian infrastructure, including bus stops 

24 and any improvements to transit infrastructure 


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1 to comply with the Americans With Disabilities 

2 Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.); 

3 (GG) for restoring public lands, water4 sheds, coastal areas, wildlife corridors, and 

5 other critical ecosystems, including investment 

6 in county and city parks and Tribal manage7 ment of public lands; 

8 (HH) for temporary housing for low-in9 come families receiving housing improvements; 

10 or 

11 (II) for conservation projects on family 

12 farms, including water conservation projects, 

13 shelterbelts, and ecosystem restoration efforts. 

14 SEC. 103. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

15 For purposes of carrying out this title, there is au16 thorized to be appropriated out of the general fund of the 

17 Treasury— 

18 (1) $400,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2022; 

19 (2) $300,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2023; 

20 (3) $200,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; and 

21 (4) $100,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2025. 

22 TITLE II—LABOR STANDARDS 

23 SEC. 201. LABOR STANDARDS REQUIREMENTS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor shall re25 quire an eligible local or State entity under section 102, 


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1 as a condition of receiving a grant under such section, to 

2 satisfy each of the following requirements: 

3 (1) The entity shall ensure that all laborers and 

4 mechanics employed by contractors and subcontrac5 tors in the performance of any applicable project 

6 shall be paid wages at rates not less than those pre7 vailing on projects of a similar character in the lo8 cality as determined by the Secretary of Labor in ac9 cordance with subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 

10 40, United States Code (commonly known as the 

11 ‘‘Davis-Bacon Act’’). 

12 (2) The entity shall give preference to local and 

13 equitable hiring and contracting that creates oppor14 tunities for— 

15 (A) people of color; 

16 (B) immigrants, regardless of immigration 

17 status; 

18 (C) formerly incarcerated individuals; 

19 (D) women; 

20 (E) LGBTQIAP+ individuals; 

21 (F) disabled and chronically ill individuals; 

22 (G) marginalized communities; and 

23 (H) BIPOC employee-owned businesses 

24 and co-ops. 


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1 (3) The entity shall be a party to, or require 

2 contractors and subcontractors in the performance 

3 of any applicable project to consent to, a covered 

4 project labor agreement, as long as the entity dem5 onstrates that such agreement protects or furthers 

6 its proprietary interest in the project. 

7 (4) The entity, and all contractors and sub8 contractors in performance of any applicable project, 

9 shall abide by prevailing wage standards, prioritize 

10 Project Labor Agreements, and prioritize local hir11 ing and targeted hiring provisions. 

12 (5) The entity, and all contractors and sub13 contractors in the performance of any applicable 

14 project, shall not require mandatory arbitration for 

15 any dispute involving a worker engaged in a service 

16 for the entity. 

17 (6) The entity, and all contractors and sub18 contractors in the performance of any applicable 

19 project, shall consider an individual performing any 

20 service in such performance as an employee (and not 

21 an independent contractor) of the entity, contractor, 

22 or subcontractor, respectively, unless— 

23 (A) the individual is free from control and 

24 direction in connection with the performance of 


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1 the service, both under the contract for the per2 formance of the service and in fact; 

3 (B) the service is performed outside the 

4 usual course of the business of the entity, con5 tractor, or subcontractor, respectively; and 

6 (C) the individual is customarily engaged 

7 in an independently established trade, occupa8 tion, profession, or business of the same nature 

9 as that involved in such service. 

10 (7) The entity shall prohibit the employees of 

11 all contractors and subcontractors in the perform12 ance of any applicable project from hiring employees 

13 through a temporary staffing agency unless the rel14 evant State workforce agency certifies that tem15 porary employees are necessary to address an acute, 

16 short-term labor demand. The entity may not pro17 hibit the use of certified union hiring halls. 

18 (8) The entity shall require all contractors, sub19 contractors, successors in interest of the entity, and 

20 other entities that may acquire the entity, in the 

21 performance or acquisition of any applicable project, 

22 to have— 

23 (A) an explicit policy of neutrality with re24 gard to— 


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1 (i) labor organizing for the employees 

2 of the contractor or subcontractor em3 ployed in the performance of the eligible 

4 project; and 

5 (ii) such employees’ choice to form 

6 and join labor organizations; and 

7 (B) policies that require— 

8 (i) the posting and maintenance of no9 tices in the workplace to such employees of 

10 their rights under the National Labor Re11 lations Act (29 U.S.C. 151 et seq.); and 

12 (ii) that such employees are, at the 

13 beginning of their employment in the per14 formance of the eligible project, provided 

15 notice and information regarding the em16 ployees’ rights under such Act. 

17 (9) The entity shall, for each skilled craft em18 ployed on any applicable project, demonstrate an 

19 ability to use and commit to use individuals enrolled 

20 in a Department of Labor registered apprenticeship 

21 program under subpart A of part 29 of title 29, 

22 Code of Federal Regulations, which such individuals 

23 shall, to the greatest extent practicable, constitute 

24 not less than 20 percent of the individuals working 

25 on such project. 


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1 (10) The entity shall fund and utilize, and, 

2 where appropriate, establish, a robust pre-appren3 ticeship and workforce development program, to 

4 serve BIPOC communities, in consultation with ap5 propriate labor organizations. 

6 (11) The entity, and all contractors and sub7 contractors in the performance of any applicable 

8 project, shall not request or otherwise consider the 

9 criminal history of an applicant for employment be10 fore extending a conditional offer to the applicant, 

11 unless— 

12 (A) a background check is otherwise re13 quired by law; or 

14 (B) the Secretary, in consultation with the 

15 Secretary of Energy, certifies that precluding 

16 criminal history prior to the conditional offer 

17 would pose a threat to national security. 

18 (12) The entity shall exclude companies that 

19 have been found guilty of wage theft or Occupational 

20 Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 651 et 

21 seq.) safety violations. 

22 (b) DAVIS-BACON ACT.—The Secretary of Labor 

23 shall have, with respect to the labor standards described 

24 in subparagraph (A)(i), the authority and functions set 

25 forth in Reorganization Plan Numbered 14 of 1950 (64 


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1 Stat. 1267; 5 U.S.C. App.) and section 3145 of title 40, 

2 United States Code. 

3 SEC. 202. BUY AMERICA REQUIREMENTS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—For all goods and materials an 

5 entity purchases in whole or in part with funds provided 

6 by this Act, the entity shall be required to comply with, 

7 and ensure compliance by all contractors, subcontractors, 

8 and suppliers of contractors of, the domestic content pro9 visions of the section 5323(j) of title 49, United States 

10 Code, and all applicable Federal labor and employment 

11 laws. 

12 (b) INCLUSIVE PROCUREMENT POLICIES.—Notwith13 standing any federal laws or regulations to the contrary, 

14 the entity may adhere to an inclusive procurement policy 

15 for all goods and materials that are part of any project 

16 funded in whole or in part by this Act that includes any 

17 of the following: 

18 (1) Greater domestic content than is required 

19 by Federal law. 

20 (2) A disclosure and evaluation of the embed21 ded carbon emissions of all industrial products. 

22 (3) Requirements for disclosure by the contrac23 tors, subcontractors, and suppliers of contractors 

24 of— 


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1 (A) wages and benefits of employees of the 

2 contractor, subcontractor, and suppliers; 

3 (B) training program commitments for em4 ployees and potential employees; and 

5 (C) targeted hiring commitments for mem6 bers of disadvantaged communities, including 

7 veterans, women, low-income populations, and 

8 formerly incarcerated individuals. 

9 (4) Job quality evaluation and incentives. 

10 (5) Job quality commitment enforcement, in11 cluding contract enforcement provisions for adher12 ence to job quality commitments. 

13 (6) Transparency to the public of job quality 

14 commitments and adherence to such commitments. 

Æ 


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