I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1135 
To impose an assessment related to fossil fuel emissions, to establish the 
Polluters Pay Climate Fund, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 7, 2025 
Mr. NADLER (for himself, Ms. CHU, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Ms. DEAN of 
Pennsylvania, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. NORTON, Mrs. RAMI-
REZ, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. LEE of Pennsylvania, Mr. RASKIN, 
Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. BALINT, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. 
MCGOVERN, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. CAR-
SON, and Ms. OMAR) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees 
on Transportation and Infrastructure, and Energy and Commerce, 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 com-
mittee concerned 
A BILL 
To impose an assessment related to fossil fuel emissions, 
to establish the Polluters Pay Climate Fund, and for 
other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Polluters Pay Climate 
Fund Act of 2025’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
17:51 Mar 07, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1135.IH
H1135
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
(1) climate change, resulting primarily from the 
combustion of fossil fuels, is an immediate, grave 
threat to the communities, environment, and econ-
omy of the United States; 
(2) severe consequences of climate change have 
already materialized in the United States, including 
rising sea levels, increasing temperatures, extreme 
weather events, flooding, heat waves, loss of bio-
diversity, and other climate change-driven ecosystem 
threats; 
(3) the Federal Government jointly with States 
and localities must develop and implement protective 
measures to counteract the adverse effects of climate 
change, protect communities, and build resilience to 
extreme weather; 
(4) the government response must include pro-
tections for communities that are most vulnerable to 
climate change impacts, especially communities of 
color, low-income communities, and Tribal and In-
digenous communities that are also more likely to 
have experienced systemic disinvestment and be 
overburdened by fossil fuel pollution; 
(5) the protective measures necessary to re-
spond to the adverse effects of climate change in the 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
17:51 Mar 07, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1135.IH
H1135
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
United States will require trillions of dollars of new 
investment during the decade after the date of en-
actment of this Act; 
(6) climate change related extreme weather 
events, such as those described in paragraph (2), 
cost the United States at least $150,000,000,000 
each year and disproportionately affect underserved 
and overburdened communities, according to the 
Fifth National Climate Assessment; 
(7) the $100,000,000,000 each year that fossil 
fuel companies are collectively assessed for the Pol-
luters Pay Climate Fund established in this Act rep-
resents only a small portion of the total cost to the 
Federal government to respond to climate change re-
lated extreme weather events and make needed cli-
mate change adaptation and resilience investments; 
(8) peer-reviewed research can now determine 
with great accuracy the share of carbon dioxide re-
leased into the atmosphere by the operations and 
products of specific fossil fuel companies, which is 
what informs the formulas to determine carbon diox-
ide emissions that are used in the amendments made 
by this Act; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
17:51 Mar 07, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1135.IH
H1135
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
(9) the fossil fuel industry has been aware of 
the central role that their product plays in causing 
climate change since before the year 2000; 
(10) the fossil fuel industry must now increase 
their contribution to government expenditures to 
protect the Nation from climate disaster; and 
(11) this Act and assessments under the 
amendments made by this Act are not intended— 
(A) to be a determination of fault; or 
(B) to have any impact on the ability of 
any person or other government to hold pol-
luters accountable for harms caused. 
SEC. 3. TAX RELATING TO CURRENT STOCK OF GREEN-
HOUSE GAS EMISSIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 38 of the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the 
following new subchapter: 
‘‘Subchapter E—Certain Fossil Fuel 
Emissions 
‘‘Sec. 4691. Imposition of tax. 
‘‘SEC. 4691. IMPOSITION OF TAX. 
‘‘(a) IMPOSITION.—Each assessable person shall pay 
to the Secretary of the Treasury not later than the appli-
cable payment date a tax in an amount determined under 
subsection (b). 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
17:51 Mar 07, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1135.IH
H1135
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
‘‘(b) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to each as-
sessable person, the tax under this section shall be 
equal to an amount that bears the same ratio to 
$1,000,000,000,000 as— 
‘‘(A) the assessable person’s applicable 
share of covered carbon dioxide emissions taken 
into account under this section, bears to 
‘‘(B) the aggregate applicable shares of 
covered carbon dioxide emissions of all assess-
able persons taken into account under this sec-
tion. 
‘‘(2) 
DETERMINATION
OF
APPLICABLE 
SHARE.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The applicable share 
of covered carbon dioxide emissions taken into 
account under this section for any assessable 
person shall be the excess (if any) of— 
‘‘(i) the covered carbon dioxide emis-
sions attributable to such person (deter-
mined in metric tons), as determined by 
the Secretary based on product-related car-
bon dioxide emissions of such person, over 
‘‘(ii) 1,000,000,000 metric tons. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
17:51 Mar 07, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1135.IH
H1135
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
‘‘(B) ADJUSTMENT.—The Secretary may 
adjust the amount determined under subpara-
graph (A)(i) with respect to an assessable per-
son who is described in subsection (c)(2)(B)(ii) 
(or who is a successor in interest to a person 
described in such subsection) if such person es-
tablishes to the satisfaction of the Secretary 
that a portion of such amount was— 
‘‘(i) attributable to the extraction of 
crude oil by another assessable person who 
is described in subsection (c)(2)(B)(i) (or a 
successor in interest to a person described 
in such subsection), and 
‘‘(ii) taken into account in deter-
mining such amount for such other assess-
able person. 
‘‘(c) ASSESSABLE PERSON.—For purposes of this 
section— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘assessable per-
son’ means— 
‘‘(A) any person that is described in para-
graph (2), or 
‘‘(B) any successor in interest to a person 
described in paragraph (2). 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
17:51 Mar 07, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1135.IH
H1135
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
‘‘(2) PERSON
DESCRIBED.—A person is de-
scribed in this paragraph if such person— 
‘‘(A) is a United States person or is en-
gaged in a trade or business within the United 
States during the period beginning on the date 
of the enactment of this Act and ending on De-
cember 31, 2025, 
‘‘(B) during any part of the covered pe-
riod, was engaged in the trade or business of— 
‘‘(i) extracting any fossil fuel, or 
‘‘(ii) refining any crude oil, and 
‘‘(C) is determined by the Secretary to be 
responsible for more than 1,000,000,000 metric 
tons of covered carbon dioxide emissions. 
‘‘(3) CONTROLLED GROUPS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this 
subsection, all persons treated as a single em-
ployer under subsection (a) or (b) of section 52 
or subsection (m) or (o) of section 414 shall be 
treated as a single assessable person. 
‘‘(B) INCLUSION
OF
FOREIGN
CORPORA-
TIONS.—For purposes of subparagraph (A), in 
applying subsections (a) and (b) of section 52 
to this section, section 1563 shall be applied 
without regard to subsection (b)(2)(C) thereof. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
17:51 Mar 07, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1135.IH
H1135
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
‘‘(4) JOINT AND SEVERAL LIABILITY.—If more 
than one person is liable for payment of the tax 
under subsection (a) with respect to a single assess-
able person by reason of the application of para-
graph (3), all such persons shall be jointly and sev-
erally liable for payment of such tax. 
‘‘(d) OTHER DEFINITIONS AND RULES.—For pur-
poses of this section— 
‘‘(1) APPLICABLE PAYMENT DATE.—The term 
‘applicable payment date’ means September 30, 
2026. 
‘‘(2) COVERED CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS.— 
The term ‘covered carbon dioxide emissions’ means, 
with respect to any person, the total quantity of car-
bon dioxide released into the atmosphere during the 
covered period by reason such person engaging in 
the trade or business of extracting fossil fuels or of 
refining crude oil. 
‘‘(3) COVERED PERIOD.—The term ‘covered pe-
riod’ means the period that— 
‘‘(A) began on January 1, 2000, and 
‘‘(B) ended on December 31, 2023. 
‘‘(4) FOSSIL
FUEL.—The term ‘fossil fuel’ 
means coal, crude oil, and fuel gases. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
17:51 Mar 07, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1135.IH
H1135
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
‘‘(5) COAL.—The term ‘coal’ means anthracite, 
bituminous, subbituminous, and lignite coal. 
‘‘(6) CRUDE OIL.—The term ‘crude oil’ means 
oil or petroleum of any kind and in any form, includ-
ing bitumen, oil sands, heavy oil, conventional and 
unconventional oil, shale oil, natural gas liquids, con-
densates, and related fossil fuel liquids. 
‘‘(7) FUEL
GASES.—The term ‘fuel gases’ 
means natural gas, associated natural gas, conven-
tional and unconventional gas, shale gas, and related 
methane gas production. 
‘‘(8) DETERMINATION
OF
CARBON
DIOXIDE 
EMISSIONS.—In determining the amount of carbon 
dioxide emissions with respect to any assessable per-
son— 
‘‘(A) an amount equivalent to 942.5 metric 
tons of carbon dioxide shall be treated as re-
leased for every 1,000,000 pounds of coal, 
‘‘(B) an amount equivalent to 432,180 
metric tons of carbon dioxide shall be treated as 
released for every 1,000,000 barrels of crude 
oil, and 
‘‘(C) an amount equivalent to 54,440 met-
ric tons of carbon dioxide shall be treated as re-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
17:51 Mar 07, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1135.IH
H1135
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
leased for every 1,000,000,000 cubic feet of fuel 
gases. 
‘‘(e) ELECTION TO PAY LIABILITY
IN INSTALL-
MENTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An assessable person may 
elect to pay the tax under this section in 9 annual 
installments of the following amounts: 
‘‘(A) 20 percent of the tax under this sec-
tion in the case of the first installment. 
‘‘(B) 10 percent of the tax under this sec-
tion in each of the following 8 installments. 
‘‘(2) DATE FOR PAYMENT OF INSTALLMENTS.— 
If an election is made under paragraph (1), the first 
installment shall be paid on the applicable payment 
date and each succeeding installment shall be paid 
on the same date as the applicable payment date for 
each calendar year following the calendar year with 
respect to which the preceding installment was 
made. 
‘‘(3) ACCELERATION OF PAYMENT.—If there is 
an addition to tax for failure to timely pay any in-
stallment required under this subsection, a liquida-
tion or sale of substantially all the assets of the as-
sessable person (including in a title 11 or similar 
case), a cessation of business by the assessable per-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
17:51 Mar 07, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1135.IH
H1135
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS