Inside EPA Covers Thriving Economy Project
House Democrats, Experts Float Post-Midterm Climate Policy ‘Menu’
Katie Taranto
09/15/2026
A group of House Democrats and clean energy experts are floating a wide-ranging “policy blueprint” with more than 800 energy- and environment-related policies that they hope the next Congress will consider, including calls to address energy affordability, climate change risks and clean energy deployment.
The report, dubbed the “Thriving Economy Project,” offers “a menu of policy ideas that are there to create jobs, to lower energy costs, spur that American ingenuity and entrepreneurship, and build stronger, more resilient communities,” said Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL), who served as chair of the project, during a Sept. 15 webinar announcing the report.
The Sustainable Energy & Environment Coalition (SEEC) Institute compiled the report, which was developed with various climate experts and nine House Democrats, underscoring policies that authors hope will succeed if Democrats re-take control of the House following the November midterms.
“I'm excited that once Democrats take back the House, we can begin to take real action, and this project gives us the tools we need to make that happen,” said Rep. Nikki Budzinski (D-IL), who led a chapter on agricultural policy.
Broadly, the report’s messaging eschews a heavy focus on climate change or environmental justice policies -- key themes from Democrats’ agenda during the Biden era -- which nods both to the party’s broad messaging shift on the issue as well as the fact that any bills enacted during the next Congress must be signed by President Trump.
The 253-page document is the first “major forward-looking policy development effort” from the institute, which was established in 2024 to work alongside the congressional SEEC caucus. Its 824 recommendations span agricultural and rural economies, tribal development, clean energy, energy security, climate finance and other sectors. It seeks to spur a “stronger, more sustainable economy” amid growing energy demand and increased costs, climate change, global competition and aging infrastructure.
“The Thriving Economy Project begins from a premise that is both simple and increasingly urgent: the economy and the environment were never separate conversations,” the report reads. “The country needs a policymaking framework reflecting that reality.”
The new publication follows a similar left-leaning policy report published by former Biden officials and others in July. However, many elements of that report are aimed at the next Democratic presidential administration, while Castor said the SEEC report is “not intended to sit on the shelf until the year 2029.”
“This is a launch today, and it's going to be up to members of Congress, policymakers, coalitions across the country to help us now tackle, pick from the menu of options, [and] hammer it out into legislation. But the groundwork has been laid, and time is of the essence,” she said.
‘Cheap, Abundant’ Clean Energy
One section spearheaded by Rep. Mike Levin (D-CA) offers numerous recommendations to create “cheap, abundant, and clean American energy for all,” with the goal of modernizing the electric sector. Other chapters promote a “nationally secure, globally competitive” energy sector, while floating “accessible, low-cost finance” policies to promote these goals.
“Our proposed solutions and policy recommendations are all rooted in one central premise that working families must be the focus of any plan for a thriving economy, and that begins by addressing energy affordability,” Levin said during the webinar.
He highlighted the proposed creation of a federal “strategic energy affordability reserve” that would tax oil and gas profits to provide ratepayer assistance, subsidize transportation costs and energy-efficient home appliances. States could receive these funds through an “energy affordability emergency” declared by the president -- although Levin said he doesn’t “expect [Trump] to do this.”
The plan also calls for an energy price safety valve, “to provide immediate price relief for Americans by temporarily constraining exports of [liquefied natural gas (LNG)], refined gasoline, diesel, and home heating oil,” the report says.
Levin also recommends reforming the Federal Power Act to streamline siting for interstate transmission lines so that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) “can issue a construction permit without [the Energy Department (DOE)] having to designate a national transmission corridor first,” if it concludes that a transmission line would be “in the national interest.”
Elsewhere, the SEEC report advocates national “time of use rates” that would create two hours of daily free electricity while also reforming the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).
It also promotes regulations on utility price gouging during extreme weather, and limiting LNG exports to ensure they “will not raise domestic energy prices or harm vulnerable communities” as the Trump administration has sought to expand LNG exports.
“Current law requires the Secretary of Energy to approve exports of LNG that are consistent with the public interest, but the interests of energy producers and consumers often differ,” the report reads. “To ensure energy affordability, the Secretary of Energy should first determine that exports will not likely materially increase energy prices or energy price volatility for U.S. consumers nor create a disproportionate health or environmental burden on rural, low-income, minority, and other vulnerable communities.”
Also, the report prioritizes restoring and expanding Biden-era clean energy tax credits introduced under the Inflation Reduction Act.
“While this report is forward-looking, we also want to be sure that we bring back and improve the policies that we already know work, like clean energy tax credits,” Levin said.
Data Centers
The report also suggests a slew of policies targeted toward artificial intelligence (AI) and the data center boom, with a focus on transparent planning, ratepayer protections and grid reliability.
“We know data center energy use is rising dramatically as racks become more power dense,” the report states. “To date, the federal government has asked little of the technology sector in terms of reporting. Moreover, there is insufficient transparency on future energy use.”
Proposed policies include data center energy and water use disclosure requirements, and mandates for DOE to collect and publish information about data center proposals, in addition to implementing an “Energy Star-equivalent program for AI tools.”
For ratepayers, the SEEC report seeks a “federal floor for ratepayer protection from the costs of serving new large loads,” which could include attributes like early termination and exit fees, requirements for utilities to recognize flexible large loads, and minimum requirements for “community engagement and Community Benefit Agreements (CBA).”
The report also says DOE should establish a standardized system for waste heat and water usage reporting while encouraging resource conservation. And it suggests the creation of a “U.S. Electron Accelerator” that would support the deployment of “abundant renewables, storage, and [long duration energy storage] alongside clean, firm generation” at data center sites through a fee-and-rebate initiative.
Such a program “will help meet community needs because Americans support data centers using clean energy by a 25-point margin and oppose data centers using fossil energy by a 16-point margin,” the report says. “[D]ata centers should use new, clean energy instead of building behind-the-meter natural gas plants that will drive up the cost of natural gas for ratepayers.”
Other recommendations include the creation of a new data center-supported fund for LIHEAP, weatherization, and home energy rebate programs.