WASHINGTON (March 20, 2024) — Today the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology advanced a bill that would establish a major U.S. effort to innovate and decarbonize America’s concrete and asphalt sectors, boost American competitiveness, bolster supply chains, reduce co-pollutants and create jobs. The bill is named the Innovative Mitigation Partnerships for Asphalt and Concrete Technologies (IMPACT) Act of 2024.

The bill would amend the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law of 2021 by establishing a U.S. Department of Energy program for research, development and demonstration in innovative, low-emissions concrete and asphalt. It would also create an interagency technical assistance program to support the research program and its commercial applications. The bill was first introduced in the House on March 15 and follows a similar bill introduced in the U.S. Senate late last year.

Below is a statement from Angela Anderson, Director of Industrial Innovation and Carbon Removal, U.S. Climate, World Resources Institute:

"Concrete and asphalt are notoriously high-emitting sectors, with limited options for decarbonization. Yet this bill shows there is continued bipartisan support for solving this challenge. That's because decarbonizing these sectors will make these domestically produced goods more globally competitive, providing a boost to American businesses and workers.

“Notably, the IMPACT Act focuses not just on decarbonization but also on creating quality American jobs and reducing pollutants that harm our health. Limiting industrial emissions must go hand in hand with improving people’s lives and livelihoods.

“We encourage members of Congress to continue championing such holistic industrial climate policies and advance this bill.”