Combating Climate Change

As a former small businessman with an engineering background, Raja understands both the science and economics of climate change and he knows that the time for America’s clean energy future is now. A cleaner environment and a stronger economy are not competing goals, as many in Congress seem to believe. Instead, nations that lead the way in developing clean energy technology today will gain a competitive advantage in creating the high-paying jobs of tomorrow.

In 2018, Raja founded the bipartisan Congressional Solar Caucus to raise awareness for how policymakers, business leaders, and academic experts can work together to foster jobs, growth, and America’s leadership in the solar industry. Through his leadership on this caucus, Raja successfully ushered bipartisan legislation into law to increase funding for programs that lower solar “soft costs,” making it cheaper and easier for residents and local governments to “go solar.” 

Importantly, he co-led the bicameral Solar Energy Manufacturing for America Act to boost U.S. production of solar technology; this legislation was signed into law in 2021 as part of the landmark Inflation Reduction Act. 

Raja is also a member of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC), the preeminent group in the U.S. Congress committed to sustainability and clean energy. He is the co-chair of the “Clean Power Task Force” on this caucus. 

Raja cosponsored, among other critical initiatives:

• The 100% Clean Energy Economy Act, which restores the United States as a global climate leader by setting a nationwide goal of achieving a 100% clean energy economy by 2050
• The RECLAIM Act, which will distribute more than $1 billion to states and tribes over five years to clean up abandoned mine sites
• The Arctic Cultural Coastal Plains Act, which repealed harmful Republican provisions that allowed for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
• The Restore our Parks and Public Lands Act, legislation that will dedicate funding to repairing aging infrastructure on lands managed by the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Land Management
• The Bears Ears National Monument Expansion Act, which expands the boundaries of the Bears Ears National Monument in Utah
• The Paris Agreement, an international treaty on climate change. Raja strongly supported President Biden’s move to reenter the U.S. into this agreement.

Now is the time to combat this global threat in a smart way that saves our environment while preserving and creating jobs. Raja’s first resolution in Congress, H.Res.85, sought to compel the White House to stay within the Paris Agreement and to work with US allies that signed the Paris Agreement to combat climate change. 

For his efforts in defending the environment and advocating for a clean energy economy, Raja has proudly received the endorsement of the Sierra Club and the League of Conservation Voters.