SHORING UP DEFENSES: A bipartisan, bicameral bill being introduced today aims to broaden the scope of projects authorized for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to protect shoreline communities from erosion, coastal storm hazards and other impacts of climate change. The Shoreline Health Oversight, Restoration, Resilience and Enhancement (SHORRE) Act also authorizes a number of specific water resources, beach nourishment and conservation projects in coastal areas ranging from the Great Lakes to the Louisiana coast. "In the United States, more than 127 million people live in coastal counties, which represents more than 40 percent of our nation's population. If coastal counties were their own nation, they would rank third in the world in gross domestic product—beaten only by China and the U.S. as a whole. This isn't solely a challenge for red states or blue states," said Senate Environment and Public Works Chair Tom Carper (D-Del.) in a statement. Carper and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), along with Reps. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) and Garret Graves (R-La.), are introducing the bill. The legislation builds off of past iterations of the Water Resources Development Act, which is up for renewal this year and could be an avenue for the SHORRE Act to become law. Read the bill text here. APPROPS TO YOU: Congress' top appropriators reached a deal on an omnibus topline Wednesday, raising funding levels beyond those approved in the twilight of the Trump administration. Though the lawmakers wouldn't reveal the number, the agreement is a major milestone toward passing an omnibus that has eluded Congress for almost half the fiscal year. Pro's Jennifer Scholtes has more. CAN AN IRANIAN NUKE DEAL BE REACHED?: Oil prices cooled earlier this week, which analysts partially attributed to optimism over a new Iran nuclear deal that could end sanctions on Iranian crude. But that optimism wasn't reflected in the Senate, where lawmakers expressed alarm over how close the country is to producing enough material for a nuclear weapon, POLITICO's Andrew Desiderio reports. Top administration officials briefing lawmakers said Iran could have sufficient material within two months, complicating the calculus for a new nuclear deal. "I don't think members know exactly what re-entry [into the deal] means. What is the deal? Is it exactly the way it was? Is it different? If so, how? What are we giving?" Senate Foreign Relations Chair Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) said after the briefing. "They should walk away when they see there's not a good deal to be had. I don't know what the timing of that is, but whenever that is, the window is closing fast." Even if negotiators in Vienna achieve a breakthrough, Republicans on the Hill are making it clear they will block any attempt to rejoin a nuclear deal without congressional approval. Read more from Andrew. A NEW NUCLEAR RACE: Senators from both parties stressed nuclear power as an important part of a carbon-free energy future during an Environment and Public Works committee hearing Wednesday, but they expressed concerns the U.S. was falling behind Europe, Russia and China. Not only is nuclear prohibitively expensive and time consuming to deploy in the U.S., but the country also does not have a uniform, long-term solution for its used fuel, lawmakers and witnesses said. "Nearly 50 countries are projected to have markets for advanced nuclear before 2050, a more than $360 billion annual market opportunity for the American supply chain," said Jeremy Harrell, chief strategy officer at conservative research nonprofit ClearPath. "And make no mistake about it if the US does not seize that opportunity, China and Russia will." The hearing focused on two pieces of bipartisan legislation that would address lawmakers' concerns: the American Nuclear Infrastructure Act, S. 2373 (117), which includes programs to help both maintain the current nuclear fleet and ease permitting costs for advanced nuclear projects; and the STRANDED Act, S. 1290 (117), which would help communities manage leftover nuclear waste. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, who introduced the STRANDED Act, noted communities need federal assistance to handle stranded nuclear waste since it could take years to develop a more permanent national storage solution. "In the meantime, cities like Zion remain a de facto nuclear storage facility. And that's simply not fair to the community," Duckworth said, citing an Illinois city whose nuclear power plant closed decades ago. BBBENEFITS: Utility CEOs got some face time on Wednesday with President Joe Biden, urging him to get the clean energy portions of the Build Back Better bill past the finish line and emphasizing the need for investment in large-scale transmission. Local reception to clean energy projects has been "very positive," said American Electric Power CEO Nick Akins, but "where we run into some issues is when there's large-scale transmission ... We really do need to find ways to scope large transmission to get renewables to the big cities." Biden had a little fun at his predecessor's expense during the meeting, ribbing former President Donald Trump's suggestion that wind turbine noise can cause cancer. "Are you getting less resistance when you start talking about wind?" Biden asked. "I know they cause cancer. Bad joke." The room returned some chuckles. Pro's Catherine Morehouse has more from the meeting. BBB's clean energy tax credits could have benefits 3 to 4 times their costs, according to a new analysis by the University of Chicago and Rhodium Group. That return on investment lends considerable ballast to environmentalists' argument that doing nothing would be far more expensive than working to avert climate change. "Cumulatively, the benefits from the policies range from $335 billion to $1.8 trillion, while the costs range from $130 billion to $309 billion," the report said. That's only accounting for the costs of carbon emissions and doesn't include other environmental benefits. Read the full report here. BUILD BACK NEVER? But Democrats are conceding BBB may never happen, reports POLITICO's Burgess Everett. After Democrats' signature climate and social spending package came to a screeching halt last December, the caucus is taking a cooling off period to focus on other priorities, including the Postal Service, sexual misconduct reform, appropriations, the Supreme Court, the Violence Against Women Act, and possibly changing the Electoral Count Act and sanctioning Russia. That could mean a revived BBB will get pushed until the spring or later, with most Democrats acknowledging it wouldn't get a revamp before April, Burgess reports. HYDROGEN HEARING: The Senate Energy Committee has a hearing today on uses for clean hydrogen. Sen. James Lankford will be filling in for ranking member John Barrasso, whose wife recently underwent surgery.
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