Energy and Environment

Alex is determined to fight the existential threat of climate change. Having grown up in a low-income, heavily polluted neighborhood, he is dedicated to ensuring that every family has access to clean air and clean water. He served for six years as Chair of the California State Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities, and Communications, where he led the development of California’s ambitious renewable energy and climate policies that now serve as a model for the rest of the country. Alex’s environmental leadership has continued in the U.S. Senate. In addition to cosponsoring the Green New Deal, Alex introduced sweeping legislation to electrify our nation’s school buses and protect over one million acres of public lands in California, increasing access to nature and preserving California’s natural treasures for generations to come.

Alex understands the threat that increasingly frequent and catastrophic natural disasters and extreme weather events pose to California and the Western United States. That’s why he fought to secure millions of dollars in federal funding for flood control infrastructure to protect communities from catastrophic floods and rising sea levels. His bill the POWER ON Act was signed into law by President Biden to prevent utility outages caused by natural disasters like wildfires and other extreme weather events. And while California continues to face the threat of devastating wildfires, Alex led the successful passage of the FIRE Act, to modernize the way FEMA prepares for and responds to wildfires.

Recent News

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Chair of the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife, and Representative Scott Peters (D-Calif.-50) led a bipartisan request to congressional leadership for additional funds to repair...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held a hearing on three of U.S. Senator Alex Padilla’s (D-Calif.) bipartisan bills to promote ecosystem restoration, water conservation, and drought resiliency across the Colorado, Sacramento, and San...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife, and Representatives Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.-24), Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.-19), and Julia Brownley (D-Calif.-26) welcomed the National Oceanic and...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Chair of the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife, and Representative Scott Peters (D-Calif.-50) led a bipartisan request to congressional leadership for additional funds to repair...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held a hearing on three of U.S. Senator Alex Padilla’s (D-Calif.) bipartisan bills to promote ecosystem restoration, water conservation, and drought resiliency across the Colorado, Sacramento, and San...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife, and Representatives Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.-24), Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.-19), and Julia Brownley (D-Calif.-26) welcomed the National Oceanic and...
SAN DIEGO, CA — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Chair of the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife, and Representatives Juan Vargas (D-Calif.-52) and Scott Peters (D-Calif.-50) announced bicameral efforts to help combat the ongoing Tijuana River transboundary...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) welcomed the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) announcement of the proposed addition of the Exide Technologies – Vernon site, located in Vernon, California, to the Superfund National Priorities List. “For far too long, Southeast...
OAKLAND, CA — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), California Governor Gavin Newsom, Department of Energy Under Secretary for Infrastructure David Crane, and state leaders celebrated the official launch of the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems (ARCHES) hydrogen...
Padilla and Butler will also introduce the Sáttítla National Monument Establishment Act to designate the National Monument WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Laphonza Butler (both D-Calif.) and Representative Adam Schiff (D-Calif.-30) called on President Biden to use his authority under...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation will award $149.7 million for five California projects to build zero-emission vehicle charging and fueling infrastructure, including over $100 million for medium- and heavy-duty zero-emission...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that the first of California’s seven C-130 Hercules (C-130H) aircraft began flying missions as part of CAL FIRE’s fleet to better protect the state from...
The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded a $600 million grant to improve California’s electricity grid and build clean energy projects faster WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Laphonza Butler (both D-Calif.) and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi...