Bill Burns, co-chair of the Fund for America, will lead the climate action program through a newly announced administration partnership with the bipartisan policy shop.

WASHINGTON, DC (Culled) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a partnership with the Washington, D.C.-based policy shop Represent.org to advocate for a climate and clean energy agenda on Capitol Hill. Represent.org will join forces with EPA to champion climate action with key lawmakers and Republicans in both chambers of Congress.

The new program to support the restoration of the 1973 Clean Air Act’s efficiency standards will result in half of the record-setting $1.3 trillion in savings from energy efficiency and renewable energy by 2030 and reverse years of denial and weak action by the Bush Administration.

“Once again, we are unveiling a bold, bipartisan, and innovative approach to dealing with the climate crisis in the United States,” said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. “Under the leadership of EPA Administrator McCarthy, the Agency is vigorously pursuing our legally-mandated responsibilities of monitoring greenhouse gas emissions and reducing them to the lowest amounts possible under the Clean Air Act. With our latest program announcement, we’re urging Congress to pass market-based, clean energy initiatives that directly benefit the American people and our planet.

“This groundbreaking partnership is grounded in the three pillars of reducing American emissions to 80 percent below 2005 levels by 2050, investing in clean energy with a focus on solar, wind, and energy efficient buildings, and transitioning to a clean energy economy that employs Americans.”

Members of the Climate Action Program will focus on three areas to promote climate action in Congress:

Legislative Press: The new political action program will organize the environmental community to amplify the advocacy needed to secure support for EPA Administrator McCarthy’s efforts to restore environmental laws and to dismantle laws that have failed the public interest.

Fund Raising: The Climate Action Program will help the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) build political networks and connect candidates and leaders of diverse views, backgrounds, and backgrounds.

Project Reliability: Represent.org will collaborate with EPA to renew, complete, and rebuild technology initiatives focused on the clean energy grid, promoting energy efficiency and strengthening energy legislation.

Sensenbrenner, once the Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, will chair a bipartisan bipartisan task force on natural gas – established in December 2013 – and an oil and gas symposium hosted by Represent.org’s Chairman Fred Upton and Sensenbrenner himself will lead a panel of experts on energy during COP21.

Represent.org is a first of its kind nonpartisan group focused on putting a new, socially responsible and forward-thinking approach on federal issues on Capitol Hill. Represent.org was co-founded in 2010 by Curtis Ellis of the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT) and has built a list of more than 2,500 lawmakers and the public around the nation to find more bipartisan and constructive policy solutions. Representatives and leaders from Democratic and Republican groups, the public, businesses, investment bankers, think tanks, insurance companies, and mayors all support Represent.org’s efforts to harness the wisdom of the many in search of effective solutions to challenging issues.

Together, the funds from the EDF and the financial support provided by Good Jobs First, Responsible Wealth, and Micah McCoy of American Bankers’ Association will enable the Climate Action Program. The EDF will contribute up to $1.5 million for fiscal year 2014 to support this effort and up to $2 million thereafter.

To learn more about Represent.org and its work to promote the environment and commercial affairs across industries, go to Represent.org. To learn more about the EDF’s work and values, go to www.edf.org.