When the bipartisan infrastructure framework released, it was easy to see why climate activists would be alarmed. The bipartisan plan was to deal with the so-called “hard” infrastructure elements, and climate-related initiatives were severely minimized within it. The second bill was supposed to bring in the social spending on things like education and the care economy, similar to what’s laid out in the American Families Plan. Especially because every Democrat will be needed for the reconciliation package, including climate-unfriendly types like Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), you could envision how climate might get squeezed out of the final outcome, at great cost to the future of the planet. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) started raising the alarm on this a few weeks ago.
So climate hawks went to work. The noise level has risen inside and outside Congress, demanding that the reconciliation package include strong climate measures. #NoClimateNoDeal trended. Gangs of both progressives and even climate hawk moderates have been formed, each with particular sets of priorities for that second bill.
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