Washington Post: Moderate House Democrats urge Biden to pass climate provisions in Build Back Better.
A group of House Democrats running for reelection in competitive districts will today send a letter to President Biden urging him to move forward with the $555 billion in climate investments that have already passed the House as part of the Build Back Better Act, the mammoth bill that is Biden's top legislative priority but has all but flamed out.
The demand for climate action from moderate House Democrats in swing districts who are increasingly anxious about their electoral prospects is being led by Rep. Mike Levin (D-Calif.) and has been blessed by the League of Conservation Voters.
The letter has so far been signed by over 20 “frontliner” Democrats, including Reps. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.), Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.), Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) and Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.).
“In the two months since the House passed [BBB], mid-December tornadoes killed at least 78 people in Kentucky and late December wildfires destroyed 1,000 homes in Colorado,” they write in the letter, which was provided to The Early. “The time for [Biden] to work with the Senate to finalize and pass the strongest and most comprehensive version of the [BBB] that can get 50 Senate votes is right now. We must seize this moment for all Americans and enact these vitally important climate investments into law in the coming weeks.”
“These provisions are necessary for our districts and what constituents are demanding,” Levin, who flipped his coastal district in 2018, told The Early. “Climate change doesn't discriminate between red states and blue states and red and blue districts.”
Biden and Democratic leadership have insisted they're still pushing for BBB.
But the agenda over the next few weeks doesn't bode well for the $2 trillion stalled package in the short term: “The House and Senate return next week after the painful defeat earlier this month on another key item on [Biden’s] agenda — a voting rights bill — with a plate full of items Democrats plan to focus on. Not on the menu: Build Back Better,” our colleague Paul Kane writes.
Front-liners — the 32 House Democrats considered most at risk in the midterms by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee — are ramping up pressure on the party to adjust its midterm strategy as the list of vulnerable incumbents grows.
Biden said earlier this month that in his conversations with lawmakers “it's clear that we would be able to get support for the 500-plus billion dollars for energy and the environment.”
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) has been the biggest roadblock for Biden's sweeping package. But he's said he's open to passing stand-alone climate provisions outside of BBB.
Levin's message to Manchin: “The American people are broadly in support of [climate] investments because it's all about global competitiveness and improving the long term economic position of America.”
By: Jacqueline Alemany and Theodoric Meyer
Source: Washington Post