In the wake of the destruction of over 1,000 homes by unprecedented December wildfires around Boulder, Colorado in the final days of 2021, and a year that saw one in three Americans experience some form of extreme weather fueled by the climate crisis, environmentally oriented lawmakers gathered to discuss the urgency surrounding the climate provisions of the Build Back Better Act and the need for Senate passage. The House has already passed a version of the legislation.
In a press briefing hosted by the advocacy groups Climate Power and the League of Conservation Voters, Chair of the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis Kathy Castor (D-Fla), Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn), Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo), and Rep. Donald McEachin (D-Va) engaged in a vigorous discussion which focused on the need for enacting the Build Back Better Act, the underlying political dynamics at play, as well as the imperative of making transformational climate progress.
The gravity of the climate crisis and the moment at hand. The press briefing began with the lawmakers making short opening statements sharing their own insights and concerns with regard to the changing climate and its impacts on the nation and planet.
- Sen. Brian Schatz observed that the planet will not stop its warming process while we sort out our politics, argue, fuss, and fight. He further noted that this has to be a generational fight, and the first step is to pass the Build Back Better Act. He concluded, “We have no other choice but to stay determined.”
- Sen. Martin Heinrich stated that we don’t get to argue with the laws of physics or to choose our own facts, which he observed is sometimes the tendency in D.C. He added that what we just saw in Colorado is the new reality of the world that we are passing on to our kids and grandkids. In New Mexico, he pointed to the costs of inaction in terms of dying cottonwoods and extreme heat.
- Sen. Tina Smith pointed to how climate change is presently posing a catastrophic stress to our communities noting that there were 22 weather disasters last year that resulted in $1 billion or more in destruction. She also pointed to massive droughts and wildfires in her home state of Minnesota. In Smith’s view, the Build Back Better legislation will also create a host of economic opportunities, lead to lower energy prices and better jobs as well. She sees Build Back Better as a call to action.
- Sen. John Hickenlooper referred to the recent Marshall fires in Colorado, noting that we are facing these events again and again throughout the nation, and observed it is ridiculous that we are willing to avoid what is a scientific truth when it comes to climate change. He further observed the horrible agony that we are subjecting our towns and communities to through inaction. Hickenlooper stated, “Now is the time to act.”
- Chair Kathy Castor stated that people across the country are demanding that Congress acts and pointed to recent climate-related catastrophes in Colorado, unprecedented heatwaves in the northwest sending thousands to the hospital, the bizarre catastrophic cold front that swept through Texas last winter, as well as Hurricane Ida, the second most destructive storm, after Katrina, in U.S. history. In her view, the new year provides an opportunity to get back to work and do the ambitious policy that must be done.
- Rep. Donald McEachin asserted that we are at an inflection point, noting that the climate crisis is the greatest threat out there, and that we must take decisive steps to curb its impact. McEachin demanded action on the Build Back Better Act, proclaiming too much is at stake, the clock is ticking, and that we cannot afford to let this opportunity pass us by.
Notably, the Build Back Better Act would also invest directly in clean energy grants and loans for rural communities, and it would direct 40 percent of investments to environmental justice communities, including communities of color and Tribes. A detailed summary of the Build Back Better Act’s climate provisions, as developed by various House of committees, can be viewed here.
Realpolitik at play and path forward to passage in the Senate. When pressed by reporters whether Senate Democrats would consider a slimmed down version of the Build Back Better Act or lift out the climate provisions as part of a separate bill, Sen. Schatz pointedly responded that they were not going to negotiate through the media, though indicated all options were on the table. Sen. Heinrich added that the"friction points" with their more challenging colleagues did not center around the bill’s climate or energy provisions.
Schatz refused to address specific queries about Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WVa), the key Democratic holdout on the legislation, and his position on the bill’s union made electric vehicle tax credit, clean energy tax, and methane fee, stating flatly, “we’re not there yet”. Schatz went on to describe the hundreds of hours of committee and staff negotiations and noted that they were starting to arrive at a package that could achieve 50 plus 1 votes.”
Some successes to note. While the lack of visible progress around the Build Back Better legislation has been a source of consternation and frustration to climate advocates, Chair Castor reminded attendees of some of significant progress and accomplishments that have been on the climate front made in the past year and a half in her remarks. Specifically,377 of the 715 recommendations in the Climate Crisis Action Plan, which was issued June 2020, have already passed the House of Representatives; and 201 of those 715 recommendations have been signed into law.
Castor underscored that the next step is getting Build Back Better Act to President Biden’s desk for signing. She concluded, “We are in a code red moment for climate” adding, “we have to use this once in a generation opportunity to start solving this climate crisis. This is our moment to deliver. We cannot let it pass us by.”