Podcast
Crunchtime for Congress on climate and energy
There’s a lot happening on climate and clean energy on Capitol Hill. The Political Climate podcast parses the state of play.
The U.S. political climate has changed a lot in 2021, especially when it comes to climate and energy issues on Capitol Hill. The Political Climate podcast has changed too. Rather than debating macro-level politics, we’re focused on analyzing concrete proposals, policy choices and getting at the “how” of achieving our shared climate goals. Unlike in the past, there is no shortage of policy action these days!
On August 10, the U.S. Senate approved a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill — the largest spending for infrastructure projects in the country in over a decade — with bipartisan support. Senators also approved a budget measure along party lines that paved the way for Democrats’ $3.5 trillion spending package, which includes a suite of climate and social initiatives.
After a weeks-long stalemate between moderates and leadership in the House over these two large pieces of legislation, it’s now crunchtime for Democrats seeking to pass their climate and clean energy priorities. This episode of Political Climate offers an insider perspective on how policy negotiations are evolving, what the top priorities are for House and Senate leadership, as well as the Biden White House, and what we can expect in the next month as both the bipartisan infrastructure bill and Democrats’ massive spending package move forward (or not).
Recommended resources:
- Vox: What’s in the new infrastructure bill — and why it’s a big deal
- Canary Media: Infrastructure bill contains less transmission funding than advertised
- Canary Media: We need gargantuan investment in EV charging stations. Where will the money come from?
- E&E: Uncertainty on reconciliation as House returns
- Canary Media: Climate policy crunchtime: We need Congress to pass a clean energy standard and tax credits
Listen and subscribe to Political Climate on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you get podcasts! Follow us on Twitter at @Poli_Climate.
Political Climate is brought to you by MCE. Today, MCE offers nearly 40 Bay Area communities almost twice the amount of renewable energy compared to the state average. The power of MCE is about more than clean energy – it’s the power of people over profit. Learn more at mceCleanEnergy.org