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- 133 House Democrats sent a letter to Biden outlining climate provisions they want included in a bill.
- The provisions include a clean water standard and a carbon-free electric grid by 2025.
- Biden's $1 trillion bipartisan deal doesn't have these, but a party-line reconciliation bill could.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
Last week, President Joe Biden's infrastructure deal with a bipartisan group of senators, while largely focused on roads and bridges, eliminated some climate measures from his initial $2 trillion plan.
Democrats likely have another bite at the apple with a party-line reconciliation bill, and House Democrats want to ensure climate doesn't get left behind.
Led by Reps. Mike Levin of California, Sharice Davids of Kansas, and Andy Kim of New Jersey, 133 House Democrats sent a letter to Biden on Thursday, urging him to meet the scale of the climate crisis. They wrote that Biden's original American Jobs Plan had robust climate measures, and they want those measures to be included in a final package that will improve the "nation's environmental resiliency."
"Not only will these components of the plan create jobs in our communities, but they will also at long last catapult our nation's infrastructure into the 21st century," the Democrats wrote.
Here are the five climate provisions they want included in a final infrastructure plan:
- Reaching the goal for the US to have a 100% carbon-free energy powered electricity grid, along with new transportation and buildings, by 2025;
- Improving water infrastructure and delivering on the right to clean water;
- Supporting the creation of millions of high-quality, well-paying union jobs in the clean energy sector;
- Ensuring justice and equity for low-income and communities of color harmed by toxic pollution;
- And investing in natural infrastructure, like lands and water, to increase carbon sequestration and reduce pollution.
Although Biden is promoting the bipartisan deal as a climate remedy, Democratic lawmakers have criticized the plan for cutting many climate-related elements out of the president's initial proposal. For example, as Insider previously reported, $213 billion for affordable, green housing was cut from the plan, along with $35 billion in climate research.
"I've said all along: no climate, no deal," Democratic Sen. Ed Markey wrote on Twitter last week. "The bipartisan framework doesn't get us there. So I agree with our leadership that this must be resolved in reconciliation. Until then, I'm still no climate, no deal - let's get this done."