House and Senate Democrats set out on Wednesday to promote an array of green energy policies included in the $1.85 trillion social welfare and climate-focused spending bill party lawmakers hope to pass the House this week.

President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better legislation includes new government programs and subsidies and features policy measures and significant financial investments to end fossil fuel use, reduce carbon emissions, and increase mass transit.

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Speaker Nancy Pelosi appeared on the Capitol steps with climate activists to declare Congress’s “moral obligation” to address climate change.

“We have a responsibility to future generations,” the California Democrat said.

Pelosi plans to put the spending bill on the floor this week with a vote as early as Thursday.

Lawmakers await more cost analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, as some reports show it has not been able to verify claims by Democrats that the measure would be fully offset with new tax revenue.

Meanwhile, Democrats are eager to please climate activists who complained the bipartisan infrastructure legislation Biden signed into law on Tuesday leaves out many of the green energy initiatives they sought.

The $1.2 trillion measure pays for new roads, bridges, waterways, and broadband. Still, it leaves out much of the mass transit and anti-fossil fuel policy House Democrats initially included in their plan. Instead, it funds new electric vehicle charging stations.

Democrats described the infrastructure bill as a first step in addressing the so-called climate crisis, arguing the Build Back Better legislation will go much further to implement green energy policies.

“The investments in clean energy and transportation will put us on a path to delivering on the president’s ambitious goal a reduction of greenhouse gases by 50% by 2030,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, on Wednesday. “That’s an extremely ambitious goal. And we are going to do everything we can to meet it. That’s why President Biden and I are working day and night to make sure this bill gets done.”

Schumer told the crowd gathered outside the Capitol the effects of climate change will be “worse than COVID” every year unless Congress acts.

“But don’t despair America, don’t despair world,” Schumer said. ” Our Built Back Better tackles climate in a bold, ambitious way by making targeted investments in American industries, infrastructure, and agriculture, to create millions of jobs with good wages while restoring our manufacturing competitiveness.”

Schumer told lawmakers he plans to bring up the measure by Christmas, assuming the House passes the bill this week.

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He faces resistance from Democratic centrists Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona. Manchin is no fan of anti-fossil fuel provisions, arguing they are unrealistic, unfair, and would lead to crippling energy prices that will hurt the poor the most.

Polling shows voters do not rank climate change a high priority.

Gallup’s October 2021 survey of voters found only 3% consider climate change to be the most important problem facing the nation. Climate change did not top the list of major voter concerns in the 2020 presidential election.

Original Location: Democrats tout green energy policies ahead of spending bill vote

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