Details: Pelosi said passing the legislation would serve as “a model for the world.”
“The recent IPCC [report] made clear we face code red for humanity because of the climate crisis,” she said.
In a Dear Colleague letter earlier on Tuesday, Pelosi also called it “a dereliction of duty” to build U.S. infrastructure without addressing the climate crisis, which she said “enables the U.S. to meet its emission goals by 2030 and do so in a timely fashion.”
Background: Biden has pledged to curb U.S. greenhouse gas emissions 50 percent by 2030 from 2005 levels. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has said the pair of infrastructure bills sought by Democrats could cut greenhouse gas emissions 45 percent by 2030.
But the path forward on the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package remains uncertain, since its fate is tied to the bipartisan infrastructure bill that Pelosi intends to bring to a vote on Thursday. Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal said most of her members plan to oppose Thursday’s vote because they did not have a clear strategy on advancing the larger reconciliation package.
Pelosi’s move forward on the infrastructure bill this week before surface transportation funding expires Thursday marks a change from the previous plan for the House to only pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill if both chambers also agreed to the social spending package.
Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.) have both balked at the price tag of a $3.5 trillion package, and were set to meet with the president on Tuesday.
