MEMO: House Slated to Pass Build Back Better Next Week As Prior Holdouts Keep their Word

*** Senior Sierra Club policy staff and leadership, along with grassroots volunteers, are available to discuss the urgent need for Congress to pass the Build Back Better Act. ***

Next week, the House will pass the Build Back Better Act, which will provide historic levels of investment to communities across the country dealing with the interlocking crises of climate change; public health; economic inequity; and racial, gender, and environmental injustice.

Moderates Are Expected to Keep Their Word

The Sierra Club expects the five Democrats in the House who’ve signed a commitment to vote yes on the bill to keep their word when it comes to the House floor next week. These members have publicly committed to vote on the bill by the end of next week, whether or not a full Congressional Budget Office score is ready by then. They also have publicly committed to make no cuts to the Build Back Better Act’s investments; should the CBO score find that spending exceeds revenue, they plan to pursue additional revenue. 

We expect Reps. Ed Case of Hawaii, Stephanie Murphy of Florida, Kathleen Rice of New York, Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, and Kurt Schrader of Oregon to stand on the right side of history and vote for these transformational investments in climate action, clean energy jobs, and environmental justice.

Passing the robust package of investments in climate action and adaptation into law should be a major motivator for these previous holdouts to get the Build Back Better Act over the finish line — as the climate crisis will have particularly devastating economic impacts on their own states. 

In Hawaii, for example, climate change is projected to cause bleaching of nearly all coral reefs, resulting in $500 million in local economic impacts annually. Florida will see sea level rise, more severe hurricanes, ocean acidification, tidal flooding, and saltwater intrusion — which the state is spending $4 billion to combat. In New York, sea level rise combined with bigger storms will mean flooding and coastal erosion, costing tens of billions of dollars per year. Oregon will take a significant economic hit from searing temperatures, coastal erosion and flooding, water shortages, and drought.

Environmental advocates, voters, and communities nationwide will be watching to ensure these representatives keep their word and vote on this transformational climate legislation next week.

The Bipartisan Bill Is Not the Climate Bill

The bipartisan infrastructure bill that the House passed last week is not the climate bill we need to tackle this crisis. Analysis from Princeton University shows the bipartisan bill alone would mean a mere 1% reduction in climate pollution by 2030 — essentially a continuation of the untenable status quo. To meet our climate goals, failure on the Build Back Better Act is not an option. Passing the Build Back Better Act in addition to the inadequate bipartisan bill is the only way to achieve President Biden’s goal of cutting climate pollution in half by 2030 while investing in a more just, healthy, and equitable future for our communities. 

The bipartisan bill alone also fails to meaningfully advance environmental justice. Without the broader Build Back Better Act, it will not protect frontline communities or deliver meaningful investments that address generations of environmental harm, and air, water, and land pollution. Unlike the Build Back Better Act, the bipartisan bill does not include a commitment to deliver at least 40% of the benefits to disadvantaged communities.

In contrast to the bipartisan bill, the Build Back Better Act includes 133 investments in climate action, clean energy jobs, and environmental justice. That includes: 

• a game-changing suite of tax incentives that will dramatically expand access to clean electricity,

• transportation investments that will boost access to union-built electric vehicles and clean public transit,

• nationwide replacement of lead pipes,

• retrofits of homes to cut pollution and energy costs,

• climate and environmental justice grants,

• a methane emissions reduction program,

• a drilling ban and safeguards for the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge,

• protections for our forests and urban green spaces,

• new investments to slash industrial pollution and boost manufacturing of clean energy goods,

• and a Civilian Climate Corps to help communities adapt to the climate crisis.

The Sierra Club calls on all House Democrats to vote YES next week on the Build Back Better Act to deliver climate action at the speed and scale that justice and science demand.