Build Back Better Act: What’s In, What’s Out, What’s Next
By National Media Team| Originally Published October 29, 2021 | Reading Time: 5 minutes
After months of negotiations, House Democrats have released draft legislative text spelling out the details of President Biden’s historic Build Back Better Act.
This step moves the bill towards a vote in the House, possibly as soon as Monday [the 1st] or Tuesday [the 2nd].
This framework includes nearly 100 different bold investments in major climate action on a scale never before seen in Congress. If passed and implemented, the Build Back Better Act will bring unprecedented investments in climate, care, jobs, and justice at a time of unprecedented crises.
As more and more Americans feel the growing impacts of climate change and scientists continue to ring the alarm about the need for urgent action, the policies in this bill put the United States on a path to cutting climate pollution in half by 2030; meeting our international climate goals going into 2021 United Nations Climate Change Summit, COP26; and advancing racial, economic, and environmental justice. It will transform the way we power our homes, buildings, and vehicles while reducing electricity costs; protect our communities from flooding, replace lead pipes poisoning our water, and create good-paying jobs.
As the ultra-wealthy get richer, and more and more Americans are facing economic insecurity without a basic social safety net, Build Back Better will invest in child care, pre-K and higher education, support home care for older Americans and people with disabilities, expand Medicare and Medicaid, and more.
This bill will shape our economy and society for decades to come, changing the lives of millions of people and generations after us. Passing the Build Back Better Act will move us towards a more just and livable future, and will open up the door to more transformative policies in the next few years.
And yet -- we should have been able to secure far more. Despite overwhelming support from the public (across party lines) and the 96 percent of the Democratic party, two senators in the pockets of corporate lobbyists were able to undermine this package and our fight to address the climate crisis. Senators Manchin and Sinema received record-breaking campaign money from pharmaceutical, fossil fuel, and financial industries during these negotiations -- deeply unethical and undemocratic conflicts of interest that must not be allowed to continue.
That the American people are likely going to be denied the overwhelmingly popular policies that were in earlier versions of the bill only highlights the urgent need to reform our democracy so that our government reflects the will of the people.
While there’s a lot of speculation right now about what’s in and what’s out, the reality is that we won’t know for sure until a final bill is agreed upon and signed. We still have a few more opportunities to get additional priorities included (and unfortunately, a few more steps to go through where further cuts could be made), making it all the more important for Congress to continue to hear from us loud and clear.
Bookmark this page, follow us on social media, and keep an eye out for our press releases to stay in the loop as things evolve in the coming days.
As we celebrate these victories and mourn these losses, let’s remember that people power made this possible and people power will be the way we continue to move towards justice.
Broad, intersectional movements put forward the initial vision for this bill before many thought these kinds of policies were possible. Movements helped elect President Biden and the progressive champions who advocated for Build Back Better in Congress and fought to keep it as ambitious as possible. And movements will continue organizing through a final vote to get this bill over the finish line.
In the last few months, Sierra Club organizers and volunteers hosted 133 events across the country ranging from press conferences, rallies, lobby meetings, to at-home and virtual action parties. We drove nearly 29,000 phone calls and 100,000 emails to the White House and our members of Congress, put up thousands of social media posts, and called more than 5,000 people in key districts. We have been proud to work alongside a broad coalition of partners who have courageously held hunger strikes and sit-ins, risked arrest, traveled thousands of miles, and protested on kayaks to highlight the urgency of this moment and the need for transformative action.
Together, we must continue organizing to ensure that this bill is passed, and then fully implemented at the state level so these investments reach the communities that need them most. We must reform our democracy and protect the fundamental right to vote, and ensure that our elected officials are accountable to their constituents. Then, we will continue organizing everyday in our communities and at the ballot box to build a world where all of us can thrive.
Here’s what you can do to help get the Build Back Better Act over the finish line:
Call your member of Congress and ask them to pass Build Back Better
Text ‘BBB’ to the number 69866 to be connected to your representative.
Text 'SENATORS' to the number 69866 to be connected to your senators.
Share this with two friends!
Remember, it is essential that the Build Back Better Act be paired with the bipartisan infrastructure bill, which on its own fails to address the climate crisis. Passing the bipartisan bill before the entirety of the Build Back Better Act is settled would put at risk delivering on our most important commitments. In the coming days we must keep up the pressure so that Congress and the White House know we are holding the line -- no climate, no deal!
Read more about what’s in this historic bill, and the impact it will have on our climate and our communities:
SWEEPING PACKAGE OF CLEAN ENERGY TAX INCENTIVES that are a game changer for the clean energy industry in the United States, and a game changer for climate action at home and abroad. A full 10-year tax incentive package will dramatically expand access to clean electricity, clean vehicles, and clean manufacturing, forming the backbone of the Build Back Better Act’s climate investments and accounting for a major reduction in carbon emissions. Turbocharging investments in clean electricity, and energy efficiency are key to saving the average household $500 annually in lower energy costs.
BOLD INVESTMENTS IN CLEAN ENERGY MANUFACTURING that would slash industrial pollution, create good manufacturing jobs, and bolster the supply chains we need for a swift transition to 100 percent clean energy.
ADDITIONAL MAJOR CLIMATE ACTION INVESTMENTS INCLUDE: transportation investments that would expand access to union-built electric vehicles and clean public transit and passenger rail; funding for retrofits of homes and schools to cut pollution and energy costs; protections against drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; a methane emissions reduction program; natural climate solutions that provide protection for communities from heat waves and storms while growing carbon sinks; new investments to slash industrial pollution and boost manufacturing of clean energy goods; and a Civilian Climate Corps that would help communities clean up pollution and adapt to the climate crisis.
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE INVESTMENTS including environmental and climate justice grants, nationwide lead service line replacement, electrification of diesel school buses, funding for cleaning up dirty ports and heavy-duty trucks, investments to close the nature equity gap, funding for pollution monitoring and cleanup, robust support for equitable and sustainable community development, and increased investments for community engagement under the National Environmental Policy Act.
FOSSIL FUEL SUBSIDIES ABROAD AND AT HOME: Based on estimates from the President’s budget, the Act’s repeal of international fossil fuel subsidies included in the package would represent a potential $86.2 billion in revenue over the next decade. Still, the failure to repeal domestic fossil fuel subsidies is a shortcoming that can and must be addressed by Congress.
EXTREME CARBON CAPTURE SUBSIDY MUST BE FIXED: The draft legislative text of the bill includes an exorbitant subsidy of $85 per ton of carbon captured and sequestered at coal and gas energy generation facilities, an increase from today’s $50-per-ton level. A subsidy this high could impede some of the otherwise rapid transition to clean energy in the electric sector and delay the retirement of some uneconomic coal plants, estimated at more than a quarter of the remaining fleet, that will never actually use carbon capture for the better part of a decade.
… and investments in childcare, caregiving, elder care, healthcare, and strengthening the middle class. Check out the White House’s statement for more information. We will add more information on the other details of this package early next week.
We knew this fight would not be easy, and we've known that securing the world we want requires long term organizing and governing power, with sustained and collective people power. It will happen at every level and it will take all of us showing up again and again. So take care of yourselves, feel proud of how far we've made it, and tomorrow we will continue to fight another day.