Support the Build Back Better plan today
Update for December 20, 2021: You may have seen the news that Senator Manchin yesterday said that he won't support Build Back Better. Today, Senate Majority Leader Schumer said that he's going to call for a vote on BBB regardless. So, keep up the pressure on the Senate to try to get this to pass. If it doesn't, we'll need to pivot to get the House to pass a new bill which can make it through the Senate.
On November 19, 2021, the House of Representatives passed the Build Back Better Act, which is the most significant climate legislation passed to date. Now, it's in the Senate's hands, so you should contact your Senator and let them know you support the Build Back Better Act, especially its climate provisions.
You've undoubtedly seen very large numbers thrown around: "A $1.75 trillion bill" or "$555 billion for climate action". It's important to note that these figures are for 10 years. We spend more than $700 billion every year on the military. That means our military budget is 10 times what we're talking about spending in this bill to address climate change.
What Build Back Better gets us, in brief
This NDRC article and the White House page about the bill both provide good detail. Here's just a quick bullet list of what the bill provides for climate action:
- Rebates and tax credits to help middle class families shift to clean electricity and vehicles,
- Incentives to make sure US companies are manufacturing what we need in decarbonizing our economy,
- Help for the deployment of cleaner transit and more energy efficient homes, including within low-income communities, and
- Investment in smarter agriculture and improved stewardship of forests.
Contact your Senator
You can use a script like the one below: