54 Democratic Legislators Urge Biden to Allocate Climate Funds Before His Term Ends
Lawmakers are apprehensive that climate initiatives could become politicized next year as Trump assumes the presidency and Republicans regain control of Congress.
The correspondence advocates for this action to “prevent future politicization or exploitation of climate programs” prior to the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump and a Republican-majority Congress in 2025.
According to the lawmakers, the president can achieve this “by working over the next few weeks to obligate funding from the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.”
By “obligating” these funds, it would complicate any attempts to redirect the money, potentially necessitating an act of Congress to do so.
The lawmakers are pushing for funding across a diverse array of governmental agencies, including the Departments of Energy, Agriculture, and Housing and Urban Development, the Treasury, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Postal Service.
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Additionally, $19.5 billion will be allocated over the coming years for “climate-smart agriculture and forestry mitigation activities,” the statement noted.
John Podesta, senior adviser for international climate policy, informed Reuters on December 3 that the Biden administration had surpassed $100 billion in grants through this legislation.
Among the signatories of the letter are Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), who were the sponsors of the 2019 Green New Deal resolution, which sought to expand the federal government’s role in addressing climate change.
That resolution was presented to the Senate by then-Majority Leader Mitch McConnell but did not pass. All Republicans, together with four Democrats, voted against it, while the remaining Democrats voted “present.”
Similar resolutions have been attempted since then without success. Earlier this year, Ocasio-Cortez announced a rebranding of the initiative, now referred to as the Green New Deal for Public Housing.
Co-sponsored by another signatory, Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.), this initiative aims to secure $162 billion to $234 billion to renovate public housing units, enhancing their energy efficiency while creating “green” job opportunities.
Jackson Richman and Reuters contributed to this report.
