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Manchin is insisting to his colleagues that he’s seeking a good old-fashioned bipartisan solution—just like those that existed in the fantasy realms of his imagination. But as Manchin calls on everyone to slow down and talk, what he’s ignoring is the most obvious factor—momentum. Right now, President Biden’s plans are more popular than even President Biden. If Democrats move quickly, they can reshape the nation in a way that makes the biggest changes in a generation.
The plan that Manchin is determined to bring down singlehandedly contains not only roads and bridges, but assistance for elder care, veteran’s health care, and repairs to public schools. There’s not one item on the list that doesn’t enjoy a thumb’s up from the public. That includes funding the projects through an increase in the tax on corporations.
But the importance of passing the plan quickly doesn’t just affect the odds of getting most of what Biden proposed over the finish line and out there generating actual jobs and services. The faster the infrastructure plan is passed, and the more likely the other items on Biden’s list are to follow its path through Congress.
While Biden will spend most of his first address to a joint session of Congress talking up his American Families plan, that momentum may be even more important when it comes to hitting—and exceeding—the targets that Biden set last week when he hosted a virtual climate summit featuring 40 world leaders.
As part of that summit, Biden came prepared with his own promises on the future of U.S. energy. That included a commitment to reduce greenhouse gases by 50-52% by 2030. That commitment is already extremely ambitious. As the Environmental Defense Fund notes, Biden’s move was a big one, one that is appropriate to the level of concern that every government should be showing when facing the climate crisis.
“For four years, the world wondered what’s going on with the United States. Now they’re going to have to race to keep up.”
But what may be most amazing about that ambitious target, is that Biden may already be prepared to go further.
Despite the reports from fake news Fox, Biden’s plan for America’s energy future doesn’t call for cutting back to one hamburger a month. Now, as Reuters reports, it’s beginning to look as if Biden may be able to beat the promises he made in his energy plan. With support from utilities, unions, and groups across the policy spectrum, the White House is now hoping to produce 80% of U.S. power from carbon-free sources by 2030. That target could lead to another just five years later—a completely carbon-free power grid by 2035.
Maybe the most amazing thing about this amazing target is the kind of support it’s getting. That includes a letter to Biden from 13 major utilities in support of the 80% target. Right now, America’s power grid is just 40% carbon-free energy. But these utilities believe that the nation can get to 80% in this decade “at no additional cost to ratepayers in every region because the cost of renewables and batteries have come down so much.” As a report from Energy Innovation shows, this target is possible technologically, economically, and would deliver major improvement in service in addition to cutting greenhouse gases. Not least of all, the change would result in expected savings of $1.7 trillion in the cost of health care and remediating environmental damage caused by mining, drilling, and burning coal or natural gas. It would also help save 93,000 lives lost to premature death.
A plan that is achievable, won’t raise electrical rates, is supported by major utilities, and more than pays for itself just in the costs it saves—all while preventing tens of thousands of premature deaths? Yes, please. Let’s have that.
It’s not just the public and utilities that are onboard with change, the nation’s largest coal mining union is ready to step away from coal and support a program that takes them to 21st century jobs. With mining shrinking down to a tiny fraction of what it once was, it is absolutely possible right now to move quickly and transition miners into new employment in next generation energy.
All of this can happen: A major step toward averting the climate crisis, an improved and cleaner electrical grid, an end to practices that emit not just greenhouse gases by life-shortening pollution, and a healing of fault lines that have left mining communities and states resentful of necessary change. All the parts are there. All the players are onboard.
When Biden came into office, he promised a 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine within 100 days. Compared to what had been happening, it seemed an ambitious goal. Then Biden came back and raised the stakes, turning 100 million jabs into 200 million. And even that target had been obliterated, as the real number is now over 230 million.
The same thing can happen with energy. Biden has already made an ambitious proposal, but that proposal can be exceeded. There’s unprecedented support. Unlimited opportunity.
But if it’s going to happen, it needs to happen quickly. While Manchin is worried about pleasing Republicans and protecting corporations that currently pay zero taxes, momentum is bleeding away. And if this opportunity is lost, not just for America, but specifically for West Virginia, it may literally never come again.
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