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A very strange feeling has come over us here at Crooked Media, is that…hope? Is it…positivity? Will the Dems finally be able to follow through on a legislative promise?
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We’re not foolish enough to count our chickens before they hatch, but it’s hard not to still be positively aglow with the prospect of a potential win, and what the actual bill itself could mean for the future of the country and our role as one of the largest producers of climate-warming emissions. In a statement today, president Biden called the bill “the most important investment—not hyperbole—the most important investment that we’ve ever made in our energy security, and developing cost savings and job-creating clean energy solutions for the future.”
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What’s also cool, is that Republicans are, like, really mad about the bill. Back in June, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) vowed Republicans would block passage of an unrelated bill subsidizing the U.S. semiconductor computer chip industry if Democrats tried to revive their agenda through budget reconciliation. Well Senate Dems passed the chips bill with bipartisan support, sending it to the president’s desk, and then hours later, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) announced that the Build Back Better-ish bill he had walked away from was back with a new name: The Inflation Reduction Act. The Senate’s resident evil Gomer Pyle, Tom Cotton (R-AR) called the bill “obviously a double-cross by Joe Manchin,” because “Just two weeks ago, he said he wasn’t going to support a bill like this.” Which is a bit like saying the guy who gave Cotton a wedgie instead of his lunch money “double crossed” him. It’s not a great sign of the health of the Senate Democratic caucus that Republicans see Manchin as one of them, but it is great to see Dems play hardball.
- Ostensibly in retaliation for the revival of the Democrats’ climate and health-care agenda, Senate Republicans (who never stop pretending to love the troop) stooped to historic lows by blocking a bipartisan bill that would expand health-care access for military veterans exposed to toxic burn pits. This is particularly transparent and disgusting because a version of the bill passed the Senate earlier this year 84-14. Now that’s a double cross. Manchin somewhat uncharacteristically fired back across the aisle, saying, “Republicans now are basically holding the veterans hostage because they’re mad. This is wrong.” Then he went on to talk about how both parties are dysfunctional and his “Republican friends” are “good people” and, I just…COME ON, MAN, YOU WERE SO CLOSE TO GETTING IT.
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Enough with Republicans being inimitably horrible: let’s get back to the hilariously-titled Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
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As we reported yesterday, the bill would set the U.S. on course to slash its greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent by 2030. An analysis from the Rhodium Group concluded that without additional policy actions, the U.S. would fall far short of Biden’s goal to reduce carbon emissions 50 percent by the end of the decade. Even though Manchin is, perhaps smartly, promoting this as a bill mostly concerned primarily with inflation and the deficit, it includes more than 100 climate and energy provisions, including clean-energy tax credits, grants, and loans. It incentivizes companies to manufacture solar panels, wind turbines and batteries, and process critical minerals. There’s $10 billion in tax credits for the construction of new clean technology and manufacturing facilities, and up to $20 billion in loans to build clean-vehicle manufacturing plants. The package would also lower the cost of electric vehicles for everyday Americans: $7,500 tax credits for new EVs and $4,500 for used ones.
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I’ll stop gushing in a minute, but the bill also earmarks $60 billion to confront the legacy of pollution in communities of color, $27 billion for a “green bank” to boost clean energy and reduce emissions with a focus on marginalized communities, $20 billion for climate-friendly agricultural development, and $5 billion in forest conservation grants. But the entire reason Manchin agreed to it is it does include certain gifts to the oil and gas industries, including requiring the Department of the Interior to offer at auction at least two-million acres onshore and 60 million acres offshore to oil and gas interests before it can proceed with renewable energy. That part, admittedly, does suck, and it’s understandable why the Center for Biological Diversity called it “a climate suicide pact.” But Leah Stokes, a climate-policy expert at the University of California, Santa Barbara, who has advised Democrats during the negotiations, still sung the bill’s praises, calling it a “game changer,” which it very well may be. Of course, this will all be for naught if Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) doesn’t vote for it, and she has pulled that shit before, but we’ll keep our extremely-cautious optimism in the meantime.
The extreme weather climate change has wrought globally has become dire and hard to escape, so while it may be tiresome to continue beating the “stakes could not be higher” drum, hopefully our elected officials finally hear it.
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On this week's episode of Pod Save The World, Tommy & Ben are joined by journalist and co-host of Crooked’s newest podcast Another Russia, Zhanna Nemtsova. They discuss her father Boris Nemtsov’s legacy, and how significant the war in Ukraine is for democracy in Ukraine, Russia and around the world.
Listen to new episodes of Pod Save The World each Wednesday on Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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A shocking new report from Reuters shows that according to police in the greater Montgomery, AL, area, a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Corporation used child labor (in some cases as young as 12-year-olds) at a metal-stamping plant operated by SMART Alabama, LLC. The plant supplies parts for some of the most popular cars and SUVs built by the automaker in its flagship Montgomery assembly plant. Hyundai responded in a statement, saying it “does not tolerate illegal employment practices at any Hyundai entity. We have policies and procedures in place that require compliance with all local, state and federal laws,” but they did not answer detailed questions from Reuters about the findings. SMART denied the allegations in a separate statement, claiming they follow federal, state, and local laws. Reuters learned of underage workers at the plant following the brief disappearance in February of a 13-year-old Guatemalan migrant child from her family's home near the plant. According to sources, her brothers, ages 12 and 15, also worked at the plant earlier this year, and as is typical of child laborers, were not going to school in order to work long shifts. The Alabama facility has a documented history of health and safety violations, including amputation hazards. Further federal workplace safety investigations are expected. Abortion isn’t federally protected, polio is back, and corporations are using child labor: what year is it?
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The Republican National Committee said that if Donald Trump launches his campaign for presidency this year, they will stop paying his legal fees, in what may be an effort to discourage him from announcing his candidacy ahead of the midterms, or maybe just because he's the world's most expensive person to legally defend.
The Seattle man arrested earlier this month for committing hate crimes and threatening to kill Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) has been charged with felony stalking.
In a surprise to no one, Ohio Republican Senate nominee and elite faux-populist darling JD Vance said if elected he would vote against codifying protections for same-sex marriage.
An incredibly brave 12 year-old girl spoke in front of the West Virginia state legislature during a public hearing for a proposed bill that would ban abortion in almost all cases, including rape and incest, and would allow doctors who perform the procedure to be prosecuted.
The Ohio man charged with two counts of raping a nine year-old girl who was forced to cross state lines for an abortion shortly after she turned 10 is being held without bail due to the overwhelming evidence against him.
Spirit and JetBlue airlines announced a merger today, just a day after Spirit’s merger with Frontier Airlines fell through. I’m sure another airline monopoly can mean only good things for the American consumer!
In Jared Kushner’s forthcoming memoir Bonesaws-n-Harm, Money, he accuses Trump’s second chief of staff John Kelly of having once shoved Ivanka Trump after a particularly volatile meeting in the Oval Office.
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) reportedly wants to be the top dog in the House if Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) retires as Speaker after this year's midterm elections, but he’ll face steep competition.
President Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke this morning amid tension and anger over House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) forthcoming visit to Taiwan, with Xi saying to Biden, “Those who play with fire will perish by it,” which, we gotta hand it to him, is pretty intimidating.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said in an official statement that he doesn’t think the U.S. is in a recession, which must be very self-soothing since he just chose to raise interest rates for the second time this summer.
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The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 climate bill couldn’t come closer to the 11th hour, as extreme weather updates continue to pour in from around the globe. Kenyan officials reported that climate change is killing more elephants than poaching. India’s monsoon season has become increasingly severe in recent decades, with 49 people killed this week just by lightning in the nation’s state of Uttar Pradesh. A piece in The New Yorker this week detailed how the entire country has been transformed by climate change, with some of its hottest days and entire months ever recorded happening this year. According to the United Nations, over 21 million people are displaced by extreme weather every year, and that number will only increase as the climate gets hotter. Domestically, massive flooding in Kentucky has killed 8 people this week, with major flooding in parts of West Virginia and Virginia as well leading to widespread power-outages. Saint Louis, MO is recovering from record-setting rain that caused flash floods across the city and its surrounding area, and the rain has resumed again. In Oregon, triple-digit heat is being investigated as the cause of death for four people in the state, as the Pacific Northwest endures sweltering weather to which it is unaccustomed. As the death toll from extreme weather continues to rise, any legislation that meaningfully addresses climate change cannot come soon enough.
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Take Action Today: Protect Clean Air & Water
The Clean Air Act requires the Environmental Protection Agency to ensure that every level of government is working to make sure there isn’t a harmful amount of pollutants in the air we breathe and the Clean Water Act regulates our water quality.
The EPA is about to open rule-makings for the Clean Air Act and has an open comment period for the Clean Water Act, and it’s key that we push them right now to cut pollution and protect our communities, health, and environment. Engagement from people like you makes it clear to the EPA that we won’t accept anything less than clear air and water. Tell the EPA to work as quickly as possible to restore our clean air and water protections.
We need to use every tool possible for action, because the news hasn’t been good lately:
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The Supreme Court issued a detrimental ruling in West Virginia v. EPA, which limits the EPA’s ability to regulate climate pollution at power plants
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Hopes are fading for Congressional climate action
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The Biden administration needs to get serious about carrying out its responsibilities under our nation’s bedrock environmental laws
But right now, the EPA can take steps to enforce stronger rules to protect clean air and clean water. Earthjustice is strengthening protections for the air we breathe and the water we drink and holding polluters accountable when they violate these protections. Join Earthjustice today to urge the EPA to strengthen clean air and clean water protections.
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