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IN THIS ISSUE – “We’ve Juggled and Struggled”

Capital News & Notes (CN&N) harvests California legislative and regulatory insights from dozens of media and official sources for the past week, tailored to your business and advocacy interests.  Please feel free to forward.

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FOR THE WEEK ENDING MAR. 12, 2021

 

Newsom’s Tradition-Busting State of the State: “To the California Critics Out There…”

CalMatters

With a tradition-busting speech meant to mark the tragedies of the last year while inspiring hope for the future, Gov. Gavin Newsom also worked Tuesday night to shore up support from the Californians who can keep him from being thrown out of office.

Mothers. Nurses. Teachers.

They all got shout-outs from Newsom as he delivered the annual State of the State speech from Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, hundreds of miles and a world away from the event’s usual digs at the Capitol in Sacramento. Instead of standing in the chandeliered Assembly chamber before an audience of applauding lawmakers, Newsom stood beneath dusky skies on a lush green field evoking the rebirth of spring, and looked out at an almost empty stadium symbolizing the Californians killed by COVID-19.

Instead of talking to the Legislature about an ambitious policy agenda for the coming year, as he did last year on homelessness, Newsom spoke directly to Californians whose lives have been upended by the coronavirus pandemic.

“COVID was no one’s fault—but it quickly became everyone’s burden,” Newsom said.

“Forcing hard-working Californians into impossible choices—go to work and risk infection, or stay home and lose your job. It magnified daily worries about feeding your kids, paying rent and keeping loved ones safe.”

For Newsom, the burden of the pandemic is largely political. Republicans who tried unsuccessfully to recall him five times hit the jackpot with their sixth try, when a judge gave them more time to collect signatures because of Newsom’s stay-at-home order. The signature-gathering drive gained steam as many Californians grew restless and angry from ongoing school and business shutdowns, while Newsom celebrated a lobbyist’s birthday at the posh French Laundry restaurant.

If recall supporters submit 1.5 million valid signatures by next week — which appears likely — Newsom will become just the second California governor to face a recall election. Though California voters are overwhelmingly Democratic, the rules of a recall election make it possible for a Republican to win, even without a majority of votes.

“California needs a new and better way forward,” Republican Kevin Faulconer, the former mayor of San Diego, said in a video address Tuesday, part of his campaign to challenge Newsom in the recall. “We have an opportunity to reject the failures of one-party-rule, and choose a new direction for our state.”

Newsom conceded that the state’s pandemic response had not always been smooth. “I know our progress hasn’t always felt fast enough,” he said. “And look, we’ve made mistakes. I’ve made mistakes. But we own them, learn from them, and never stop trying.”

But he gave a lengthy list of the actions that California has taken, which he argued have put the state at the nation’s forefront.

Politics formed the backdrop for the governor’s unusual speech, in which he memorialized the 54,395 Californians who have died from COVID-19, while trying to instill optimism about a vaccinated future.

“When this pandemic ends—and it will end soon—we’re not going back to normal. Normal was never good enough,” he said. “Normal accepts inequity.”

By addressing parents, teachers and workers, Newsom signaled that the speech was also meant to build support among the core Democratic constituencies who can help him beat back the recall.

“He needs to shore up support not just from individual voters, but from those that work with those voters — those who go out and mobilize,” said Mindy Romero, director of the Center for Inclusive Democracy at the University of Southern California.

A recall election will automatically generate excitement among Republicans eager to throw Newsom out of office, Romero said. Newsom’s challenge will be getting his own supporters equally enthusiastic about voting to keep him.

“You need those Democratic voters to come out, and the groups that mobilize those voters really matter,” she said.

That means building support with labor unions, corporations and progressive advocacy groups, as well as blocs of loyal Democratic voters, such as Latinos, African Americans and women.

Newsom acknowledged mothers “who’ve juggled and struggled” to care for children, keep their jobs and feed their families amid a pandemic that has had a disproportionate financial impact on women and driven many from the workforce.

He spoke of Latinos “dying from COVID at a higher rate than any other racial or ethnic group” — and touted his latest reopening plan that sets 40% of vaccines aside for low-income communities that have been hit hardest by the pandemic.

“Vaccine equity is not just the right thing to do, it is also the fastest way through the pandemic,” Newsom said. “Grocery workers prioritized. School staff prioritized. And farmworkers, put to the front of the line.”

He praised the heroism of nurses and health care workers who “despite the chaos and risks to themselves, paused to hold the hands of strangers in their final moments.”

Health care worker unions played a big role in Newsom’s 2018 election, and one has already launched a digital advertising campaign against the recall.

And even though Newsom and the powerful teachers union that backed him in 2018 have sparred recently over reopening schools, Newsom used his speech to highlight the work of teachers who are “pulling triple duty as counselors, curriculum developers, and tech specialists.”

While never directly addressing the looming recall campaign, Newsom came closer than he ever has, lobbing an aggressive attack at “naysayers and dooms-dayers.”

“To the California critics out there who are promoting partisan political power grabs with outdated prejudices, and rejecting everything that makes California truly great, we say this: We will not be distracted from getting shots in arms, and our economy booming again. This is a fight for California’s future.”

At that, the screens next to Newsom’s podium showed a grid of Democratic mayors, legislators and other elected officials — hands up in applause. “The governor made an absolutely good case today about why a recall is absolutely an irresponsible thing to be considering right now,” Democratic state Senate leader Toni Atkins later told reporters.

California GOP chairperson Jessica Millan Patterson shot back in a statement defending the party’s work to recall him: “No Gavin, these are not a few naysayers with outdated prejudices. They are hard-working Californians who are fighting to take our state back.”

When the half-hour, quickly delivered speech ended, Newsom walked off the stage to Wilco’s version of “California Stars” — the same song featured in his 2018 election commercials. It was yet another sign that this unusual State of the State speech was also the kickoff to his don’t-recall-me campaign.

https://calmatters.org/politics/2021/03/newsom-pandemic-response-voters/

 

Five Take-Aways from the State of the State

Politico

— WHAT RECALL?: Newsom’s speech barely gave a nod to the grassroots anger at the heart of the recall movement. But his one reference to the challenge was clear: “To the California critics, who are promoting partisan power grabs and outdated prejudices and rejecting everything that makes California great, we say this: We will not be distracted from getting shots in arms and our economy booming again. This is a fight for California’s future.”

— LOCATION, LOCATION: For the first time in decades, the governor took his official annual message outside of Sacramento — no accident in what could be a recall year. By hitting the Southland, the former San Francisco mayor gave a nod to the voting powerhouse that could hold the key to his future. The choice of Dodger Stadium was particularly symbolic: The home of last year’s World Series champs is now one of the busiest mass vaccination sites in the nation. And the nearly 55,000 empty seats numbered nearly as many Californians who have been lost to Covid-19 — a sobering visual.

— HIS OWN VOICE: Newsom’s high-profile lobbyist friend Jason Kinney, with his long experience as a speechwriter, is thought to have had a major imprint on Newsom’s big oratory moments, including his prior State of the State speeches. But that was before Kinney’s invite to his French Laundry birthday dinner forever affected Newsom’s political future and fired up the then-lagging recall movement. We’re told Newsom himself had the pen on this one. What we saw: Shorter (28 minutes) remarks and a crisper delivery — a departure from past addresses and recent livestream events, which have at times gone way, way over the hour mark.

— ‘MEETING THE MOMENT’ (YES, HE SAID IT): Newsom began last year’s SOTS with a brag about California’s robust economy, saying that the state — “America’s coming attraction” — was “leading the country, inventing the future, and inspiring the nation.” This year, the hopeful “California Dream” theme remained, repurposed for the Covid era: “We led – on gay rights, gun safety, and criminal justice reform. And now, we lead on combating COVID.”

— BOTTOM LINE: Newsom’s third State of the State will come to define the California governor at a critical juncture in his political career — as a recall campaign threatens to roil already-stressed California and its politics for the remainder of the year. He’ll now be judged by voters on his optimistic predictions about what lies ahead — and on whether he can, in fact, deliver that elusive “light at the end of the tunnel.’’ No small task.

 

Newsomspeak Made Clear…Well, Sort Of…

CalMatters

Gov. Gavin Newsom sure has a way with words.

For a year now, the governor has been offering updates at least twice a week on the state of the pandemic and the economy. That’s given millions of house-bound Californians — maybe not otherwise inclined to flip on the gubernatorial YouTube channel in the middle of a weekday — a taste of what political reporters who cover Newsom have known for years: The governor loves his jargon.

Never satisfied with one syllable when seven will do, his speeches are wondrous broadsides of statistics, acronyms and Silicon Valley buzzwords. Pity the journalist looking for a snappy quote.

It’s a rhetorical approach that has served the governor well in the past. Newsom has a prodigious memory for facts and figures — something he says he has honed in response to his dyslexia, which makes it difficult for him to rely on cue cards or teleprompters. His facility with policy minutia can impress well-versed advocates, academics and newspaper editorial boards. Every January, when the governor presents his proposed budget for the coming year, Newsom is most in his element. At the presentation earlier this year, he waxed wonky for nearly three hours. The impression that kind of performance tends to leave is indelible: No matter what a recent “Saturday Night Live” skit might suggest, there is in fact a working brain beneath that shellacked sweep of ashen hair.

But to a broader, less plugged-in audience, the response to that communication style is often “huh?” rather than “wow.”

The most memorable example: While on tour promoting his 2013 book “Citizenville,” Newsom tried to convey its thesis to late-night comedy show host Stephen Colbert with a few particularly knotty tendrils of word salad. The “broadcast model of governing” needs to experience a revolution akin to the “contours” of change that have rocked the media industry, Newsom explained. “Big is getting small and small is getting big.”

“What the f— does any of that mean?” asked Colbert.

Political analyst Sherry Bebitch Jeffe said Newsom’s speaking style is more than a shtick. It’s who he is.

“He’s a technocrat. He’s a policy wonk. And it shows,” she said. “You watch him, and his face lights up when he gets into the real nitty-gritty, which I’m not sure most people are even interested in. They just want to know what is being done and why what is not being done is not being done.”

As for all those impressive budget presentations, Jeffe said: “I can almost guarantee you that the average Californian did not consider that appointment television.”

The governor has a particular way with the English language. Confused? Brush up on these common words, phrases and idioms:

To meet the moment

To do a good job

Throughput

Things that I have done

Painting in bold colors

Thinking big

Iterative processes

Trial and error

Stretch goal

An ambitious and probably unrealistic target

To socialize

To make information public

With intentionality

Not just winging it

A mindset of abundance

Not being stingy

We’re many parts, but one body

We’re in this together

Advancing a deep dive into an equity frame

Being fair

And much more…

https://calmatters.org/politics/2021/03/newsom-jargon-pandemic-economy/?mc_cid=b2d6a61507&mc_eid=2833f18cca

 

CA GOP & the Governor’s Recall – Widen the Rift or Bridge the Gap?

Politico

A campaign to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom offers California Republicans their best chance in a generation to retake the blue-state governorship. First, they have to get their own house in order.

The shrunken California Republican Party is hoping to revive its fortunes by capitalizing on coronavirus discontent to unseat Newsom. The prospect of toppling a Democratic governor with White House aspirations has energized California conservatives and drawn national attention and funding.

But fault lines are already emerging within the would-be GOP governor movement. Republicans hoping to replace Newsom are bludgeoning one another even before the recall has qualified, accusing one another of being too establishment, too inexperienced or too moderate. The early California jockeying reflects simmering national tensions in the wake of President Donald Trump’s departure.

“Republicans are headed for a clash in the 2022 primaries about who’s going to control the party — is it going to be Trump and his acolytes or is the party going to move on with establishment conservatives like Liz Cheney?” said Republican strategist Rob Stutzman, who worked on the successful 2003 recall campaign for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. “It’s essentially an earlier, available version for this proxy fight to take place.”

As California has turned increasingly liberal and Democratic over the past two decades, Republicans have virtually no hope of winning the California governorship in a general election. The party hasn’t won a statewide office since Schwarzenegger’s re-election in 2006, after which the movie star warned Republicans they were “dying at the box office” in California because they were too conservative.

A recall poses two questions to voters on a ballot expected this fall: whether to keep the governor and who should replace him. If Newsom cannot muster a majority on the first question, there is no limit to candidates who can put their name in as potential successors — and the list cannot include Newsom. If the vote total splits among numerous contenders, the path to the governorship could run through a small plurality.

Two prominent Republicans have already launched their campaigns — former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and businessman John Cox, who lost badly to Newsom in 2018. From the start, they have launched broadsides at each other. And that’s before other potential Republican heavyweights such as Richard Grenell, the former Trump administration official, have engaged in the race.

Some conservatives are issuing early warnings that excessive infighting could cost them a singular opportunity. Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) said in a radio interview this week that a Republican would prevail only if there’s a candidate that “basically everybody unites behind,” lest a crowded field fracture the vote.

Channeling frustration with Newsom may not be enough for a Republican to carry a state where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by 5 million voters. California conservatives would need to coalesce behind a candidate who can bridge establishment-minded centrists and the loyalist base.

“I think that’s going to be the biggest thing we’re worried about going forward,” said Greg Lansing, a prominent San Diego Republican donor who served as a Trump delegate. “At some point at least one of them needs to drop out. Republicans shouldn’t be fighting amongst themselves.”

Faulconer is seeking to position himself as the most viable moderate contender. He rode support from mainline business groups and other traditional Republican supporters to become mayor of California’s second-largest city. While Faulconer voted for former President Donald Trump in 2020 and visited the president at the White House, he also distanced himself from Trump’s hardline positions on issues like immigration, promoting cross-border trade over a border wall.

Since launching his gubernatorial run, Faulconer has quickly sought to position himself as the establishment pick. He rolled out a slate of endorsements from Republican lawmakers. A mailer from his campaign stresses that Faulconer was able to win in populous, diverse San Diego by persuading independent voters. That offers a “credible shot at winning statewide, despite California’s challenging voter registration,” the piece argues.

But convincing the Chamber of Commerce is different from convincing MAGA adherents. Faulconer’s foes are already seeking to portray him as a milquetoast moderate who would not excite voters. Cox, who lost to Newsom in a landslide in 2018, has highlighted dubious real estate deals to try and portray Faulconer as corrupt. Cox attacked his rival in an ad entitled “Gavin Faulconer.”

“I’m attacking corruption. I’m attacking incompetence and mismanagement. I don’t care if it’s Republican or Democrat,” Cox said in an interview. “I don’t think Kevin Faulconer has any business running for governor.”

Faulconer has also drawn steady fire from former San Diego Councilman Carl DeMaio, a longtime rival and staunch Trump supporter who hosts a popular conservative talk radio show. DeMaio launched a website that portrays Faulconer as a liberal in disguise, drawing a public rebuke from Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.).

Choosing an establishment-favored centrist like Faulconer would squander the energy and enthusiasm galvanizing California Republicans, DeMaio argues. He said California Republicans, desperate for a victory, have “demoralized the base” by seeking to elevate someone more like the Democrats.”

“It is vitally important to rebuild the infrastructure in the state. A recall race – win, lose, or draw – can be a real turning point for the Republican Party. You can only do this if you have a candidate you can be proud of and who can motivate the base,” DeMaio said in an interview, arguing that Faulconer’s ascendancy was “part of the death-spiral of the Republican party” and calling Faulconer “Meg Whitman without the dress.”

DeMaio has advocated instead for Grenell, who served in the Trump administration as ambassador to Germany and acting director of national intelligence. Grenell has laid some initial groundwork for a potential run and hinted at it during a Conservative Political Action conference speech.

If Grenell enters the race, he would likely draw in Trump loyalists and drain support from Faulconer and Cox. He could tap into a national funding network. But Newsom and his allies would welcome an opportunity to make the recall a referendum on Trump — a point the Faulconer camp is all too happy to make.

While Trump was broadly toxic in California, he was immensely popular among the Republican base. More than six million Californians voted for him in 2020. California Republicans have struggled for years to reconcile Trump’s enduring appeal with pleas to resuscitate the party with a more inclusive, centrist message that can bring in independent voters.

The all-comers dynamic of California’s recall could actually buoy Republicans, argued Anne Dunsmore, a Republican veteran of the 2003 recall who manages one of committees gathering signatures. She argued that multiple Republican candidates could weaken Newsom with a barrage from all sides, although she conceded there is more of a risk if a single fallback Democrat runs and consolidates the liberal vote.

“I think there are people waiting and I think there are Democrats on that list,” Dunsmore said, but if multiple credible Republicans are running, “they might beat on each other a bit but Newsom is going to be a target for about $30 [million] to $50 million of advertising and effort to point out how bad he is.”

Optimistic Republicans argue that the jockeying will subside as the strongest candidate emerges. They point to the 2003 recall, a melee that drew in scores of candidates but resulted in Schwarzengger winning back the governorship for Republicans. “The field consolidated, and the strongest Republican won, and we put the state on a different path,” said Ron Nehring, a Faulconer surrogate and former California Republican Party chair.

“The one criteria that matters more than any other is the Republican candidate needs the proven ability to win in Democratic areas, and Kevin Faulconer has done that,” Nehring said. “That’s critically important when running statewide in today’s California.”

San Diego has served as launching pad for Republicans who “have demonstrated they can win and show leadership in a place that’s thought of as a more left-leaning environment,” said Robb Korinke, a Democratic strategist. But that may not be the type of credential a plurality of Republican voters are looking for. Korinke described Faulconer as the “type of Republican who’s interested in bond yields, not Dr. Seuss.”

“Is it going to be that talk radio brand of conservatism or someone who has occupied city hall in an urban environment?” Korinke said. “How popular is Mitt Romney on talk radio? Not very.”

https://www.politico.com/states/california/story/2021/03/10/the-fighting-over-californias-top-job-has-begun-among-republicans-1367493

 

Biden Administration Races to Set Climate Change Agenda

Wall Street Journal excerpt

WASHINGTON—The Biden administration is racing to complete a wide-ranging climate-change strategy next month, enlisting agencies across the government to craft a plan that could reshape the U.S. economy and disrupt major industries.

President Biden and his senior aides are exploring pairing executive actions—like tighter pollution standards, targeted investments and changes in federal procurement—with congressional action to speed a shift toward low-carbon energy. The effort could rock fossil-fuel companies and boost renewable energy businesses, while for the first time putting extensive government requirements on the financial sector regarding climate policy.

Administration officials are casting their strategy as a central component of their plan to revive the economy amid the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

“The things that we can do today to address climate are really plentiful, and will allow us to actually bounce back from Covid,” Gina McCarthy, the White House national climate adviser, said in an interview. “If the entire government works together, we can do things that won’t ask for sacrifice.”

Business groups, even those that have warmed to government action on climate change, are concerned about a potentially heavy-handed reach into the economy. Many—like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Petroleum Institute—support legislation to penalize carbon emissions across the economy, for instance, but balk at sector-targeted administrative actions.

“The business community needs a legislative solution,” said Christopher Guith, who oversees policy for an energy arm of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “Regulations that swing wildly from one administration to the next create too much uncertainty, inhibiting long-term planning.”

The Paris climate agreement, from which President Donald Trump withdrew and which Mr. Biden moved to rejoin during his first week in office, urges countries to ratchet up their emissions-reduction commitments every five years. Mr. Biden and his senior aides are under pressure from other nations to issue an ambitious target that will signal the U.S.’s commitment to the effort to reduce the emissions that most scientists say are the main contributor to increasing global temperatures.

Biden administration officials have said they plan to unveil a new U.S. target for emissions reductions during a global climate-change summit in Washington next month. It will set a goal for reducing U.S. emissions over the next nine years.

In private meetings in recent weeks, according to people involved in the discussions, outside environmental groups and climate data analysts have encouraged the White House to nearly double the emissions reduction target that then-President Barack Obama set in 2014. At the time, Mr. Obama promised to slash U.S. emissions 26% to 28% below 2005 levels by 2025.

The groups have presented modeling to the White House making the case that a target in the range of 50% below 2005 levels by 2030 is achievable, the people said, if it accounts for actions already being taken by cities, states, businesses and local governments. Last year, total U.S. emissions were about 21% lower than in 2005 in part because of the pause in economic activity driven by the pandemic.

Ms. McCarthy declined to preview the coming target. “This is not going to be about what’s my favorite idea, or what might I want to hope for.…We’re going to let the data drive the result,” she said, referring to climate modeling and other analytics that will help administration officials decide what emissions cuts are possible. She also has spoken with utilities and auto manufacturers as the White House weighs next steps.

As the April 22 Earth Day summit approaches, the White House has launched an all-of-government analysis to craft a target that is both ambitious and achievable, according to administration officials.

Since his inauguration in January, Mr. Biden has suspended new oil and gas leases on federal land, his energy secretary effectively reopened a dormant $40-billion loan program for clean-energy projects, and the administration began pushing Congress for trillions in infrastructure spending.

Mr. Biden also has taken early steps to mobilize the entire executive branch, tapping federal agencies that had previously not been considered to have a role in climate policy, like the Treasury and Agriculture departments. His nominee to run the Securities and Exchange Commission pledged to require financial disclosures on climate-related risks, which would likely raise financing costs for some fossil-fuel projects. And a new agenda from his U.S. Trade Representative includes considering taxes on imports based on their carbon emissions.

Many of the moves so far have been preliminary, or process-oriented. But the administration has signaled it is planning to go big, tapping high-profile environmental champions to advise Mr. Biden and installing senior officials focused on climate change at key agencies.

Former Secretary of State John Kerry, who helped negotiate the Paris agreement, will handle international climate talks as the U.S. special presidential envoy for climate. He will travel to London, Paris and Brussels this week to meet with European officials about global climate issues.

Ms. McCarthy—an architect of some of the country’s first greenhouse-gas emissions limits on industry as a top ranking official in Mr. Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency—will focus on domestic climate policy.

Mr. Biden has established a National Climate Task Force, chaired by Ms. McCarthy, to generate ideas to address climate change at every level of government. Ms. McCarthy said the task force has expanded as agencies—including the Education Department, which is weighing curricula about climate change—have asked to join.

The April deadline for establishing the target is ambitious. People involved in the process described a logistical effort requiring coordination at every level of government, data analysis and policy planning. The Obama administration spent about nine months developing its climate target in 2014, say people who worked on it.

At the same time, environmental groups, scientists and prominent figures like former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg have been planning for this moment for years. In recent months, several issued policy papers with recommendations, and environmentalists have been working together to calculate the overall emissions impact of state and local policies—and potential new federal policies—in hopes their analysis could assist a future Democratic administration seeking an ambitious climate target.

A 2019 report from climate advocates projected that U.S. states, cities and businesses alone could reduce U.S. emissions to 37% below 2005 levels by 2030. With additional federal actions to drive a rapid reduction in electricity-sector emissions and wide use of electric vehicles, that number could increase to 49%, the report said.

“Getting to 50% is going to take a broad-based and pretty significant effort across the entire federal economy, as well as cities, states and local governments,” said Nathan Hultman, the director of the University of Maryland’s Center for Global Sustainability and one of the authors of the report. “We can do it—the trends of the last few years are showing us we can do it. It’s going to be hard.”

That has led the administration to consider an aggressive sector-by-sector approach, reviewing current trends and projections to determine how much emissions can be reduced in major swaths of the economy like transportation, heavy industry and utilities.

The effort faces significant political challenges. The president will have to weigh skepticism from Republicans, as he looks for cooperation on Capitol Hill, and concerns about economic harm and job losses.

The administration already has faced criticism from Republicans and even some union allies for halting new oil leasing on federal land and revoking a permit for the Keystone XL oil pipeline on his first day in office. The pipeline’s developer halted the project immediately and laid off 1,000 workers, after Mr. Biden’s first-day executive order on Keystone.

“We should be thinking about all those ways that we assure that those jobs that are already in place—good-paying jobs that are sustaining families—that we don’t take them out in one fell swoop,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R., Alaska) said Friday at an energy conference, referring to Mr. Biden’s early climate-related executive orders.

Ms. McCarthy acknowledged the difficulty of shifting laid-off workers to new jobs. The administration says it is creating a new Office of Energy Jobs at the Energy Department, and developing a cross-agency strategy to support workers in oil, natural gas and coal communities.

“We know that’s a challenge, but we don’t think it’s above our ability to tackle it,” she said, adding that she hoped to work with the fossil fuel industry on the matter.

The president is planning to unveil in the coming weeks a potentially multi-trillion-dollar legislative package centered on improving U.S. infrastructure and addressing climate.

Advocates say a huge cash infusion like the one Mr. Biden is proposing is likely the fastest way to advance the president’s climate goals by investing in technology to capture emissions, deploy more electric vehicles and develop wind, solar and other emissions-free energy sources, plus the massive transmission system to connect them.

“The biggest signal they can give that America is back is a multi-trillion-dollar infrastructure bill approved by Congress,” said National Wildlife Federation President Collin O’Mara. “It’s real skin in the game and a level of seriousness unparalleled in the entire world.”