Chair John Yarmuth (D-KY) sponsored H.R. 5376, the Build Back Better Act, a budget reconciliation bill. This transformational legislation would invest $555 billion in climate, clean energy jobs, and environmental justice and help put us on a path to cut climate emissions 50% by 2030. At the center of these investments is a robust ten-year set of tax incentives totaling $320 billion for clean energy and manufacturing, transmission, electric vehicles, innovative technologies, and energy efficiency that will save households hundreds of dollars annually, are tied to strong labor provisions, and support domestic manufacturing. The bill prioritizes environmental justice through investments in environmental and climate justice block grants, funding to reduce toxic air and water pollution, provisions to electrify ports, trucks, buses and transit, and a Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund that delivers 40% of investments to disadvantaged communities, all of which help meet President Biden’s Justice40 initiative. The Build Back Better Act would also make investments in domestic manufacturing and industrial decarbonization, coupled with strong labor provisions to ensure the creation of good, union jobs in the growing clean energy economy. The Build Back Better Act would ban new oil and gas leasing off the East coast, West coast, and eastern Gulf of Mexico, fund replacement of lead pipes and clean water infrastructure, reduce methane pollution from the oil and gas industry, restore protections to the Arctic Refuge, invest in resiliency with climate-smart agriculture and coastal restoration, and so much more. On November 19, the House approved H.R. 5376 by a vote of 220-213 (House roll call vote 385). YES IS THE PRO-ENVIRONMENT VOTE. The Senate passed the precursor budget resolution (S. Con. Res. 14), but took no action on this detailed reconciliation bill in 2021.

The Build Back Better Act is the most transformative climate and environmental justice legislation in American history. As a result, LCV has made the decision to double-score this vote, a rarely-used practice employed only for landmark bills.