SEEC Leadership applauds passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and advancement of the Build Back Better Act

Washington D.C. – The leaders of the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC), including Co-Chairs Reps. Gerry Connolly, Doris Matsui, and Paul Tonko and Vice-Chairs Reps. Matt Cartwright, Alan Lowenthal, A. Donald McEachin, Chellie Pingree, and Mike Quigley, applauded the U.S. House of Representatives advancing the largest investments towards fighting the climate crisis in U.S. history, which are included in the Build Back Better Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

"On Friday, the U.S. House of Representatives demonstrated that we will live up to the promise we've made to future generations to protect our planet and be good stewards of our environment," the SEEC leaders said. "The climate investments in the Build Back Better Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act combined total nearly $1 trillion, which will be transformational for our country and pave the way for a fully clean economy. These investments include many policies that SEEC and our members have championed, in some cases for many years.

"The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act on its own includes the largest amount of funding Congress has ever spent on climate resilience, with $47 billion dedicated to protecting communities from the extreme fires, floods, droughts, and storms that our country is already beginning to experience. It also includes $73 billion to modernize the U.S.'s electrical grid and transmission system, which is crucial to the buildout of renewable energy that our country will need to achieve a net zero economy. Additionally, it also includes major research investments in the types of innovation that will be necessary to achieve our long-term 2050 net zero goal.

"With the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act successfully on the way to President Biden's desk, we must now redouble our efforts to follow it up with the Build Back Better Act, which is necessary to achieve the U.S.'s 2030 climate goals that we recommitted to at this month's international climate conference in Glasgow. We remain dedicated to ensuring Congress does everything it can to fight back against the climate crisis."