In February 2019, as 100 Democratic freshmen entered the House, the “Green New Deal”, a non-binding proposal to fight climate change (originally promoted by the Sunrise Movement — a coalition of young people), was introduced by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Ed Markey. Much has been written about the “Deal” including an early editorial by the New York Times . It did not pass but climate moved to center stage.
After the 2020 election, President Biden and the 117th Congress were sworn in. The House remained in Democratic control (222-211)–with two seats vacant (in Louisiana’s 5th district and New York’s 22nd district). Control of the Senate moved to the Democrats (50-50 with the power to cast the tie breaking vote in the hands of Vice-President Kamala Harris) in a run-off election in Georgia on January 5, 2021 when Democrats Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock won their Senate races.
In 2021 the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law was passed providing historic resources for upgrading the power grid, improving public transit and investing in zero-emission transit and school buses, installing a nationwide EV charging network, cleaning up legacy pollution, replacing lead pipes and delivering clean water. It also helps communities safeguard against extreme weather events, catastrophic wildfires, and other climate-related disasters.
After the 2022 election, the 118th Congress was sworn in. The House flipped back into Republic control (222-212 with one vacancy). Control of the Senate stayed in the hands of the Democrats (50-50) with the power to cast the tie-breaking vote remaining in the hands of Vice-President Kamala Harris.
A big win for climate legislation came when the Biden administration passed the Inflation Reduction Act in August 2022, to date the most significant climate legislation in U.S. history. It offers funding, programs, and incentives to accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy and will likely drive significant deployment of new clean electricity resources.
In 2023 on the heels of the Inflation Reduction Act, Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) re-introduced their landmark proposal entitled the “Green New Deal.” The Green New Deal proposes to tackle the climate crisis with a 10-year mobilization that puts millions of Americans to work in good-paying, union jobs. Similar to FDR’s New Deal, these jobs would be focused on strengthening the nation’s public infrastructure as well as tackling pollution and climate damage. This has yet to pass.
Founded in 2016, the Climate Solutions Caucus is a bipartisan United States caucus in the House of Representatives and the Senate whose members are committed to taking action in response to the risks of climate change. This group speaks out and votes as a bloc about climate change issues. This group, made up of equal numbers of Republicans and Democrats, has introduced legislation to achieve a carbon tax, but some members have not always stayed committed to their climate goals. They have not, as of yet, succeeded in passing any legislation.
On January 7, 2025, The Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act was introduced in both the Senate and the House but has not progressed beyond introduction.
Trump’s budget, passed early in July and signed by the President, gutted many of the IRA provisions. Much more detail on the Budget page.
