Weekly Briefing: Senate passes budget bill; Several Senators speak up for clean energy

July 2, 2025

Yesterday afternoon, the Senate passed its version of the budget reconciliation bill that dramatically rolls back America’s clean energy tax credits.

“This is an incredibly pivotal policy moment,” said Jenn Tyler, CCL’s VP of Government Affairs (pictured above) during a training on Monday night before the vote. “We know, right now, our voices are so important.”

In just three days leading up to the vote, CCL volunteers generated 2,793 calls to Senators urging them to vote no and to remove a last-minute additional tax on solar and wind.

Ultimately, three Republican Senators introduced an amendment removing that tax, which is great news! It means that our outreach helped pull back the most devastating measures in the Senate version of the bill. And in the final vote, though the bill did pass, at least one Republican Senator cited clean energy as the reason for her ‘no’ vote. Get all the details in CCL’s latest blog post.

The bill now goes back to the House for another vote. As a reminder, even with the improvements the Senate version made, it still represents a harmful weakening of clean energy tax credits, and we don’t want to see that happen.

Republicans are pressing toward their ideal timeline of having the bill on President Trump’s desk for a signature by July 4, but the House is already hitting some bumps in the road. That means the window is still open for us to make an impact.

The Senate process just showed us that enough pushback can improve the climate outcomes in this bill — and can even lead to members of Congress voting no because of the devastating impacts to clean energy.

So, let’s stay loud and keep up the drumbeat. Call your representative today! Our calling tool automatically looks up your representative and gives you a simple script to follow.

In other news this week

Make the argument in local media: Once you’ve called your representative, you can take the pressure public by writing letters to the editor of your local newspaper. Here’s the latest guidance from CCL’s Communications & Media Manager Charlotte Ward.

Take action: Hear from ‘High Conflict’ author Amanda Ripley in D.C.

If you’ve been on the fence about attending CCL’s Summer Conference and Lobby Day, now is the time to commit! We’ve recently confirmed New York Times bestselling author Amanda Ripley as a keynote speaker, and you won’t want to miss her message.

Amanda is the co-founder of Good Conflict, a media and training company that helps people reimagine conflict. She has written three award-winning, nonfiction books, one of which is called ‘High Conflict,’ which explores how humans can help one another break out of destructive feuds and generate healthy, useful conflict instead. (Seems like it might be helpful in today’s political landscape, right?)

“Real change happens when we choose common ground over gridlock,” says Ricky Bradley, CCL’s incoming Interim Executive Director, in a new video. “Now is the time for CCL volunteers to lead and to demonstrate what it truly means to work across the aisle.”

We’ll learn the skills in our jam-packed conference day, and then we’ll put them into practice with hundreds of lobby meetings on Capitol Hill, all working for the climate policy progress our country needs.

Watch Ricky’s video or jump straight to the conference registration page! Online registration closes tomorrow, July 3, at midnight.

Featured chapter: CCL Indiana - Read their feature here!

Upcoming trainings

7/10: Summer 2025 Lobby Training #2: Legislative Plan and Q&A - For the second part of this training series, CCL's Vice President of Government Affairs Jenn Tyler will provide up to the moment insights on the dynamics in Congress and how we can most effectively use our time in meetings to support our agenda. Join us!

7/16: Skills for Disagreeing Better - Are you hoping to communicate more effectively going into your lobbying meetings during the July CCL conference? Come join this fun and interactive workshop, hosted by CCL’s Braver Angels Action Team. You'll practice skills with other CCL volunteers focused on listening and sharing your perspective in ways that are thoughtful and respectful. You will learn how bridge-building and advocacy can go hand-in-hand to strengthen relationships. Join us!

WATCH: Lobbying with Impact: How to Prepare and Show Up Strong for Your Congressional Meetings - As CCL volunteers gear up for our upcoming DC lobby day, preparation is everything. Catch up on this recent training that will help you to show up confident, clear, and connected when you walk into a Congressional meeting. Watch the recording.