Reconciliation Rollercoaster - Update for the New Year
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Welcome to 2022! 

Where are we in this crazy rollercoaster ride called budget reconciliation and what does the future hold?

The word from Washington right now is that work on reconciliation, or Build Back Better, has in some sense been paused while Democrats in the Senate focus on voting rights and election integrity. 

We are getting clear signals from our allies in the Senate that negotiations will be taken up again and that the process is definitely not over (despite what some in the media may say). We’ve also heard clear signals from Senator Manchin and others that there is strong potential for agreement on the climate provisions of the bill. And our allies tell us that carbon pricing is still part of the discussion.

It appears that it may be 2-3 weeks while they work on voting and election issues. We expect that negotiations on the budget will resume then, in early February. That said, it’s worth noting other upcoming business. The government is only funded through Feb 18, so Congress will have to spend time dealing with that to avoid another shutdown. The President will also be giving a State of the Union address on March 1 and is likely to release his 2023 budget proposal soon after. So we should be prepared for potential further delays in this process.

So what do we do during this current phase? 

My sense is that this is a critical time to keep the pressure on President Biden and Senate Democrats. We need to make sure they stand firm on passing strong climate measures in the budget, and it’s important that they hear from constituents that climate is a top priority. We should not wait until negotiations resume — now is the time that they are working out their negotiation strategy and plans, and so now is a key time to influence this process.

So make sure your chapter members and friends and family stay loud on this topic by writing to the President and their Senators. I know we are all feeling fatigue from this drawn out process, but we can’t let this opportunity for big climate legislation pass without staying strong to the finish and getting all we can in this bill.

Tony Sirna
CCL Strategy Director

PS Some have asked why the text on the action page does not specifically mention carbon pricing. Basically, we felt this text would be good for motivating action from people less familiar with CCL. Please note that the default message to the President and Democratic Senators specifically calls for a carbon price. 

3 Replies
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I would welcome the opportunity to do more phone banking in support of this.

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Tagging @Sabrina Elizabeth Butcher who is our expert on phone banking. 

While work on the Build Back Better has paused, we have also paused our phone banking efforts. We may use phone banking once the Senate shifts focus back to the BBB if that is strategic.

I'm so glad you enjoyed phone banking, Peter, and you will definitely be notified if we start phone banking again.

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