Senate Democrats will insist on adding measures to address climate change to any comprehensive infrastructure bill that Congress considers next year, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said this month in a letter to President Trump and an op-ed published in The Washington Post.
While Democrats will hold only 47 seats in the Senate during the upcoming 116th Congress, the party will control the House of Representatives, where a number of incoming freshman Democrats have made strong action on climate change a priority. Schumer’s op-ed also noted that passing an infrastructure bill through the Senate would require 60 votes and, therefore, some minority support.
Schumer’s letter and op-ed outlined a number of climate-related policies that Democrats believe should be part of any infrastructure bill, including investments in “resilient … water, waste, and sewer infrastructure.” Additionally, Schumer called for programs to support innovations in battery storage, tax credits for clean energy production and limits on methane emissions, among others. Beyond climate change policies, Schumer said an infrastructure bill should include a number of established Democratic priorities like “Buy America” requirements, Davis-Bacon wage provisions, and local hire mandates.
Both Democrats and Republicans have identified an infrastructure package as a potential source of bipartisan cooperation next year, though it remains unclear to what degree congressional Republicans and President Trump will embrace climate-related provisions to the extent called for by Sen. Schumer. However, Congress has already laid some groundwork for helping communities adapt their water infrastructure to climate change, through a new Drinking Water System Infrastructure Resilience and Sustainability program that was enacted earlier this year as part of a larger water policy bill. AMWA plans to encourage Congress to expand that program as part of an infrastructure bill that seeks to address climate change.