Governors' Wind Energy Coalition

WITH THE WHITE HOUSE INFRASTRUCTURE TALKS LIMPING ALONG, climate hawk Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse aired his fears that aggressive climate action might get pushed the side. The Rhode Island Democrat admitted on Twitter that he’s ” officially very anxious about climate legislation.” Partly to blame is the White House’s work to garner Republican in an effort to bring a bipartisan infrastructure package to Congress. That could mean the administration will have to strip out provisions tackling climate change to win over the GOP lawmakers, and there may not be enough time to take those provisions and write a separate climate-focused bill. “Climate has fallen out of the infrastructure discussion, as it took its bipartisanship detour,” he wrote. “It may not return. So then what?”

Whitehouse isn’t the only one skeptical that there’s enough time to pass two bills. “In theory, Democrats could work with Republicans to pass a ‘conventional’ infrastructure passage (e.g., roads, bridges, etc.) and use the reconciliation process to enact the climate- and social-reform-related provisions of the Jobs and Families plans that seem unlikely to garner bipartisan support,” ClearView Energy’s Kevin Book wrote in an analyst note Monday. “Practically speaking, however, a short Congressional calendar may not allow for a two-step of this sort.”