"Congress is once again fighting over cuts to the federal budget, putting the government at risk of a shutdown in October. Many Republican proposals target funds for clean energy and climate change."
"Republicans are doubling down on their attacks on clean energy and climate spending, kicking off their return to Congress this week with a slew of bills and amendments that would block key funding pools established under the Inflation Reduction Act and prohibit the federal government from advancing policies aimed at reducing the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions, according to new reports.
Congress must pass a number of spending bills by Sept. 30, when current funding expires, to avoid a government shutdown. While Democrats and Republicans narrowly avoided a U.S. default last month when they reached a fragile deal to raise the debt ceiling, this week’s budget talks already appear to be on shaky ground as far-right members of the GOP continue to frame climate action and other progressive concerns through America’s culture wars.
In fact, environmentalists are accusing House Republicans of sabotaging any chance for a budget deal this fall by slipping so-called “climate poison pills” into their spending proposals. A poison pill is an amendment to a legislative bill that considerably weakens the bill’s intended effect or ruins the bill’s chances of passing.
Last week, the Clean Budget Coalition—a watchdog group composed of environmental advocacy nonprofits, including the Environmental Defense Fund, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Union of Concerned Scientists—said it found at least 17 “poison pill” amendments to appropriations bills that would block clean energy funding and impede federal efforts to address global warming."
Kristoffer Tigue reports for Inside Climate News July 11, 2023.
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