Senate Democrats took an important step forward Wednesday on efforts to combat climate change, passing the Clean Energy for America Act out of the Senate Finance Committee on a party-line vote (because GOP lawmakers apparently oppose clean energy). The bill addresses one of the central climate planks of President Joe Biden's American Jobs Plan by repealing tax incentives for fossil fuels and ensuring the tax code only rewards clean energy investments that produce zero or net-negative carbon emissions. Whether it would move forward as a standalone bill or potentially be folded into a larger jobs bill remains unclear, but it's likely a measure that could be passed by a simple majority vote through reconciliation, which is critical to any bill’s chances of becoming law these days.
Advancement of the legislation also provides the perfect opportunity to revisit how unbelievably popular Biden's clean-energy push is with Americans.
Fresh polling released Thursday from Navigator Research shows that fricking 78% of registered voters agree with the statement, "America should make significant investments in clean energy as part of our efforts to rebuild the economy." That even gets majority support from GOP voters. Here's the breakdown:
- Democrats: 98% agree
- Independents: 87% agree
- Republicans: 55% agree
Even as the questioning grows more specific and Biden's name is attached to several clean-energy initiatives within his jobs plan, nearly 70% still express support for the climate proposals.
The exact question asks, "As you may know, President Biden has proposed including a number of climate-related initiatives in the ‘American Jobs Plan,’ such as investing in clean energy, like wind energy and solar power, modernizing our electric grid, increasing electric vehicle production, and ensuring everyone has access to clean air and water. Do you support or oppose including these policies in the ‘American Jobs Plan’?"
Overall, 69% of registered voters said they supported the policies, including 95% of Democrats, 76% of independents, and 39% of Republicans.
This is what's known as overwhelming public support. The drop among Republicans was predictable as soon as Biden's name was inserted into the mix. Nonetheless, nearly 40% of GOP voters still support the initiatives.
The favorable views of Biden's clean-energy initiatives are a clear reflection of another finding from the poll: 67% of voters view climate change as a serious problem for Americans "today," and another 70% believe climate change will be a serious problem for their children and future generations of their family.
Voters also seem aware that their views on climate change are shifting into a more urgent phase. When asked if they've become more or less supportive of transitioning to cleaner energy sources "over the last few years" or if their opinion hadn't changed, 68% said they had become more supportive, including 87% of Democrats, 70% of independents, and 45% of Republicans.
Biden's clean-energy initiatives are another example of how provisions within his plan tend to poll better than the overall plan. The survey found 55% support for Biden's American Jobs Plan, with just 23% opposition. That leaves room to grow support for the entire measure among almost a quarter of the electorate.
Democrats should clearly be talking about the individual provisions of their choosing, because most of them poll at least as good—but often better—than the overall plan does. People like these policies and support for the overall plan will likely rise the more people understand what it entails.