08 March 2021
The imminent enactment of Democrats' $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package creates space for lawmakers and the White House to craft infrastructure plans with big climate and energy-related provisions.
Why it matters: President Biden, during the campaign, vowed to make low-carbon energy, climate-resilient infrastructure and transportation projects a big focus of an economic recovery package. And the Texas power crisis could give fresh momentum to investments in grid modernization.
What we're watching: A major package isn't expected to come up for votes for months, but Capitol Hill hearings this week and going forward will offer glimpses into lawmakers' thinking.
They include...
- On Wednesday, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee holds a hearing on "addressing climate change in the electricity sector and fostering economic growth.”
- A House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee panel has a Wednesday hearing on the environmental and economic case for rail transport.
- The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee meets Thursday for a hearing on power system reliability, resilience and affordability.
But, but, but: There are lots of questions right now, such as how many different packages will move (one thing to watch is the need to reauthorize five-year transportation programs), how much Democrats will again look to use budget reconciliation, and more.
What they're saying: Capital Alpha Partners' James Lucier, in a note, said the COVID-19 package passed more quickly and at a higher amount than he expected.
- "As a result, Democrats may feel increased confidence in offering an aggressive clean energy and infrastructure package as part of a bigger 'economic recovery plan' toward the end of the year," he writes.
- But Lucier's note also cautions that this will likely be more complicated than the big relief package that's expected to win final approval this week.
- "There will be more separate topics involved and thus more committees. The House-Senate Conference committee could take a long time," he writes.
The intrigue: Sen. Joe Manchin, who chairs the energy committee, tells "Axios on HBO" that he doesn't want Biden's climate and infrastructure package to move through reconciliation.
- That's the process Democrats just used for the COVID-19 relief package that makes certain spending and revenue measures immune from Senate filibuster, which is very important in the narrowly divided chamber.
- Manchin also said he wants a big infrastructure package paid for with tax increases, including a higher corporate rate and higher taxes on the wealthy.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.