The bipartisan infrastructure bill (H.R.3684, which includes some positive provisions, but is not a climate bill) passed the Senate in August. House leadership had said they would hold that bill and wouldn’t bring it up for a vote until the Build Back Better Act was ready to pass alongside. Last month, however, House leadership changed its mind and tried to pass the infrastructure bill on its own.

Thankfully, the faith and environmental communities mobilized, our champs in the House stood strong, and the vote was cancelled. House leadership and the White House re-committed to waiting until both bills could pass together.

The good news: that show of commitment brought moderates to the table, and negotiations on the Build Back Better Act started making real progress. House committees wrote up their version of the Build Back Better Act as a $3.5 trillion bill that met almost all of our climate and environmental justice priorities. (Bill text here)

The bad news: The Senate has always been the bigger hurdle. Progress in negotiations there means the bill is shrinking, from $3.5 trillion to somewhere around $2 trillion or less. IPL continues to push for a bigger and bolder bill, with investments that meet the needs of our communities.