Biden ally to Pete Buttigieg: 'Be strong' on climate priorities during infrastructure negotiations

• A key Senate committee leader wants the administration to prioritize climate change in infrastructure negotiations.
• Sen. Tom Carper said he’s hopeful his committee will advance bipartisan transportation infrastructure and climate change legislation soon.
• White House negotiations with Senate Republicans are ongoing.
• See more stories on Insider’s business page.

A key Senate committee leader is urging Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and White House senior staff to prioritize climate change in their negotiations with Republicans on President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion infrastructure package.

“I said ‘You’ve got to be strong. We have to be on the same page,'” Senate Environment and Public Works Chairman Tom Carper, one of Biden’s closest allies, told Insider on Thursday.

Carper said he’s hopeful his committee will pass a surface transportation reauthorization bill, including transportation infrastructure and climate change provisions, with a “strong bipartisan vote.” 

His comment came after a meeting with Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, his GOP counterpart on the committee, who is leading negotiations for Republicans. Republicans’ $568 billion proposal does not focus on climate change, but Carper said it’s important to him and to Biden to have that included.

“The idea is for Senator Capito to understand, not just from us that climate is a big concern, something we need to address. She needs to hear that from the president. They have to make that clear,” Carper said.

Has he made that clear? 

“Yes,” Carper said.

A spokesperson for Capito said she and Carper continue to work together toward an agreement.

Biden’s American Jobs Plan, among other things, calls for $174 billion to “win” the electric vehicle market, $50 billion to help improve infrastructure resilience to climate change and $35 billion to invest in clean-energy technology. 

On Friday, the White House said it’s willing to cut the overall infrastructure bill price tag down to $1.7 trillion as negotiations with Republicans continue.

Carper’s Environment and Public Works Committee has jurisdiction over roads, highways, bridges, water and climate change.

The Senate will consider a comprehensive surface transportation bill on the floor when each committee with jurisdiction over surface transportation completes its work, he said.

The Environment and Public Works committee passed a surface transportation reauthorization bill last Congress that for the first time authorized $10 billion to address climate change, including funding for electric vehicle charging stations and making transportation infrastructure more resilient. 

It died because three other committees that have jurisdiction over surface transportation did not advance legislation, he said.

“Now, we’re trying to put Humpty Dumpty back together again,” he said.

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