Schumer outlines multi-pronged strategy to save climate law
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The Senate's top Democrat tells Axios he's activated a multi-pronged strategy to salvage the 2022 climate law that he helped craft.
Why it matters: Minority Leader Chuck Schumer sees multiple pressure points to counter House-passed GOP legislation that largely halts the Inflation Reduction Act's unprecedented low-carbon energy tax credits.
- Schumer said 16 GOP senators — whom he didn't name — may be open to persuasion, and he's assembled a team of eight Democrats who have "good relationships" with them to lobby.
"We want a critical mass of Republicans to go to [Majority Leader John] Thune and say, 'You've got to change this, because I'll lose thousands of jobs in my state,'" he said in an interview.
- Democrats are citing analyses — like this one from the firm Energy Innovation — that show IRA-linked jobs and investments flowing heavily to red states.
- There are also efforts to have Democratic governors lobby GOP governors. The pitch is heavy on consumer cost arguments and the risks of ceding clean tech sectors to China, too.
The intrigue: Schumer is looking to leverage bipartisan interest in U.S. AI leadership.
- "We've gone to the AI industry and said, 'You say you need more energy. Why would you cut off the quickest, cheapest way to get more energy to the grid?'"
- He pointed to a recent letter from the Data Center Coalition — which includes Google, Meta, Microsoft and Amazon — to Thune arguing that tax "certainty" is needed.
- There's also collaboration with green groups, low-carbon energy associations, and unions on lobbying efforts.
Friction point: Schumer hopes Democrats' floor strategy can produce changes before the bill gets that far.
- "We are going to have a lot of amendments that are going to be very difficult for Republican senators to vote against," he said. "That helps them push their leadership to do something so they can avoid the painful vote."
- "Then we have another bite at the apple in the House," Schumer noted.
The other side: Republicans are confident they can get the bill to President Trump's desk, even as some acknowledge it may take longer than initially expected.
What we're watching: The Senate Finance Committee, which has yet to release its version of the budget plan's tax provisions.
- Its text will be the next tangible sign of whether Senate Republicans will make big changes to the House plan.
Reality check: It's tough to see how the IRA emerges from the reconciliation fight without getting significantly pared back.
- The White House and many top Republicans call it a "green new scam" and say the law's hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies are wasteful.
The bottom line: "I've been spending 24/7 for the last few weeks, just doing everything I can to keep some, if not all, of the improvements we made in the IRA," Schumer said.
