Democrats’ Spending Bill Is Costly. But Not Passing It Is Far More So.

(Bloomberg Opinion) -- The Democrats’ budget reconciliation bill isn’t perfect. It’s too much of a grab bag of social spending programs, not all of which I support, and not all of which we can afford. But legislating — and governing — requires compromise. The question is not: “Is the bill what I want it to be?” The question is: “Is it, on balance, good for the country?”

To me, the answer is clearly: yes. And the main reason is simple: A large part of it is a historic investment in cleaner air and a stronger, more sustainable economy.

To Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s credit, she has substantially reduced the scope and cost of the bill, while still maintaining climate change as its centerpiece and largest part. As it now stands, about one-third of the bill’s price tag is devoted to increasing the supply of clean energy, improving the energy efficiency of our buildings, reducing air pollution, and boosting climate resilience. These investments will make us healthier by reducing disease, save us money by reducing our utility costs, and put us on course to cutting our nation’s greenhouse-gas emissions in half by 2030, compared with 2005 levels — as we have committed to do.

This is the last, best hope to pass through Congress — after more than 15 years of effort — the first large investment in fighting climate change. Those who think there will be other chances should think again, especially after the recent election. Letting this opportunity slip through our fingers would be a monumental error. For all the debate over the bill’s price tag — and make no mistake; it is too high — the greatest cost to the American people would be the cost of inaction.  

It is clear from the science that climate change is a deadly and costly problem. Ignoring it will only make these dangers catastrophically worse. That is one reason why former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, who has been hawkish on inflation, supports the bill — he does not see it as a significant driver of prices, given its 10-year time frame and revenue increases.

One important piece of the bill’s climate-related funding is to improve energy efficiency in buildings, which will help cities and states retrofit and upgrade old structures and adopt clean-energy codes for new ones. There is also funding for individual homeowners to increase their energy efficiency, all which will save American families and businesses on their electric bills.

During my time in New York’s City Hall, our clean-buildings program was central to our success in raising air quality to a 50-year high, reducing diseases like asthma, increasing life expectancy by three years, shrinking our carbon footprint substantially, and — incidentally — adding quite a few good-paying jobs in the building trades.

The bill also expands tax credits for solar power, which will reduce the cost of installing rooftop solar panels by about 30%, allowing homeowners and renters to further reduce their monthly electric bills. It contains incentives for utilities to move from coal and gas to renewables, accelerating a transition that is already underway but that needs to move faster. And it will ensure more wind farms can be built off the Atlantic coast.

The bill would benefit America’s farmers, many of whom have personally experienced the threats that climate change poses to their livelihoods. The bill will help them finance conservation efforts and climate-friendly practices that make their land more productive, their income more stable, and their communities safer.

The bill also includes funding to improve the resilience of neighborhoods, so when disasters strike — including hurricanes, forest fires, derechos and floods — the damage and costs are mitigated. And it contains provisions that assist low-income communities that have traditionally borne the brunt of air and water pollution — including cleaning up Superfund sites and replacing lead pipes.

In 2020, we elected a Democratic Congress to do what Republicans proved incapable of doing: addressing problems through legislation. If instead their promises ring hollow, voters will not forget it. This month’s elections offer an early warning of what happens when the party in charge has few accomplishments to run on.

Democrats won’t get this chance again, and neither will the nation. The overall bill is hardly perfect, but a major portion of it would produce health, environmental and economic benefits that we can’t afford to lose.

Michael R. Bloomberg is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News, and UN Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions.

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