logo
episode-header-image
Apr 2021
12m 38s

Within Biden's Infrastructure Plan Lies ...

NPR
About this episode
The details in President Biden's proposed $2 trillion infrastructure plan have a lot to do with protecting the environment. There's a new clean electricity standard and a focus on low-income communities hit hardest by climate change. But will it be enough?

NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben reports on how some progressives in congress wished Biden's plan was more ambitious. While many republicans, like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, see it as an overreach and have vowed to fight it.

Dr. Leah Stokes, a professor in the department of political science at the University of California, Santa Barbara, says that she'd favor a quicker timeline but still thinks Biden's plan will go a long way for curbing the effects of climate change.

In participating regions, you'll also hear from local journalists about what's happening in your community.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy
Up next
Today
Sen. Kelly says Trump doesn't “understand the Constitution”
Facing the threat of a potential military court martial and possible questions from the FBI, Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona spoke to NPR's Scott Detrow. This comes after Kelly, a Navy veteran and former astronaut, appeared with five other Democratic lawmakers in a video le ... Show More
15m 22s
Yesterday
Navigating vaccine misinformation with a pediatrician
<p dir="ltr">The CDC recently rewrote its vaccine guidance to suggest shots might cause autism, renewing false claims about vaccines and causing anxiety among parents. Physicians often deal with misinformation, but the difference is that it's now coming from the federal governmen ... Show More
10m 4s
Nov 23
Can progressive mayors save the Democratic Party?
<p class="readrate">New York City’s mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani built a coalition of voters who were engaged by his charisma and his campaign’s focus on key issues such as affordable transportation, housing and childcare. Mamdani has pointed to Boston mayor Michelle Wu, who was ju ... Show More
16m 3s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2021
Assessing Biden’s Climate Plan
<p>President Biden’s plans for curbing the most devastating impacts of a changing climate are ambitious.</p><p>His administration is not only planning a sharp U-turn from the previous White House — former President Donald Trump openly mocked the science behind human-caused climat ... Show More
25m 51s
Apr 2021
How's Biden Doing
70 days into the first 100 days we take the temperature of the Biden presidency and ask how he's doing, and how he's doing so much. What made sleepy Joe such an active president? Is it him or the people around him? And how should the Republicans respond? Plus we discuss what it w ... Show More
38m 40s
Apr 2021
U.S. Renews Its Commitment To Addressing Climate Change
President Biden is hosting dozens of world leaders for a virtual climate summit on Thursday and Friday. The administration is trying to regain ground lost by pulling out of the Paris climate agreement during the Trump administration. The Biden team is promising dramatic cuts in g ... Show More
13m 45s
Apr 2022
Biden’s Climate Shift
<p>On the campaign trail and when he first came to office, President Biden had ambitious plans to deal with climate change, including promises to reduce fossil fuel production. </p><p>Since the start of the war in Ukraine, however, Mr. Biden has largely stopped making the case fo ... Show More
22m 57s
Sep 2021
Big Climate Policies Hang in Limbo
With several major deadlines looming, U.S. lawmakers remain divided on how to move forward with the bipartisan infrastructure bill and Democrats’ larger $3.5 billion spending package — both of which contain critical funding and programs to fight climate change and promote clean e ... Show More
36m 35s
Sep 2021
The Democrats Who Might Block Biden’s Infrastructure Plan
<p>The first year of a Congress is usually the best time for a president to put forward any sort of ambitious policy. For President Biden, whose control of Congress is fragile, the urgency is particularly intense.</p><p>But now members of his own party are threatening to block on ... Show More
30m 47s
Apr 2021
Inside the Biden Infrastructure Plan
<p>President Biden is pushing the boundaries of how most Americans think of infrastructure.</p><p>In a speech on Wednesday, he laid out his vision for revitalizing the nation’s infrastructure in broad, sweeping terms: evoking racial equality, climate change and support for the mi ... Show More
26m 4s
Aug 2022
Is the US getting serious about climate change?
This week the US Senate passed the biggest package of climate change measures in American history. The Inflation Reduction Act, which is expected to be passed by the House and signed into law by President Biden, includes $369bn in funding for climate and clean energy policies. It ... Show More
49m 11s
Jan 2021
Biden Takes on the Climate Crisis
It's Climate day for the Biden administration... David Chalian explains how even as the President takes action to tackle the Climate crisis, he may face headwinds from some fellow Democrats. Plus, how after yesterday's procedural vote it's possible to think both that the Senate w ... Show More
10m 2s