EXCLUSIVE: Inside the seven-figure campaign climate groups will launch to advance environmental justice
The Green New Deal Network plans to work with lawmakers and stakeholders so the billions of climate dollars from two signature Biden-era laws are implemented their fullest potential.
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FIRST THINGS FIRST
The Green New Deal Network on Wednesday will launch a multi-state, seven-figure campaign to ensure the billions of dollars in climate investments in the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act are implemented to reach their full potential.
Specifically, GNDN will work with activists, politicians, community leaders and organizations to make sure the policies in two of the signature bills passed in the last Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden reduce emissions and produce tangible benefits while also fighting against the fossil fuel-friendly provisions in the bills that prevent meaningful action on climate, jobs and justice.
GNDN will host a virtual press conference with members of Congress on Wednesday afternoon to announce the campaign and has set a goal to hold 25 million conversations about climate from now until the presidential election next year.
Supercreator is the first news outlet to report the launch.
“The best thing about our formation is, yeah, we have a cross-sectional coalition of groups at the national level, but we also have similar coalitions that we started up at the state level,” Kaniela Ing, national director for Green New Deal Network, told Supercreator in an exclusive interview ahead of tomorrow’s announcement. “So they’re the ones at state tables that are really going to be positioned to lead this work and drive these investments to our communities and door-to-door, block-by-block and state-by-state. Our job at the national level is to connect the dots and make sure that we're maximizing the power.”
Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts said in a statement to Supercreator that lawmakers were able to deliver historic and long-promised investments in climate, clean energy and resilient infrastructure last Congress because community advocates were steadfast and unrelenting in their collective demands.
“I’m proud to be a trusted messenger for this grassroots coalition in the halls of Congress,” Markey added. “And this partnership will only deepen as we work together — as advocates on the inside and the outside — to ensure that this transformative funding supports health, equity and a safe climate in the communities it was intended to reach.”
Green New Deal Network was started in 2019 and is a coalition of 15 national organizations and 20-plus state tables fighting for transformative climate legislation, union jobs, and care and justice for frontline communities.
The network claims credit for setting the tone of what the nation’s first climate legislation should look like and where federal dollars should be invested. That vision ultimately turned into the THRIVE agenda that includes intersectional policies that invest in historically overlooked and underserved communites and combat environmental racism, legacy and systemic injustices, and the climate crisis. The agenda turned into the THRIVE Act, which Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer championed and laid the groundwork for Build Back Better — President Joe Biden’s economic agenda that became the IIJA and IRA.
Ing said that in the typical policy lifecycle, a movement generates mainstream attention and politicians start paying attention, it turns into a bill and immediately the media tends to focus on the politicians and everything happening around the bill — especially when they’re as big as the IIJA or IRA.
“But once it passes, it’s radio silence. It’s like, ‘Let’s move on to the next issue. What are the politicians looking at next?” Ing said. “But really, once a law is enacted, that’s when the work starts. And everything can eight do very well, it can really make a huge impact. Or it can go awry, depending on the implementation.”
As a former state legislator in Hawaii, Ing added that while he could name countless examples of both effective and poor implementation and how it impacts different communities in different ways, the clumsy process of standing up the Affordable Care Act during the Obama administration offers a recent case study in why groups like GNDN feel their campaign is necessary.
“Once [the ACA] passed, there was a concerted attempt by those who opposed the bill, particularly Republicans, to basically render it ineffective, to defund it, and then to talk about how it doesn’t work and kind of define it once the media wasn’t paying attention to it,” he said. “And what happened was Democrats, or people who supported them, were forced to either run on the Affordable Care Act and lose or to run from it and kind of throw their party and agenda under the bus.”
Activists and organizers see this year as an opportunity to make sure their efforts don’t stop just at the enactment of the bill so they’re able to create tangible benefits in their communities, especially those hit first and worst by the climate crisis.
The reason you don’t see more of these coalitions is that the work itself is hard and many of these groups can find themselves on the opposite side of issues at times.
“So we started from a point of where can we agree?” Ing said. “Are there projects and investments that we can all agree on beforehand and where there’s not alignment, we have a space where can struggle through it proactively and in a setting that’s built on trust and shared principles rather than hashing it out in public?”
The Inflation Reduction was the result of negotiations last year between Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who initially opposed the first and more progressive version of the legislation, then known as the Build Back Better Act.
And in recent days, Manchin has expressed frustration with the Biden administration at what he perceives as a delay in setting the new guidelines that determine who receives the law’s popular electric vehicle tax credits, Burgess Everett at Politico reported. The conservative Democrat from a coal state is also displeased with those in his party who brand the IRA as a climate-justice law and not an energy-security measure.
“This is bullshit. So they’re gonna basically starve us out of energy that we have tremendous, abundant supply of because of their aspirational thoughts,” Manchin reportedly said last week during the Senate Democrats’ retreat. “I will continue to fight and I’ll do everything I can to make sure the public knows what they’re doing and what it will do to you and your economy and your lifestyle.”
Ing told me that advocates speak on behalf of the communities they represent and have entrusted them to do their work.
“And in the same way, I think members of Congress speak on behalf of their community,” he said. “So their communities are more interested in the Green New Deal? Great. If their communities are more interested in energy security? Great. As long as we’re talking about the same issues and not false solutions.”
Several sources both on the hill and at the grassroots who spoke to me while I reported this story said they were less worried about what Manchin, who can be the bane or savior of the political left’s existence depending on the day, says and are more focused on the policies he advances.
“How do we reconcile with that and make sure that even though the IRA did contain some things that could actually harm our communities, how do we maximize its benefits and minimize its harms through implementation is going to be a huge focus this year. Whatever framing that individual politicians use is less of a concern.”
It wasn’t lost on climate organizers that President Biden spent less than a minute of his State of the Union speech last week. And although government funding for next fiscal year and a farm bill will have to move and will offer room to have conversations of how we can advance climate justice through that legislation, many are bearish at the idea of passing another massive federal investment in climate in a divided Congress.
But it doesn’t mean they’re hopeless.
“While it doesn’t look like there’s going to be much activity in Congress, it’s actually an opportunity for our groups. When we’re operating at the whim of the legislative calendar, it forces us into a mode of perpetual rapid response,” Ing said. “And we have an opportunity now to be really deliberate about how we reach out to our communities and be proactive for once. So that’s what our groups should be doing — just having millions of conversations so when the next moment hits, we’re ready to go.”
IN THE KNOW
INFLATION COOLS FOR SEVENTH STRAIGHT MONTH: The Consumer Price Index showed that the costs of goods slightly decreased in January but housing, food, clothing and gas prices were high enough that it’s unlikely that the Federal Reserve slows its interest rate hikes. President Biden, of course, pointed to the numbers as proof his economic plan is working while Republicans argued that the fact that inflation has been this persistent is proof it’s time for a new direction. The full CPI report … Biden’s full statement
MSU SCHOOL SHOOTING LATEST: Lawmakers on Captiol Hill and back home in their districts reeled after the latest mass shooting, this one at Michigan State University on Monday night, the 73rd of 2023. Four people were killed and five injured; the gunman later died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head when he was confronted by police off campus. President Biden spoke to Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the White House said FBI and additional federal law enforcement were deployed to support local and state response efforts.
RELATED: FIVE YEARS AFTER PARKLAND: The MSU school shooting came on the eve of the five-year anniversary of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida when a 19-year-old gunman killed 17 people and injured 17 more. Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi's statement … House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark's statement
President Biden said that in addition to mourning the lives lost and left behind, Congress must ban assault weapons:

SENATE CONFIRMS 100TH BIDEN JUDGE: The Senate this afternoon confirmed Gina Méndez-Miró as a District Judge for the District of Puerto Rico. She is the 100th judge confirmed during the Biden administration and the first openly LGBTQ member of that court.
“Since long before the inauguration, I directed my team to make judicial confirmations a leading priority of this administration, and they acted quickly to begin consultations with Senators from both parties about how we could be as productive as possible,” President Biden said in a statement. “And we certainly have been productive.”
Leader Schumer and President Biden believe the White House and Senate can nominate and confirm more judges in the next two years than the 234 during the Trump administration. (At this point in his presidency, 85 judges were confirmed to lifetime appointments on the bench.) Biden’s full statement
HALEY LAUNCHES BID FOR PREZ: Nikki Haley, the former Republican governor of South Carolina and ambassador to the United Nations during the Trump administration, announced her campaign for president, despite pledging not to run if her former boss did.
In her campaign launch video, she spoke of her Indian heritage in what seemed like an attempt to get in front on race and gender and use it as a differentiator in a crowded field of white men — and maybe Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, a Black man, if he decides to enter the race.
“I don’t put up with bullies and when you kick back, it hurts them more if they’re wearing heels,” she said in a line that lacked less punch than her team probably thought considering she worked for politics’ biggest bully in Donald Trump.
There were your typical attacks on the 1619 Project, the Black Lives Matter movement and prominent Democrats, including President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who is technically an independent but caucuses with the Dems.
She invoked religion when discussing the 2015 mass shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, which happened during her governorship, without mentioning her opposition to closing the loophole in the background check system that enabled a gunman to obtain the weapon used to murder nine people and wound three others as they participated in a Bible study.
Her campaign will promote the usual themes common to most GOP candidates — namely, fiscal responsibility and border security — but what with a somewhat youthful flair, as she appeals to her party to make way for a new generation, a similar message Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Arkansas delivered in her response to President Biden’s State of the Union last week.
The Democratic National Committee wasted no time poking holes in Haley’s candidacy.
“Nikki Haley served in Donald Trump’s administration, has embraced the most extreme elements of the MAGA agenda and couldn’t even identify a single policy difference between herself and Trump,” DNC chair Jaime Harrison said in a statement, while pointing to what he characterized as extreme decisions on abortion rights, health care and the state tax code. “Haley’s entrance officially kicks off a messy 2024 primary race for the MAGA base that has long been brewing. Everyone get your popcorn.” The DNC’s 30-second response to the announcement
CRUZ TO RUN FOR THIRD TERM: The GOP presidential primary will not feature Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who told reporters he will run for a third Senate term instead of launching another bid for the White House. Related: “Ted Cruz tells supporters he's running for re-election to the Senate in 2024, not for president” (Jeremy Wallace and Benjamin Wermund / Houston Chronicle)
FRISCH TO CHALLENGE BOEBERT AGAIN: Adam Frisch, the lost to Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado by 546 votes in the closest race in the country last November, announced his campaign to run against her in 2024. Related: “Adam Frisch vs. Lauren Boebert rematch: The Democrat who almost won is running for Congress again” (Caitlyn Kim / Colorado Public Radio)
DI-FI TO STEP DOWN: Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California announced she will not seek reelection in 2024 ending months of speculation about the 89-year-old longest-serving senator’s future in Congress.
“Even with a divided Congress, we can still pass bills that will improve lives. Each of us was sent here to solve problems,” Feinstein said in a statement. “That’s what I’ve done for the last 30 years, and that’s what I plan to do for the next two years. My thanks to the people of California for allowing me to serve them.”
Now that she’s made it official, attention will focus on what will be an expensive campaign to succeed Feinstein, featuring candidates like California Reps. Katie Porter and Adam Schiff who have already thrown their names into the ring, and Barbara Lee who’s expected to do so in the coming weeks. Feinstein full statement … Nancy Pelosi statement … Related: “‘It Will Be Bruising’: Jockeying for Dianne Feinstein’s California Senate Seat Has Already Begun” (Abigail Tracy / Vanity Fair)
CRYPTO SPLITS LAWMAKERS: The Senate Banking Committee held a hearing on why safeguards are needed for cryptocurrency. Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, who chairs the committee, laid out seven principles in his opening statement for regulating digital assets.
“Crypto isn’t special,” he said. “We can start with these commonsense principles as we consider a regulatory framework for digital assets that puts consumers first and keeps our financial system safe.”
But some Republicans pushed back and warned against government overreach while blaming the recent industry chaos on the failure of the Securities and Exchange Commission to use the regulatory authority it already has. Related: “‘The nightmare isn’t over yet’: Senate Banking Committee reckons with FTX fallout” (Leo Schwartz / Forbes)
MEDICAL DEBT DOWN: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a new report that shows that the number of Americans with medical debt on their credit reports fell by 8.2 million from the first quarter of 2020 to the first quarter of 2022.
The report follows recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that found that the number of Americans who are part of families having trouble paying their medical bills declined by 5.5 million between 2020 and 2021.
The CFPB says the increase in the number of insured Americans over this is period is one driver of the declines and reflects the agency’s actions to highlight problems with inaccurate reporting of debt in collections. CFPB full report … CDC full report … WH fact sheet
RUSSIA REPORTEDLY RELOCATING UKRAINIAN KIDS: The State Department released an independent report that details what it describes as a vast network of Russia-run sites and processes used to relocate thousands of Ukraine’s children to areas under Russian government control.
This would violate the Geneva Convention, which governs the status and treatment of captured and wounded military personnel and civilians in wartime, and is viewed by the US government as Russia’s latest attempt to deny and suppress Ukraine’s identity, history and culture.
The Department has called on Russia to immediately stop transfers and deportations and return the children to their families or legal guardians. It is also calling on Russia to provide registration lists of Ukraine’s relocated and deported children for review from outside independent observers. Read the full report
READ ALL ABOUT IT
Andrew Moseman on the inconvenient truth about electric vehicles … Katherine J. Wu on the future of Long COVID … Drew Harwell on the data brokers now selling your mental health status … Dylan Scott on the millions of people are about to get kicked off of Medicaid … Rachel DuRose on why earthquakes are deadlier depending on where you live … Simon van Zuylen-Wood on NBA superstar and cultural lightning rod Kyrie Irving … John Herrman on Rumble, the only success story in right-wing social media … Christopher Bonanos on why it costs so much to build New York City’s subways … Tariro Mzezewa on the confusion around Rihanna’s Super Bowl dancers … Shannon Osaka on why Gen Z doesn’t want to drive
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