President Joe Biden will meet with executives from several of the country’s top power providers on Wednesday as part of his campaign to get $550 billion in energy and climate spending approved by Congress, Bloomberg reports.
The meeting takes place as Senate Democrats and the White House try to find a way to move forward with a revised version of the delayed Build Back Better Act. More than $300 billion of the $550 billion earmarked for climate and energy would go toward new and extended tax credits for wind and solar power, nuclear facilities, and other goods backed by utilities.
This is Biden’s latest attempt to enlist the help of business leaders in support of the climate spending plan. He welcomed executives from Microsoft Corp., General Motors Co., and Ford Motor Co. last month, who complimented the plan’s child and elder care services.
“The attendees and their organizations understand that the best way to ensure future economic growth is to make long-term investments that combat the climate crisis, increase the competitiveness of our industries, and protect our electrical grid from extreme weather events – all while lowering costs for American families across the country,” according to a statement from the White House, as quoted by Bloomberg.
The push to adopt the Build Back Better Bill was thwarted at the end of last year by two Democratic senators, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, who cast critical votes in the chamber. But since, Biden has pointed out the bill’s climate-change provisions as one subject where he believes a compromise can be found.
According to Edison Electric Institute President Tom Kuhn, the group also intends to make a pitch for the construction of additional transmission lines and other energy infrastructure.