ICYMI: Biden-Harris Administration Showcases How American Jobs Plan Invests in Clean Energy and Tackles the Climate Crisis

The Biden-Harris Administration has been traveling across America to underscore the need for the historic investments in the American Jobs Plan to reimagine and rebuild the economy while tackling the climate crisis. Members of President Biden's Jobs Cabinet and the National Climate Advisor have participated in community events, media interviews, and more to illustrate how the American Jobs Plan will spur clean energy jobs and address climate change.

Administration leaders have visited communities to showcase the need for resilient and sustainable infrastructure that can withstand the impacts of climate change, highlight the impact of eliminating and replacing 100% of lead pipes to ensure clean drinking water, and demonstrate the potential for America to win markets of the future like electric vehicles – all while highlighting how we can create good-paying, union jobs that will power a clean energy future.

See below for coverage on American Jobs Plan visits highlighting clean energy:

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in Memphis, Tennessee

Credit: Jon Rondone/The Commercial Appeal

Memphis Commercial Appeal: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visits I-40 bridge, work expected to last through July
[Samuel Hardiman and Daniel Connolly, 6/3/21]

"Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg toured the damaged Hernando de Soto Bridge on Thursday, part of a larger visit to discuss the lingering economic impact of a bridge shutdown that has now lasted more than three weeks … After touring the bridge repair site, Buttigieg, the nation's top federal transportation official, told reporters he hoped his visit would highlight the bridge's importance. "And we want to make sure that national attention and resources are available to help the state and local authorities who are resolving this and working toward a safe reopening of the bridge."

WATE-TV (ABC Little Rock): Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg tours I-40 bridge in Memphis, pushes infrastructure plan
[6/3/21]

"The damage on the I-40 bridge got a national close-up Thursday as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg came to Memphis to get a first-hand look … Buttigieg said this visit helped him realize how crucial the I-40 bridge is. 'Safety is the heart of what's happened at the DeSoto Bridge. Closure has been challenging and costly. I wanted to make sure to be here to emphasize that we often have a single piece of infrastructure in a single place that really influences the life of the entire country when it's not available or diminished,' he said."

EPA Administrator in Bismarck, North Dakota

Credit: Tom Stromme/Bismarck Tribune

Bismarck Tribune: EPA leader sees 'huge potential' for carbon capture in North Dakota
[Amy Sisk, 6/4/21]

"The nation's top environmental regulator indicated in a visit to Bismarck on Thursday that he's impressed by North Dakota's efforts to capture carbon emissions from coal and ethanol plants. A number of projects are in development across the state to contain the carbon dioxide generated by those facilities, rather than allow the gas to continue to enter the atmosphere where it contributes to climate change. 'The creative ingenuity in terms of the thinking around carbon management and reduction, I think, has been really refreshing,' Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan said."

KXMB-TV (CBS Bismarck): Biden EPA Admin meets with ND Ag & Energy Stakeholders
[Josh Meny, 6/3/21]

"Regan pledged to have listening sessions on controversial regulations such as The Waters of the U.S. Act on a state-by-state basis. 'This is exactly why I am interested in having a robust conversation because I think when we sit down and agree that one size doesn't fit all and that these are complex issues. There is a layered discussion about what is the appropriate role of the Federal government state government relationship, and together how we do achieve what I perceive to be some common goals,' said Regan. The day ended in downtown Mandan where Cramer and other state leaders gave Regan a walking tour of a $300-thousand Brownfield site that will be used for environmental assessments that will work toward the revitalization of downtown. Regan says he is going to devote more resources toward improving communication between the regional office and local stakeholders."

Energy Secretary Granholm in Morgantown, West Virginia

Credit: Michael Swesnsen/Getty Images

Associated Press: Granholm joins Manchin in West Virginia to tout clean energy
[John Raby, 6/4/21]

"During her two-day visit to West Virginia, Granholm, a former Michigan governor, also is scheduled to tour an underground coal mine and a rare earth elements lab. The stop comes two days after she was in Houston to tout Biden's American Jobs Plan. 'The reason why I'm here, the reason why I went to Houston, which are fossil fuel communities, is to say it's great that you have gotten us here, and thank you for that,' Granholm said. 'But now, take us to the next wave, the next leg, which is this clean energy future, and be a part of that.'"

West Virginia News: Manchin brings U.S. Energy Secretary to Morgantown, announces new opportunities for West Virginia in offshore wind energy production
[Chris Slater, 6/4/21]

"U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., brought U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to the Mountain State to announce new opportunities for wind energy for West Virginia … 'We're all about jobs,' Granholm said. 'As the president said, when he hears the world 'climate,' he translates that to mean 'jobs.''"

Energy Secretary Granholm in Houston, Texas

Credit: Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle

Houston Chronicle: U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm touts clean energy jobs in Houston
[Shelby Webb, 5/28/21]

"U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm made her first trip to Texas, and her first trip out of Washington, since she was confirmed in February, touring a hydrogen plant in La Porte Friday morning. She received a wet welcome. More than a dozen workers at Air Liquide and Energy Department staff tried to share space under three black umbrellas as a downpour washed across the plant. The weather, however, did not dampen Granholm's enthusiasm for what she called the "clean energy future" and Texas' role in the energy transition. 'The bottom line is I want people to see the future of energy here in Texas,' she said. 'That's why I'm here.'"

Texas Standard: US Energy Secretary Says Texas Should Connect To National Grid, Embrace Greener Jobs
[Laura Rice and Shelly Brisbin, 5/28/21]

"U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm came to Houston Friday to meet with industry leaders. She spoke with the Texas Standard about how the administration's green energy focus would impact the state … 'But let me just say, in terms of people feeling like they ought to have good-paying jobs and where the future is, I mean, jobs as wind technicians pay $56,000 on average per year. If you are working on an oil derrick, it's about $47,000.'"

EPA Administrator Regan in Chicago, Illinois

Credit: Pat Nabong/Chicago Sun Times

Chicago Sun Times: Chicago lead-pipe replacement would get major boost from Biden plan, officials say
[Brett Chase, 5/27/21]

"The City of Chicago would potentially get a major boost to replace harmful lead pipes under President Joe Biden's infrastructure plan, the president's top environmental official said Thursday … 'The city is looking to accelerate lead pipe replacement, which is an important first step,' Regan told reporters outside the Jardine Water Purification Plant near Navy Pier. 'But we need to do better by our communities. We must identify where the lead pipes are located, remove them quickly and ensure that all our communities — especially our communities of color and low-income communities — are protected from lead in drinking water.'"

CBS Chicago: Lightfoot Hoping Biden Infrastructure Plan Can Help Chicago Speed Up Replacement Of Lead Service Lines
[5/27/21]

"Mayor Lori Lightfoot joined U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael S. Regan on Thursday to tout President Joe Biden's $1.7 trillion infrastructure plan, as the city seeks to ramp up replacement of hundreds of thousands of lead pipes that connect homes to the city's water system … 'Together we can put Americans to work while eliminating this devastating public health threat, and delivering environmental justice to communities that have for far too long borne the brunt of pollution,' Regan said."

National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy in an American, Union-Made Electric Vehicle

Credit: Axios on HBO

@HBODocs: The way we're gonna get there is to put the federal government's money where our values are and what our policies are," White House climate adviser Gina McCarthy tells @MikeAllen, on shifting the automobile industry to electric vehicles. #AxiosOnHBO

Axios: How Gina McCarthy reads the climate landscape
[Ben Geman, 5/24/21]

"'Our car companies know that electric vehicles are the future. And they are working with us to make sure that that future's delivered in the United States,' McCarthy said. She said the administration wants to help boost domestic extraction of key battery minerals when asked about competing with China. 'The good thing is that we've discovered that we have those minerals available in the United States and we've identified a number of states where we can do some responsible mining,' McCarthy said."

Transportation Secretary Buttigieg in Atlanta, Georgia

Credit: Alyssa Pointer/Atlanta-Journal Constitution

Valdosta Daily Times: Buttigieg touts infrastructure plan in Atlanta
[Riley Bunch, 5/21/21]

"U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visited Atlanta Friday on a trip to tout President Joe Biden's substantial plan to revitalize the country's infrastructure. The American Jobs Plan would dedicate funding to projects ranging from mending old highways and bridges and upgrading transit stations to investing in renewable energy sources and broadband access. The president has billed the effort a 'once-in-a-generation investment in America.'"

WAGA-TV (Fox Atlanta): Pete Buttigieg visits Atlanta, touts White House's infrastructure plan
[5/21/21]

"U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visited Atlanta on Friday to tout President Joe Biden's infrastructure plan. Biden is pushing for the $2 trillion package to be passed quickly in Congress. Buttigieg's goal on the trip is to highlight how Biden's plan could create millions of jobs. 'At the end of the day we'll have to see how they decide to vote, but we've absolutely had good faith conversations where there's a lot of goodwill with both parties who want to get something done,' Buttigieg said."