LETTER: In abundance

Your Oct. 22 editorial on the “abundance agenda” got it right. The Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act is a real test of whether liberals mean what they say about abundance.

Liberals should also back the legislation for the climate. Two respected independent modelers have run the numbers. Resources for the Future projects the act would cut power-sector carbon emissions by about 200 million tons a year near term and 1.8 billion tons through 2041. Rhodium Group finds economywide cuts of up to 1.5 billion tons through 2040, plus lower household power bills.

Better still, the act multiplies future climate wins. Resources for the Future notes that the transmission it unlocks would enable much deeper cuts if stronger climate policies follow. Clean power stuck in a permitting queue cuts nothing.

The bill involves trade-offs on the National Environmental Policy Act and judicial review. But the status quo isn’t climate-neutral. Democrats should definitely support the act and the abundance agenda it fosters.