October 19th, 2021 by WCBC Radio

With a centerpiece of President Joe Biden's climate change strategy all but dashed, Democratic lawmakers headed to the White House Tuesday searching for new ways to narrow and reshape what had been his sweeping $3.5 trillion budget plan.

An invite list of nearly 20 centrist and progressive lawmakers were to meet separately with Biden as Democrats review a “menu” of alternative emission reducing strategies — one of the most crucial issues for voters who support the president and his party.

Among the climate-change-fighting proposals being considered are a carbon tax, a methane emissions fee, tax breaks for energy providers who hit certain goals and others, as alternate tactics that can be embraced without losing support from key members of Congress whose votes will be crucial ahead of month-end deadlines.

Biden's main plan seems all but dead. A key holdout, conservative Sen. Joe Manchin from coal-state West Virginia, has made it clear he is opposing the president's proposal t o have the government provide financial rewards to electric utilities that meet clean energy benchmarks and impose penalties on utilities that don’t, in line with the president’s goal of achieving 80% “clean electricity” by 2030.