Progressive Democrats in Congress will on Thursday introduce the Transform, Heal and Renew by Investing in a Vibrant Economy (THRIVE) Act. The bill, which has been promoted for months, outlines a “bold and holistic” plan to address racial injustice, the climate crisis, and the economic anxiety and mass unemployment exacerbated by the pandemic. “I think that for us the pandemic has sadly just showcased our belief that we need to figure out how to help people thrive and not just survive,” says Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), one of the bill’s sponsors.
“Bold” may be an understatement. While President Biden’s proposed infrastructure plan calls for spending $2 trillion over the next 10 years, the THRIVE Act green-lights the investment of $1 trillion annually. The money would go toward creating an estimated 15 million “family-sustaining” union jobs, rebuilding the nation’s physical and social infrastructure, and cutting carbon emissions in half by 2030. The bill gives particular attention to lifting up communities of color that have borne the brunt of racial and environmental injustice. “It’s putting forth this unified vision for a recovery that is deeply intersectional, that is extremely bold, and that meets the scale of these multiple crises that we face,” adds Jayapal.
The THRIVE Act is being led by Ed Markey (D-Mass.) in the Senate and Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) in the House of Representatives. “The THRIVE Agenda will guide us as we mobilize on a transformative mission to bring justice and healing to our communities,” Rep. Dingell said earlier this year. “With a broad coalition of colleagues, advocates, and activists, we will save our environment and achieve the racial and economic equity that our nation demands.”
The massive scale of the THRIVE Act means that it exists for now as more of a marker than something with a chance of passing through a Congress that can’t even stomach far more moderate reform measures. But the same could be said of Green New Deal legislation, the principles of which are now largely supported by the American people. Lawmakers introducing the THRIVE Act are seeking to capitalize on this momentum, as well as the unique opportunity offered by a devastating year that has emphasized the imperative for equitable change.
“I always used to say that if politics is the art of the possible, then it’s our job as activists to figure out how to move the boundaries of what people see as possible,” Jayapal says. “That’s what I feel like has happened with how the pandemic has combined with the racial justice movement, the economic justice movement, the climate justice movement, and the labor justice movement. All of those things have kind of come together and really created a different vision.”
The allocation of the $1 trillion annual investment called for in the THRIVE Act would be guided by a 20-member board composed with representation from impacted communities, indigenous communities, and labor organizations.
The infrastructure upgrades will be geared around cutting emissions in half by 2030, and involve upgrading and expanding water systems, the electrical grid, wind power, solar power, electric vehicle infrastructure, and public transit. The bill holds that by the end of 2030 the majority of Americans will live within walking distance of clean, affordable, high-frequency public transit.
But the THRIVE Act isn’t just a green infrastructure initiative that just tacks on a few racial justice measures. Instead, the bill is very much built around lifting up marginalized communities and righting the wrongs of years of environmental racism. There will be equitable hiring. There will be educational initiatives. There will be equity assessments and guardrails put up to prevent discrimination. Communities of color will be given the tools to sustain themselves on their own terms. The THRIVE Act holds that at least half of the $10 trillion in federal investment over the next 10 years will directly benefit those who have been most affected by systemic racism.
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