While some of the ideas captured by the proposal are not exactly new — a less ambitious version of the deal was introduced in 2003 , though it was never entirely successful — the renewed energy around it is a welcome change for people such as Romero. "The movement that 10 years ago made climate change a top issue of the 2008 presidential debate really has paved the way for this next wave [of activism] we're seeing now," she said. "Through that, we got the Green Jobs Act and some renewable and energy-efficient funding from the 2009 stimulus package . There were some real, concrete things we were able to get done then. Now that Democrats regained control of the House, it's a real opportunity for [the party] to pick up where they left off."