Please sign the petition to send a message to the Biden-Harris Administration, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, House Leader Steny Hoyer, and Senate Leader Chuck Schumer.
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Dear President Biden, Vice President Harris, Speaker Pelosi, and Majority Leader Schumer,
The undersigned organizations and individuals representing frontline communities and allies from X states write to express our strong opposition to the permitting side deal drafted by fossil fuel corporations and demanded by Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) in exchange for his support for the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA). Passage of this ill-conceived secret side-deal would silence the voice of our already overburdened communities, and put our families' health and welfare at serious risk.
While the IRA included some beneficial provisions for frontline communities, these provisions have been outpaced by the billions of dollars allocated to oil and gas corporations for infrastructure expansion, as well as to fund unproven geoengineering projects that target already overburdened communities as host sites. Passage of additional legislation that seeks to weaken the permitting process through limiting public review, input, and government accountability in the permitting review process, only serves to create forever sacrifice zones and deepen the climate crises.
We urge you to oppose the fossil fuel industry's permitting proposal, and to block any legislation that would support new fossil fuel projects or gut the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Do not use the lives and well-being of communities on the frontlines of pollution as bargaining chips to be sacrificed.
We also call on you to declare a Climate Emergency President Biden, completely phase out fossil fuels, and to follow the lead of frontline communities, who have real solutions to the climate crisis, by increasing investments in local, community-controlled clean energy projects that truly foster a Just Transition. Direct government agencies to act with the boldness and urgency that the crisis demands. Our lives depend on it.
Sincerely,
