FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 12, 2022
Contact: Chris Dobens, chris@weact.org, 718-679-8542
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which President Biden is expected to sign into law. Peggy Shepard, Co-Founder and Executive Director of WE ACT for Environmental Justice, responds to the news:
“With the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, we recognize the historic investments being made to address the climate crisis and will work diligently to ensure that these funds reach communities that have been systemically disinvested by federal spending and disproportionately burdened by pollution and the impacts of climate change. We are committed to working with the Biden administration and Members of Congress to ensure that the bill’s implementation delivers critical investments to communities of color and areas of low income, realizing the potential of the $60 billion intended for environmental justice communities and the commitment by the Biden administration to Justice40’s all-government approach.
However, we must be clear that the fossil fuel concessions that Senator Manchin negotiated into the bill will harm the health, livelihoods, and futures of these communities. Communities of color and areas of low income, which face the worst impacts of climate change, cannot continue to be sacrifice zones for the pollution caused by the fossil fuel industry, and fossil fuel interests cannot drive our climate policies.
Senator Manchin’s permit reform deal, that includes watermarks from the American Petroleum Institute (API), will permanently erode important tools for democratizing federal projects while prolonging our reliance on fossil fuels. This “API Permit Deal” must be stopped. It favors the polluters, and limits the voice of the communities most impacted by their pollution. The Biden administration and Congress must continue to ensure accountability and strengthen protections for environmental justice communities, including by passing H.R. 2021, the Environmental Justice for All Act, and finalizing strong multipollutant standards.”
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WE ACT for Environmental Justice is a Northern Manhattan membership-based organization whose mission is to build healthy communities by ensuring that people of color and/or low-income residents participate meaningfully in the creation of sound and fair environmental health and protection policies and practices. WE ACT has offices in New York and Washington, D.C. Visit us at weact.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.