FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 1, 2025
Contact: Ashley Sullivan, ashley.sullivan@weact.org, 1-917-837-1183
WASHINGTON – Today, as the Federal government shuts down due to lawmakers refusing to agree to an appropriate funding deal, WE ACT for Environmental Justice condemns this failure of leadership and demands that lawmakers enact bipartisan funding legislation. Otherwise, these legislators, by neglecting their duty to fund the government, are allowing the Trump administration free reign to exploit the crises for political gain and further damage core federal functions that protect public health and the environment.
“The Republican government shutdown will be acutely felt by the communities we serve in Northern Manhattan, like Harlem and Washington Heights, where many under-resourced residents rely on federal support as a vital lifeline for nutrition assistance, housing assistance, and other critical services,” explained Leslie Fields, WE ACT for Environmental Justice’s Chief Federal Officer. “We know that already vulnerable populations – particularly people of color and low-income – bear the brunt of government shutdowns. For example, across New York State, a third of the nearly 3 million residents who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Benefits are children. And 1.4 million New Yorkers are struggling to pay their energy bills. This shutdown is hurting Americans who are most in need.”
A government shutdown has devastating consequences for everyday people, but especially for communities of color and low-income, who have been forced to bear the brunt of the administration’s attacks on environmental protections and funding. The shutdown comes after a months-long campaign of undermining critical government functions through mass federal agency staff firings and the rescission of congressionally appropriated funding that benefits the environment, promotes energy affordability, and advances health equity. It is imperative that all the lawmakers come back to Washington, DC and reach an agreement that both addresses the bad faith actions of the administration and adequately invests in a functional federal government that works for the people instead of against them.
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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, Bluesky, and Instagram.