Following Senator Joe Manchin’s (D-WV) comments telling his colleagues in the Congressional Democratic caucus to “hit the pause button” on their efforts to pass reconciliation legislation that makes historic investments in climate action, Evergreen Action Executive Director Jamal Raad released the following statement:
“After the devastation brought by Hurricane Ida, we can’t afford to pause climate action for even a second. Nearly a million people in the Gulf Coast are without power right now and flooding in the northeast brought our nation’s largest transit system to a halt; Congress must act now to invest in the clean energy infrastructure and climate solutions that will stave off the worst impacts of climate change.
“House Democrats should make it clear that they will ‘pause’ the bipartisan infrastructure deal until the reconciliation bill has been passed. House and Senate leadership must advance the reconciliation bill before the House is scheduled to take up the bipartisan deal. And they must ensure that it retains the bold climate investments that will give the American people the tools they need to fight the climate crisis and create millions of good union jobs building the clean energy economy. We have already delayed climate action for decades—we can’t afford to wait any longer. No climate, no deal.”
