Dear John,

Last night, after a week of back-room negotiations, the House passed the Dirty Deal legislation, by attaching it to critical, must-pass legislation on the debt ceiling!

This compromised deal full of poison pills called the Fiscal Responsibility Act, would approve the Mountain Valley Pipeline, gut environmental protections provided by the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) would again put our communities at risk. It will also cut important safety net programs that are essential to the most vulnerable among us.

WE STILL HAVE ANOTHER CHANCE TO STOP THE DIRTY DEAL
WITH YOUR HELP TODAY. 

We’ve signed onto a letter urging Congress to vote on a clean debt ceiling bill and reject false solutions that will continue putting our frontline communities at risk.

What you need to know. All 100 Senators have to agree to expedite the debt bill vote (called unanimous consent or UC). If they don’t, the regular Senate process and votes will take place after the June 5th deadline that Treasury Secretary Yellen estimated and the US will default on our national debt. This gives every single Senator far more leverage than usual to pressure Senator Majority Leader Schumer allowing their amendments a vote on the Senate floor.

• An important note: The debt deal has passed out of the House, so there is very little we can do to stop its momentum in the Senate. However, by allowing amendments, we can possibly strike the most egregious provisions from the bill. 
• Sen. Kaine (VA) has already indicated he will file an amendment to remove the approval of the Mountain Valley Pipeline.
• Sen. Merkley (OR) has also indicated that he will file an amendment to remove attacks on NEPA.
  

This is a time sensitive issue and we need you to act TODAY!

For our NY members and allies:
Please call Senator Schumer at 202-224-6542 (or reach out to his Chief of Staff: [email protected]; his Legislative Director: [email protected] and to the District Director for New Yorkers: [email protected]) and pressure him to allow amendments to a CLEAN Debt Ceiling bill. We also call on him to demand a public and transparent debate of all policy proposals, that environmental justice community funding be preserved, that our positive vision of permitting reform be the guide for any legislation, and that we ensure a Just Transition away from fossil fuels by stopping expansion of and investment in fossil fuel infrastructure. Don’t let him and his staff forget that we know his second largest political donor is NextEra Energy, the company behind the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

For VT, MA, OR members, let Senators Sanders, Markey, and Merkley, have already said they will vote No.

For CJA members’ and allies, our ask is clear:

• TODAY push to get amendments allowed: support Kaine’s MVP amendment and introduce amendments for the other problematic sections.

Don’t know your Senator or their phone number? Click here.

Script for Your Senators:

[Ask for amendments]:
"Hi __, I’m __ from __. As your constituent, I’m urging you to join alongside frontline communities in our call for a CLEAN debt ceiling bill. Please support Senator Kaine’s MVP amendment, Senator Merkley’s NEPA amendment, and introduce amendments for the other problematic sections. The current “Fiscal Responsibility Act” harms our communities directly by propping up fossil fuel projects like the Mountain Valley Pipeline, erasing key environmental protections, and cutting social safety net programs that keep our communities housed, nourished, and safe. This is NOT the time to gut the policies we elected you to protect. Pass a CLEAN debt ceiling bill.

[If NO amendments are allowed]
"Hi __, I’m __ from __. As your constituent, I’m calling to remind you to OPPOSE this Dirty Debt Deal and demand a clean debt limit bill! The current “Fiscal Responsibility Act” harms our communities directly by propping up fossil fuel projects like the Mountain Valley Pipeline, erasing key environmental protections, and cutting social safety net programs that keep our communities housed, nourished, and safe. This is NOT the time to gut the policies we elected you to protect. Pass a CLEAN debt ceiling bill.

One more thing.

As an alliance, we have fought and won battles to preserve environmental protections. We’ve defeated Senator Manchin’s dirty deal 3 times before and that is thanks to the power of grassroots organizing and the strength of the Environmental Justice Movement.

Once you make the call, share this action online with others. We can and will join together to stop it for the FOURTH time!

To learn exactly why we can’t stand for this attack on our communities’ most basic rights, https://climatejusticealliance.org/poison-pills-debt-ceiling/

Thank you for taking action with us at this critical time.

Bineshi Albert
Co-Executive Director