John,

This summer, deadly heat waves have swept our nation, endangering millions struggling with unaffordable utility bills.

No one should have to go without water and other basic needs—especially not during this extreme heat.

Water, electricity, heating, cooling, and life-sustaining services are not commodities to be privatized or sold. These are basic human needs and rights, and they must be accessible to all.

But across the country, for-profit utility companies continue to raise rates, cutting off essential services for families who cannot afford to pay.

Along with my colleagues Cori Bush and Jamaal Bowman, I’ve led the fight in Congress to protect our human right to safe and reliable utilities such as water and electricity.

Now we’re demanding immediate legislative action to pause utility shutoffs during months of extreme heat, forgive utility debt accrued by low-wealth households, establish cooling centers and water facilities for people in need, and more.

Please sign if you agree: We must safeguard struggling families during this extreme heat.

With most U.S. residents living paycheck to paycheck, millions of families cannot afford the skyrocketing prices of these essential services.

For years, as a community activist and in Congress, I’ve fought for the human right to clean and safe drinking water, including by securing more than $1.1 billion in federal funding to assist low-income households who need support in paying off their water bills and paying for fees to reconnect their water services.

We passed legislation through the House of Representatives to stop water and power shutoffs during the pandemic, require reconnection of services, and aid families suffering due to limited water access.

Now I’m joining with Cori Bush and Jamaal Bowman to call on Congress to implement urgent and necessary short-term solutions like a moratorium on utility shutoffs, and then to address the systemic causes of utility injustice and climate chaos.

We need bolder action from our federal government, including phasing out fossil fuels, banning utility shutoffs permanently, and funding renewable energy and publicly owned drinking water systems.

We know that climate change intensifies events like storms and heat waves. But many utilities are failing to make critical infrastructure updates for climate resilience, especially in Black and brown communities—leading to long, frequent, and deadly power outages, including in my community.

Will you join our call for short-term and long-term action from the federal government in response to deadly heat waves, including ending utility shutoffs and investing in climate-resilient infrastructure?

Together, we’re going to keep fighting for our human rights, including everyone’s right to access the utility services they need to survive.

In solidarity,

Rashida