THIS IS URGENT: The Senate is gearing up for a HUGE vote over the National Defense Authorization Act, which now includes major environmental provisions. Trump is already threatening a veto. The next few days are absolutely critical — and we MUST ensure that the voices of the environmental movement are heard loud and clear.

Help us keep the pressure by renewing your LCV membership today — it only costs $5 »

Friend — things are developing very quickly…earlier this week, the House passed the National Defense Authorization Act in a vote of 295 - 125. It's considered a must-pass among lawmakers — it's the bill that funds the military.

House lawmakers managed to include a number of amendments to create new wilderness areas, expand protections for public land and water, and withdraw 1 million acres of federal lands near the Grand Canyon from new mining claims.

This is BIG. The bill also includes provisions to remove the names of Confederate leaders from military bases.

In response, the White House has threatened to veto the bill.

This sets up a massive showdown in the Senate — and things are moving at breakneck speed. With this veto threat, Trump is already pushing for the Republican-controlled Senate to not only remove these amendments, but to add their own damaging amendments to the final bill.

We can't let that happen. We are mounting a major pressure campaign to ensure that this bill passes the House as is. We need your help: a major donor has agreed to contribute $500,000 to LCV — on the condition that 10,000 LCV members also pitch in before the end of July.

We're asking every LCV supporter for help — in reaching this goal, small donations count the same as big ones. Renewing your LCV membership is just $5 right now — and it could be enough to put us over the top.

Friend, will you make an emergency gift today to help us reach this critical goal? Even $5 helps »

We have the upper hand here — Trump knows that this is probably his last chance to push through anti-environmental policies before election season is in full swing. He and 35 senators are up for re-election in November, and they desperately need to pass these appropriations bills before they go back to their districts to campaign. They are running out of time — and if we keep the pressure up in a big way, we can block them from doing any more damage.

These amendments aren't just important because they protect the environment — this is also an issue of equity. The names of the leaders who fought to maintain slavery have no place on military bases or other public places of honor. Black, Indigenous, and Latinx communities deserve to refer to and use these publicly-funded places without names and monuments that were intended to protect white supremacy culture. Facing this systemic racism exacerbates the likelihood that these communities suffer from health issues due to contaminated air and drinking water — and now, far higher death rates from COVID-19.

Trump doesn't care about these communities, any more than he cares about the environment. He only cares about himself and his re-election chances, and as the election draws nearer, all signs indicate that he will do whatever it takes to pander to corporate polluters.

Even with Trump in office, we have a real shot at making progress on the environment. One example — just this week, Congress passed the Great American Outdoors Act — which provides funding for parks all over the country. That's in no small part thanks to the work of passionate supporters like you.

But the only way we're going to be able to keep this pressure campaign going is if we reach our goal of 10,000 donations by the end of July — we cannot afford to miss out on that $500,000 grant. If everyone reading this right now pitched in — even $5 — we'd blow through this goal in minutes.

Friend, we wouldn't be reaching out if this wasn't truly urgent. The best thing you can do right now is to renew your membership for 2020 — it only costs $5 »

Thank you, friend, for standing with us in this critical moment. We couldn't do this work without you. We'll keep you updated as things progress.

Sincerely,

The Team at LCV