Dear John,
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Keep fossil fuel supporters out of powerful positions. Tell President-elect Joe Biden Heidi Heitkamp is the wrong choice for USDA Secretary.
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President-elect Joe Biden has started considering appointments for important positions. Heidi Heitkamp, former North Dakota Senator, is campaigning for the top post at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But Heitkamp has close ties to Big Ag and the fossil fuel industry and voted with Trump 68% of the time when she was in the Senate. She would be a disaster for family farmers, frontline communities, and the environment. Take action to tell Joe Biden to not nominate Heidi Heitkamp.
Mother Nature has been sounding the alarm: Fires, floods, hurricanes, and other extreme weather events can be tied back to the ever-growing climate crisis. Industrial agriculture is one of the leading drivers of climate chaos in the U.S. We need the new head of the USDA to take bold action on climate.
But Heitkamp has aligned herself with corporate agribusiness at the expense of family farmers, supports fossil fuel interests, and holds views that are out of step with the majority of Americans. We need your help to push Joe Biden not to nominate her!
Sign your name: Tell President-elect Joe Biden not to consider Heidi Heitkamp for USDA Secretary.
The president-elect and vice president-elect campaigned on the promise to tackle the climate emergency. But nominees like Heidi Heitkamp will only make the climate crisis worse.
Heitkamp has accepted thousands of dollars in campaign donations from giant agribusiness companies, including Bayer-Monsanto, Syngenta, and Cargill. And she’s raised over $600,000 from the fossil fuel industry! She even supported the Keystone and Dakota Access gas pipelines, against the wishes of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in her state.
In the Senate, Heitkamp led legislation that increased subsidies and loopholes for Big Ag, shielded factory farms from reporting toxic air pollution, and thwarted progress on combating climate change -- including cosponsoring legislation that would roll back environmental regulations and expand drilling on public lands. She also broke with her party to confirm Scott Pruitt as head of the EPA.
Heitkamp is clearly the wrong pick for USDA Secretary. That’s why we need engaged environmentalists like you to make an impact, so Biden does not nominate her. But we must act fast!
Take action now: Heidi Heitkamp is the wrong choice for USDA Secretary.
Our next USDA Secretary needs to help drive ambitious solutions to the climate crisis by reining in Big Ag. This role is pivotal in President-elect Biden’s bold plan to fight climate change.
Heidi Heitkamp is nowhere near the leader we need. Her environmental record and support of the fossil fuel industry should disqualify her from leading the agency.
But the media is already naming Heitkamp as a frontrunner. Biden will continue to consider Heitkamp’s nomination unless he feels pressure from concerned Americans like you. Can we count on your support?
30,000 Signatures still needed: Urge Joe Biden to withdraw Heidi Heitkamp from consideration for the USDA Secretary position.
Standing with you,
Chloë Waterman,
Climate-friendly food campaign program manager,
Friends of the Earth
