DEVELOPING…the first committee hearing on the nomination of Rep. Deb Haaland for Interior Secretary is underway right now.

Everyone in the environmental movement needs to be following this — this is likely to be a critical confirmation fight of the Biden presidency. Haaland would be the first Indigenous person to be a Cabinet secretary in history.

Friend — in a 50-50 Senate, this vote could be razor-thin, and oil and gas CEOs are spending big to try to block this historic nomination. As Secretary of the Interior, Haaland would be responsible for carrying out Biden's pause and evaluation of oil and gas leasing on public lands. This action has already upset polluter allies in the Senate — it's quickly becoming a focal point of the nomination fight.

We need your help. We're calling on the environmental movement to turn out in support of Haaland's confirmation. That means flooding Senate offices with calls and letters. It means campaigning like hell between now and the vote. But if we don't move now, we could come up short.

The best thing you can do to help right now is to pitch in to keep our campaigns running. We've set a goal of raising $50,000 by the end of the month — and a group of donors has agreed to triple match every contribution.

We're asking you to show up — your donation will be matched 3x. Please — help mobilize a show of strength for Rep. Haaland. Even $5 is enough to make a difference »

This is a huge moment for the environmental justice movement, which has been led by Indigenous voices and has been fighting for land, water, and air protections and sovereignty issues for years.

Haaland is the best person for the job — and yet, there are too many members of Congress on the fence. She's served as the chair of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands and a vice chair on the House Committee on Natural Resources. She's been a reliable champion of environmental rights in Congress, and as Secretary of the Interior, she will be a voice for communities most impacted by climate change but least represented in government.

We need to build support for her confirmation, and we need to do it TODAY. With this kind of opposition from the right and oil and gas CEOs, we risk letting this unique opportunity for historic changes at the Interior Department slip through our fingers.

This is a shot — a real shot — at having leadership that deeply understands the consequences of climate inaction. We're fighting for our present and our future. And we need your help. There's so much work to do, and it's still early in 2021. We can only do it all with your help.

We're asking you to show up — our work is only as strong as our leadership. Your donation can be the difference in whether or not we can stay in this fight »

The stakes are high here, but I know we can count on your support. Thanks for all you do today and every day.

Onward,

Gene Karpinski
President
League of Conservation Voters