Friends -

The $3.5 trillion reconciliation budget that was recently passed in the Senate lays the groundwork for a historic reconciliation bill that will be transformative for working families, the children, the elderly, the sick and the poor. It will be a long-overdue step forward in the fight for economic, racial and social justice. It will also create millions of good-paying jobs.

As Chairman of the Budget Committee, my hope is that the various committees will soon finish their work and that the bill will be on the floor and adopted by Congress in late September.

The recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report makes it absolutely clear. The United States and countries throughout the world must move extremely aggressively in combating climate change if we are to prevent irreparable damage to our country and the planet. There is no time to lose. The future of the world as we know it is at stake.

Take a look around.

• A huge fire in Siberia is casting out smoke for 3,000 miles.
• Greece – burning.
• California – burning.
• Oregon – burning.
• Historic flooding in Germany and Belgium.
• Italy just experienced the hottest European day ever.
• July 2021 is the hottest month ever recorded.
• Drought and extreme weather disturbances are cutting food production, increasing hunger and raising food prices worldwide.
• Rising sea levels threaten Miami, New York, Charleston and countless coastal cities around the world in the not-to-distant future.

This is not a silly plot in some disaster movie. This is reality. This is what we are experiencing now, and it will only get much worse in years to come if we do not act boldly NOW.

This Reconciliation Bill, the details of which are still being written, will not do everything that needs to be done. But, by investing many hundreds of billions into the reduction of carbon emissions it will be, by far, the most significant step forward in our country's history in fighting climate change and will set an example of what other countries should be doing.

Here are some of the proposals that are currently in the bill:

• Massive investments in retrofitting homes and buildings to save energy.
• Massive investment for the production of wind, solar and other forms of sustainable energy.
• A major move toward the electrification of transportation including generous rebates to enable working families to purchase electric vehicles.
• Major investments in a greener agriculture.
• Major investments in research and development for sustainable energy and battery storage.
• Billions to address the warming and acidification of oceans and the needs of coastal communities.
• The creation of a Civilian Climate Corps which will put hundreds of thousands of young people to work transforming our energy system and protecting our most vulnerable communities.

As you may know, the Budget Resolution was passed last Wednesday at 4:00 a.m., by a vote of 50-49 after 14 hours of debate. No Republican supported it, and no Republican will support the Reconciliation Bill. The Democratic Caucus will have to do it on its own.

That means that we must demand that EVERY Democrat supports a Reconciliation Bill that is strong on climate change. No wavering. No watering down. This is the moment. The future of the planet is at stake.

Please sign my petition and tell the Democratic Leadership that we want a Reconciliation Bill with the boldest possible language to address climate change. Now is the time.

In solidarity,

Bernie Sanders

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