Dear Friend,

On October 28, after months of negotiations with Congress, President Biden announced a framework for the Build Back Better Act that includes robust climate, clean energy, and environmental justice provisions.

Securing a framework that would put the country on a clear path to cutting planet-warming pollution in half by 2030 was no small task. Now, with a framework in place that includes “the largest effort to combat climate change in American history,” it’s clear that LCV’s unprecedented advocacy and organizing campaign for equitable climate action has paid off.

Thanks to your support, we knocked on more than 326,000 doors, distributed over 15,000 ‘Climate Action Now’ yard signs, garnered visible support from more than 11,500 businesses, and activated more than 19,000 new LCV members as climate advocates. And our 30+ state affiliates have held hundreds of events with members of Congress and local leaders in key districts and states to engage the media and the public across the country.

This vocal, visible, and overwhelming display of support helped drive the transformative, equitable climate, clean energy, and environmental justice provisions in the final Build Back Better Act. Once enacted, this legislation will catalyze the largest investment in climate action in our nation’s history.
 
As we continue to push for passage of this once-in-a-generation legislation, LCV recognizes that there will be much work to do after the bill becomes law, including advocating for even more federal administrative actions and regulations, as well as ambitious climate and clean energy progress at the state and local levels. That’s why we are so grateful for your continued support — we couldn’t do this timely, urgent work without you. Thank you.

Over the next few weeks, LCV will be keeping you posted on the latest developments with the Build Back Better Act. In the meantime, here is the LCV Top 5 Newsletter:  

Through our Democracy for All program, LCV has been and will continue to be committed to creating a democracy that represents the people and not corporate polluters. To advance this work, we sponsored the Freedom to Vote Relay, which began on October 20 in Charlestown, WV, and ended on October 23 in Washington, DC. The four-day march — where participants traveled nearly 400 miles by car, bike, or foot — was a clear statement that voters want the vital protections in the Freedom to Vote Act.

Voting is the foundation of our democracy. Critical to securing that foundation is ensuring that all people — especially people who are traditionally most vulnerable to voter suppression efforts, including people of color and young people — have equal ballot access, multiple ways to cast their ballots, and the right to free and fair elections.

These rights are essential to addressing climate change and environmental justice. Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and other communities of color are disproportionately impacted by climate effects, such as drought, wildfires, flooding, and deadly health risks for children with asthma and the elderly during extreme heat waves. Moreover, census data and science tell us that, more than income or geography, race is still the number one indicator of whether a person will live near contaminated air, water, and soil. That these same communities have historically been targeted by voter suppression and intimidation efforts further underscores how important it is to protect their rights in our democracy.

For far too long, voter suppression, partisan gerrymandering, and campaign contributions from big polluters have drowned out the voices of the people directly experiencing the health impacts of pollution and the dangers of extreme weather in their communities. The Freedom to Vote Act (Senate Bill 2747) is an ambitious bill that would make significant headway toward addressing this. If enacted, it would be the United States’ most significant pro-democracy legislation in half a century.

Unfortunately, this past month, the bill was unable to come to a vote because Senate Republicans used the filibuster rule to prevent overwhelmingly popular voting rights legislation from passing. It is the third time this year that a pro-democracy bill has been blocked by this archaic rule. If you missed the Freedom to Vote Relay, you can still contact your U.S. Senators and demand that they eliminate the filibuster rule and enact the Freedom to Vote Act.
 
LCV’s Chispa Announces New Digital Ad Campaign Thanking and Calling On Congress to Support Clean Rides for Kids in the Build Back Better Act

Indigenous Alaskans Unveil 9,000lb Melting Ice Sculpture in D.C.

Virginia LCV PAC Announces Significant Campaign Ramp-Up in Final Weeks of 2021 Gubernatorial and State Legislative Races

ICYMI: LCV, Climate Power Announce Paid Media Push in D.C. and Key States to Get the Build Back Better Act Over the Finish Line

If you'd like to learn more about these stories, click here for more details.

	THE BEST THING YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW Building back better starts with fighting for a better future for our children. LCV’s Chispa program is fighting for cleaner air, cleaner water, clean energy, and clean transportation — and we need your help to secure this progress. Now is the time to safeguard the sustainability of our communities for future generations through bold climate justice solutions that support clean energy investments, create good, family-sustaining, green jobs, and equitably address the burden of environmental racism for Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and other communities of color. These communities are impacted by the effects of climate change first and worst, disproportionately to their white peers. Congress must act NOW to address environmental racism and create a healthier, safer, more just future for all. The best thing you can do right now is: Share Chispa’s new Children Are The Future videos that feature climate justice leaders of the future: Los niños! (Our kids!). Share Spanish Video or Share English Video Sign Chispa’s petition that calls on Congress to take bold climate action, protect the health of our comunidades, and invest in a sustainable future TODAY.

• Yahoo! News: Biden plan pledges 'largest effort to combat climate change in US history'
• Bloomberg: Here's How Biden Would Spend $555 Billion in Climate Funds
• Financial Post: Climate Provisions Total $555 Billion in Biden Spending Plan