Dear John,
This is how progress in DC can happen. The ebbs and flows of Capitol Hill negotiations can be perplexing and frustrating. But thanks in large part to you and other determined members of EDF’s community of donors, activists and staff, who have shown laser-focused resolve, we helped secure a major breakthrough last week for climate and clean energy.
After more than a year of talks, an agreement reached between Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin – the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 – would invest $369 billion in climate and clean energy programs. Our team worked tirelessly with the key Senate offices. I had several opportunities to speak personally with Senators Manchin and Schumer in the days leading up to the agreement, and to encourage them to keep talking. If enacted, this would be the most ambitious piece of federal climate legislation in U.S. history.
While there is still work to do to get this through both houses of Congress, this is an energizing moment for all of us who understand the serious and growing threat climate change poses to everyone, especially the poorest and most vulnerable communities here and around the world.
As we lean in on this, I want to take a moment to thank you for all your support, donations and actions. We can be a powerful force in the effort to secure a safer climate future. And your support is making a difference, not just in DC, but across all our global climate initiatives.
I am grateful for your commitment to a cleaner, healthier and more prosperous world.
Thank you,
Fred Krupp
EDF President
P.S. In the coming days, our grassroots lobbying arm, EDF Action, will work to move this bill through the remaining hurdles in Congress. Our staff and our broad coalition of environmental and public health groups, business partners, community leaders and others will do all we can, with your ongoing support, to bolster our efforts at the local, state, national and global levels to drive climate progress.