All month, we’ve been rallying you to kill Manchin’s zombie dirty deal again and again. And it’s essential that we keep doing that work to protect our climate and communities. But there’s a better way to stop pollution and extraction, especially in our most marginalized communities.
The better way is called the Environmental Justice for All Act (EJ for All), the most significant effort by the federal government to address generations of environmental racism. And it won’t surprise you to learn that it’s lead sponsors are the same champions who’ve helped us lead the fight against Manchin’s Dirty Deal – Rep Grijalva and Rep McEachin
Sadly, Rep. McEachin passed away on November 29. But his critical work to address environmental racism lives on, and now Congress has the opportunity to ensure this vital legislation passes.
Last year, Rep. Donald McEachin led a historic, unique legislative process with Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva to ensure the priorities of people facing disproportionate negative impacts of the climate crisis and environmental injustices were incorporated into federal legislation. Instead of being cut out of the process of policy making, as in Joe Manchin’s dirty deal, Grijalva and McEachin made sure frontline communities had a key voice in developing that legislation.
Environmental injustice is deeply rooted in American history. Black, brown, Indigenous, and low-income communities suffer vastly disproportionate impacts from climate change and environmental hazards. The EJ for All Act paves the way for remedying a long history of environmental harm and racism and ensuring fair treatment.
The Environmental Justice for All Act would enable frontline communities to hold polluters accountable in court for projects that use federal funds and engage in environmental discrimination – the opposite of Manchin’s plan to let polluters and pipeline companies pick their own courts and judges. It strengthens the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to require federal agencies to consider the cumulative and disproportionate impacts of pollution on low-income communities and communities of color and would use new fees on oil, gas, and coal companies to fund investments in environmental justice communities.
In short, the EJ for All act is the opposite of Manchin’s dirty deal – in all the best possible ways. We lost one of our most powerful and trusted advocates when Rep McEachin passed away last month. But we did not lose, nor will we ever give up on the fight for environmental justice for all. Sign now to tell Congress to stop voting over and over to kill Manchin’s dirty deal – and vote to pass the Environmental Justice for All Act instead.
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