Statement from Ken Berlin, President & CEO of The Climate Reality Project, on Senate Stimulus Package Passage

"Our nation’s health is in peril and it is clear we need to solve the health crisis before we can hope to address the resulting economic crisis. Climate Reality applauds the Senate for coming together to act swiftly and boldly to address the coronavirus crisis. In particular, we applaud those Senators who were willing to stand up for workers and families most affected by the crisis, despite significant opposition and time pressure, to greatly improve this package.

We are heartened that the final bill does not include the government spending $3 billion on oil, that the bill includes over $900 million in additional LIHEAP funding which will help people pay their utility bills, and $25 billion to help the public transportation industry stay afloat. 

However, this third stimulus package does not go far enough in creating provisions to help frontline communities, such as barring utilities from shutting off services. This was also a missed opportunity to support the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries – industries vital to our country’s economic future, but which are imperiled by the current crisis.

After this package passes the House and gains the President’s signature, we urge the Administration to use these newly available funds and authorities to aggressively address the shortages in critical equipment, supplies, and hospital beds that we are already experiencing.  Lastly, we will be working with the rest of the environmental community to ensure these new funds and authorities are not used to bail out the fossil fuel industry."

#