To: The United States Senate
Senators: Don't use the budget to weaken environmental protections
The federal budget should not be an excuse for polluters and their allies in Congress to weaken our core environmental protections. We call on all Senators to keep our budget clean of anti-environmental amendments.
Why is this important?
Big polluters are using the budget process to attack environmental protections that are critical for our air, water, and climate. We urge the Senate to stand up to these attacks on our environment and keep our budget clean.
Over the next three days, a variety of amendments to the Senate Budget that reduce or eliminate environmental protections will come up for a vote. Especially critical amendments include:
•An attack on the Clean Air Act that would prohibit the EPA from issuing new regulations protecting our environment from the most polluting coal-fired power plants in the country;
•An attack on the Clean Water Act that would leave over 20 percent of our waterways unprotected;
•An amendment forcing construction of the Keystone pipeline, which would deepen our dependence on the dirtiest oil on the planet, oil from tar sands;
•An attack on the President’s ability to protect key parks and monuments from development.