Christopher Schuler, christopher.schuler@sierraclub.org
Washington, DC – Last night, Republicans on the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works released text of their section of Donald Trump’s so-called “Big, Beautiful Bill” in the Senate.
The committee text would eliminate funding for dozens of clean energy programs created by the Inflation Reduction Act, establish a “pay to pollute” system that allows fossil fuel companies to bypass environmental safeguards by paying a nominal fee, repeal tailpipe emissions standards for vehicles that protect public health, and gut funding for heavy-duty cleaner vehicles like electric school buses. The bill text also includes repeal of the Endangered Species Act Recovery Plan funding, eliminates clean manufacturing and industrial innovation programs, and repeal of the Methane Emissions Reduction Program to reduce methane waste and pollution from the oil and gas industry, among other provisions.
The Senate begins consideration of the reconciliation bill this week as analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released yesterday shows that the House-passed version of the bill would end vital health care coverage for more than 16 million Americans and raise the deficit by $2.4 trillion over a decade, automatically triggering $535 billion in cuts to Medicare.
In response, Sierra Club Legislative Director Melinda Pierce released the following statement:
“The proposal released by Senate EPW Republicans last night is an attack on our clean air and water, would raise energy rates for families and small businesses, and endangers the health of all Americans—all to give more tax breaks to Trump’s wealthy donors. This proposal is a nearly identical piece of the same misguided plan that Republicans in the House barely passed after debating it in the dead of night with hopes that nobody would notice. The Sierra Club is watching, our millions of members and supporters are watching, and the American people are not going to sit idly by while Donald Trump and his allies in Congress steal from working families and seniors to help corporate polluters and billionaires rake in even more profits.”
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About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.