“Any ‘deal’ on the debt ceiling that fast-tracks toxic fossil fuel projects like the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) and guts bedrock environmental protections is a bad deal for Black communities. The House of Representatives just passed the ‘Fiscal Responsibility Act,’ (FRA), which forces the construction of the MVP against the repeated objections of communities in Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina fighting to protect their land and water from poisonous toxic fossil fuel byproducts. The FRA also makes it easier to pollute in Black communities by rolling back key provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act. It needlessly increases food insecurity and poverty by cutting essential social safety programs. 

Black people are already facing staggeringly high rates of cancer, birth defects, asthma, heart disease, and COVID deaths due to disproportionate exposure to fossil fuel air pollution. Fast-tracking more fossil fuel infrastructure will only make those health disparities worse. The FRA, coupled with fossil fuel infrastructure projects already approved by this administration, including Willow and Liquified Natural Gas projects in the Gulf South, will prevent the U.S. from meeting its climate goals at a time when Black communities across the world are also hit first and worst by the impacts of climate change, including hurricanes, heat, droughts, and floods – due to extreme weather events and sea level rise. Ultimately, this ‘debt ceiling deal’ perpetuates fossil fuel racism.

In 2020, the Democratic Party campaigned for Black votes on a promise to advance environmental justice. Now ahead of 2024, the White House and leading Congressional Democrats are close to codifying environmental injustices into law that will harm Black communities and Black lives.” 

This is an all-hands-on-deck moment. We need people to call their Senators and let them know that they must support Senator Kaine’s amendment to remove the Mountain Valley Pipeline from the deal, and Senator Merkley’s amendment to protect the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Instead, Congress must pass a clean debt ceiling without poisonous provisions that will harm Black Lives. 

Our demands: 

• Senators must support Senator Kaine’s amendment to remove Mountain Valley Pipeline and Senator Merkley’s amendment to protect NEPA
• Congress must reject this deal favoring fossil fuels and pass a clean debt ceiling without poisonous provisions.

Our Call to Action: 

• Make a call to Senate members – to tell them to support Kaine’s amendment removing the MVP and reject the Dirty Debt Ceiling Deal – we need a clean debt ceiling bill!
• Support Senator Kaine’s amendment to remove the Mountain Valley Pipeline provision from the Fiscal Responsibility Act
• Send an email to your senators to ask them to demand a clean debt ceiling bill!
• Post on Social Media/Amplify Posts – hold elected officials accountable
• Spread the word about Mountain Valley Pipeline’s Destruction