Contact: Johanna Kichton, [email protected], 202.660.0605

Ads Urge Members of the House Ways and Means Committee and  Oil-Friendly Texas Democrats to Pass Pollution Pay-For in Reconciliation Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, a coalition of advocacy organizations pushing to make polluters pay for their damage to the environment launched a $100K ad buy in 12 states. Led by People’s Action Institute and Center for Popular Democracy, the Make Polluters Pay coalition will run billboards, radio ads, and social media ads in Oregon, Massachusetts, Texas, California, New Jersey, New York, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Alabama, and Florida. The ads will target Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., House Ways and Means Committee Chair Richard Neal, D-Mass., as well as other Ways and Means members and oil-friendly Texas Democrats, urging them to include the Polluters Pay Climate Fund in the reconciliation bill. 

“Frontline communities are paying for the destruction caused by polluters with their lives and health,” People’s Action Institute Climate Justice Campaign Director Kaniela Ing said. “It’s past time to make polluters pay for this damage. Congress needs to stop sitting on this bill and ensure that they use this once-in-a-generation moment to pass the Polluters Pay Climate Fund in the reconciliation bill.”

The Polluters Pay Climate Fund would require big polluters to pay a fee based on their share of the past 20 years of carbon pollution that’s been emitted into the atmosphere. The money would then be used to deal with the impacts of climate change and costs of transitioning to a clean energy future.

The bill already has broad support including: Nanette Diaz Barragan (D-Calif.), Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.), Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), Cori Bush (D-Mo.), Yvette D. Clarke (D-N.Y.), Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.), Danny Davis (D-Ill.), Mark DeSaulnier (D-Calif.), Adriano Espailliat (D-N.Y.), Jesus “Chuy” Garcia (D-Ill.), Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), John Larson (D-Conn.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Andy Levin (D-Mich.), Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.), Doris Matsui (D-Calif.), Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), Marie Newman (D-Ill.), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), Ayana Pressley (D-Mass.), Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Jan D. Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Thomas Suozzi (D-N.Y.), Dina Titus (D-Nev.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.).

The ads may be accessed here.

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People’s Action is a national network of 40 state and local grassroots, power-building organizations in 30 states, united in fighting for justice. We operate the largest progressive rural organizing project in the country. People’s Action and its member organizations coordinated one of the biggest distributed organizing programs in rural areas this past election season.