Friends of the Earth Briefs Congress on Billions in Potential Savings from Ending Polluter Giveaways
For Immediate Release
February 24, 2011
Contact:
Nick Berning, 202-222-0748, [email protected]
Damon Moglen, 202-222-0708, [email protected]
Friends of the Earth Briefs Congress on Billions in Potential Savings from Ending Polluter Giveaways
Climate and Energy Director Damon Moglen speaks at House Forum on the Impact of Budget Proposals on Justice, Job Creation, Public Safety and Civil Liberties
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Damon Moglen, Climate and Energy Director at Friends of the Earth, spoke today at a congressional forum organized in response to the ongoing budget debate.
Moglen, who was invited to speak by Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) showed how Congress can defend programs that are in the public interest from reckless spending cuts by instead cutting tens of billions in giveaways to corporate polluters.
Moglen urged members of Congress to avoid cutting important services for the poor and middle class and environmental protections, and he condemned proposed cuts to the EPA’s budget that would put lives at risk by weakening the agency’s ability to regulate toxic pollutants and heat-trapping gases.
“This attempt to use the budget debate to roll back the Clean Air Act is an attack on the public health and our nation’s future economic success,” Moglen testified.
Moglen called attention to the billions that can be saved by eliminating giveaways to the oil and coal industries and other polluters
“Being fiscally responsible and environmentally conscious are not mutually exclusive; we can save money by protecting the environment — we can save over $15 billion dollars a year by ending subsidies for fossil fuels,” Moglen said. “If funding is going to be cut from the budget, let’s do it there, and not by taking away nutritional support from little kids.”
The full text of the briefing Moglen delivered today can be found at /sites/default/files/foepresentation02242011.pdf
For more information about environmentally friendly budget savings, see Friends of the Earth’s Green Scissors report.
###
Friends of the Earth and our network of grassroots groups in 76 countries fight to create a more healthy, just world. Our current campaigns focus on clean energy and solutions to climate change, keeping toxic and risky technologies out of the food we eat and products we use, and protecting marine ecosystems and the people who live and work near them.