Statement in Response to Minority Leader Schumer’s Infrastructure Op-Ed
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote an op-ed that ran today in the Washington Post calling on Republicans and Donald Trump to adopt policies that would help transition our country toward renewable energy.
In response to Mr. Schumer’s op-ed, Erich Pica, president of Friends of the Earth, issued the following statement:
While Mr. Schumer’s talk of a green infrastructure bill is laudable, his failure to call for a complete moratorium on funding for fossil fuel infrastructure is an Achilles’ heel. Any deal Democrats strike over infrastructure will be a failure if it includes funding or subsidies for oil and gas infrastructure.
Both Democrats and Republicans in Congress have failed to address climate change. While op-eds and letters may sound pretty, Mr. Schumer hasn’t been able to whip his caucus around the progressive priorities that delivered the House to the Democrats in November. Between deals on Trump’s border wall, unethical judges and corrupt nominees, Mr. Schumer seems uninterested in protecting progressive values from compromise. He must not repeat these follies when he begins negotiating on the environment.
While Schumer writes letters about green infrastructure, he seems unwilling to stop Joe Manchin, the Democrat with the worst environmental record in the caucus, from becoming ranking member of the Senate Energy Committee. While Schumer likes to compromise with Trump, what he is really compromising are the values Democrats were elected to protect.
Communications contact: Patrick Davis, (202) 222-0744, [email protected]