GreenLatinos Celebrates as the Pollution Permitting Dirty Deal is Forced off the Continuing Resolution, Acknowledges The Fight Isn’t Over

WASHINGTON - On Tuesday evening, Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) was forced to remove his pollution permitting language from the Continuing Resolution, a must-pass government spending bill. This dirty permitting deal would’ve facilitated approvals for fossil fuel infrastructure build-out that continues to disproportionately harm Latino/a/e communities and exacerbate the climate crisis.

GreenLatinos Founding President and CEO Mark Magaña released the following statement:

“This victory is a direct result of the tireless advocacy of frontline communities across the country who  stood up to  Senator Joe Manchin and the fossil fuel industry. We also applaud and acknowledge our Senate, House, and organizational allies who took a stand against this secret backroom deal. These allies stood with us in solidarity against a bill that would perpetuate a centuries-long track record of environmental injustice for Latino/a/e communities.

Instead of weakening our country’s bedrock environmental laws, we should be strengthening them to ensure justice and environmental liberation for our communities who have been historically burdened by dirty air and contaminated water. We urge Congress to support the Environmental Justice for All Act, a historic bill created in consultation with environmental justice communities that would do just that.

Ultimately, while it is important to celebrate this victory, we know that this fight isn’t over. We will continue to work with our partners and allies over the coming weeks and months to ensure that this bill is not included in future "must-pass" legislation, threatening the future of nuestras comunidades. We call on Majority Leader Schumer and Speaker Pelosi to stand with frontline communities and their constituents while meeting the urgency of the climate crisis by not allowing this dirty side deal to be attached to any other future legislation.”

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