McCarthy/Biden Debt Ceiling Deal Sacrifices Latino/a/e Communities, GreenLatinos Urges Congress to Pass a Clean Increase

WASHINGTON— After weeks of Republicans holding the global economy hostage in order to force their poison pills to increase the debt ceiling, a deal was reached over the weekend. While the deal saves the credit of the United States, it compromises the health and welfare of the families who live here. The “compromises” made by President Biden to reach an agreement include rolling back NEPA, our country’s bedrock environmental law, placing funding caps for critical agencies that protect clean air and water, and legislating the approval of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, a vehemently opposed gas project that endangers Appalachian people and provides new dirty energy infrastructure that encourages the survival of the fossil fuel industry for decades to come.

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

“Simply put, the debt ceiling package negotiated by President Biden and Speaker McCarthy threatens the health, safety, and livelihoods of Latino/a/es nationwide. This package is full of polluter giveaways that systematically target the most marginalized communities in our country, including communities of color and working class families. If passed by Congress, this package would undo historic investments in our comunidades, that are moving our country towards a just, renewable energy economy. This deal is directly at odds with the Administration’s recent Executive Order revitalizing its commitment to environmental justice.

The McCarthy/Biden deal fails Latino/a/e communities by conceding to Big Oil and other polluter interests in a manufactured crisis created by the GOP. We now look to Democrats in Congress as our last line of defense - we ask you all to stay strong and vote no on this dirty debt ceiling package and force a vote on a clean debt ceiling increase.”

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GreenLatinos (NOTE: GreenLatinos is ONE WORD) is an active comunidad of Latino/a/e leaders, emboldened by the power and wisdom of our culture, united to demand equity and dismantle racism, resourced to win our environmental, conservation, and climate justice battles, and driven to secure our political, economic, cultural, and environmental liberation.