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Amid widespread applause Sunday for U.S. Senate Democrats' long-awaited passage of a budget reconciliation package, Indigenous and conservationist leaders declared that they were "deeply disappointed" in lawmakers' refusal to restore protections to a key region of Alaska.
"Congress has chosen to ignore the health of the Arctic and the Gwich'in way of life."
Unlike the Build Back Better Act approved by House Democrats last year, the deal negotiated by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) doesn't shield the incredibly biodiverse Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) from fossil fuel activity--which the Wilderness Society called "a grievous attack on the rights, culture, and sacred lands of the Gwich'in and Inupiat peoples."
After the Inflation Reduction Act passed the Senate on Sunday, Bernadette Demientieff, executive director of the Gwich'in Steering Committee--an Indigenous group that has long fought to safeguard ANWR's Coastal Plain--blasted the exclusion.
"In the Arctic, we're experiencing a warming climate at four times the rate as the rest of the world, yet Congress has chosen to ignore the health of the Arctic and the Gwich'in way of life by failing to stop this destructive and failed oil and gas program," she said. "We will never stop fighting to protect these sacred lands, the Porcupine caribou, and our communities."
\u201cThe Arctic Refuge is an essential nursery for the world\u2019s birds\u2014but it was put in jeopardy due to potential oil and gas development. But there's hope\u2014we have a chance to permanently #ProtectTheArctic. Take action today: https://t.co/lw4T4M5UFs\u201d— Audubon Society (@Audubon Society) 1659845521
After Manchin joined with Senate Republicans in 2017 to thwart efforts by other Democrats and conservationists to protect ANWR, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) proposed forcing the U.S. Interior Department to hold two lease sales for ANWR--legislation that was included in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
When signing what critics called the GOP tax scam into law in December 2017, then-President Donald Trump said that "corporations are literally going wild over this." Murkowski, meanwhile, framed the passage of her ANWR measure as "a watershed moment for Alaska and all of America" that would "give us renewed hope for growth and prosperity."
While the first of the two required lease sales was held just before Trump left office in 2021, the event failed to attract fossil fuel giants.
In fact, as the Gwich'in Steering Committee pointed out Sunday, as global banks and insurance companies have pledged to not be involved with exploiting ANWR, the three companies with leases--Regenerate Alaska, the only oil firm that bid in the 2021 sale, along with Chevron and Hilcorp, which both held decades-old leases--have backed out.
Peter Winsor, executive director of Alaska Wilderness League, said in June that Regenerate Alaska, a subsidiary of Australia-based 88 Energy, "canceling its lease interest on the heels of Chevron and Hilcorp divesting themselves of their own Arctic refuge holdings is the clearest sign yet that there is zero interest out there in industrializing the wildest place left in America."
"We have long known that the American people don't want drilling in the Arctic refuge, the Gwich'in people don't want it, and we now have further proof that the oil industry doesn't want it either," he added.
\u201cThe Arctic Refuge comprises 19.3 million acres of land that has been stewarded and held sacred by Gwich'in & I\u00f1upiat people for millennia.\n\nCongress must #ProtectTheArctic and repeal the drilling mandate in the #InflationReductionAct. #StandWithTheGwichin\n\nhttps://t.co/EU2PvdNs32\u201d— Northern Center (NAEC) (@Northern Center (NAEC)) 1659383533
Following the Senate's vote Sunday, Winsor joined Demientieff, the Gwich'in leader, in expressing disappointment about the package's exclusion of ANWR safeguards while also highlighting handouts to fossil fuel giants included in the legislation.
"The United States just took a big leap forward to address climate change," he said. "However, today's progress left out public lands as part of the solution, and in fact parts of the bill increased oil and gas extraction on our nation's lands and waters, including in Alaska's Cook Inlet."
"We are... doubling down on our efforts to make certain that public lands are the focus of future climate progress."
The Biden administration in May canceled three fossil fuel lease sales for the Gulf of Mexico and Cook Inlet, citing a lack of industry interest--a move welcomed by climate campaigners, who continue to call on President Joe Biden to end all offshore drilling.
Discussing Manchin and Schumer's compromise, Nicole Whittington-Evans, state director at Defenders of Wildlife, told the Anchorage Daily News in late July that "I think the Alaska provisions will really greatly reduce our achievements, in terms of climate, with this deal."
The federal government would have to make at least 60 million acres of waters available for fossil fuel leases to hold a sale for offshore wind energy projects, which Whittington-Evans said "is very significant" and "does not seem like a great trade-off for Alaska."
Winsor on Sunday pledged to keep fighting for regional protections, saying that "while we too celebrate a win today for our climate as a whole, we are also doubling down on our efforts to make certain that public lands are the focus of future climate progress."
"Tomorrow we'll be back at work," he said, "seeking to restore congressional protections for the Arctic refuge, and urging President Biden to do everything in his power to make sure the Arctic refuge is a climate solution, and not an oilfield."
As GOP-led states continue working to further restrict reproductive freedom in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's late June ruling, some progressive advocates on Monday responded critically to the introduction of bipartisan abortion rights legislation.
Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) introduced the Reproductive Freedom for All Act, which they claim "would undo the damage of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health, the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade."
NARAL Pro-Choice America president Mini Timmaraju declared that "this bill is just another political stunt that would not actually address the abortion rights and access crisis that has pushed care out of reach for millions of people already."
"Unless these senators are willing to end the filibuster to pass this measure, there's no reason to take it seriously," Timmaraju added.
\u201cOk, fine. We\u2019ll say it.\n\nThis bill is not it. When millions of people are living without the right to an abortion, a bill that doesn\u2019t even prohibit pre-viability abortion bans is a performance at best. We are in crisis and we need Congress to act like it.\u201d— Physicians for Reproductive Health (@Physicians for Reproductive Health) 1659384711
A coalition of 15 groups including the ACLU, NARAL, Physicians for Reproductive Health (PRH), and Planned Parenthood Federation of America said in a lengthy joint statement Monday that "the crisis today demands legislative solutions that make abortion truly accessible."
"We are looking to the future and the bills that get us there--bills that protect our liberty, and strike down the political interference that denies us access to abortion and treats us as less than," the coalition continued. "Regrettably, the bill introduced does not address the abortion access crisis."
"This bill claims to 'codify' Roe v. Wade but fails to do so. In fact, it does not expressly prohibit pre-viability abortion bans, leaving states able to continue to pass abortion bans that are denying people access to essential healthcare across the country," the groups added. "This bill has been written for a world that does not exist and would provide little solace in the nightmare we are living."
According to the co-sponsors, the Reproductive Freedom for All Act would:
NARAL noted that in February, then again in May--after a draft of the Dobbs decision leaked--both Collins and Murkowski refused to support the Women's Health Protection Act (WHPA), a Democrat-led bill to codify Roe, the 1973 decision that affirmed the constitutional right to abortion until it was recently overturned by the high court's far-right majority.
At least 10 Republican senators would have to join with the Democratic caucus to pass a bill, due to the filibuster rule that is backed by not only the GOP, but also Sinema and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who notably opposed WHPA.
\u201cThis bill is a political stunt that won\u2019t address the abortion rights & access crisis that is causing harm in the lives of real people across the country right now. Here\u2019s what the Senate can do: end the filibuster\u2014 and pass WHPA. https://t.co/INGGWEG17h\u201d— Mini Timmaraju (@Mini Timmaraju) 1659389905
"Senate Republicans have been crystal clear about where they stand on abortion," NARAL said, pointing out that ahead of the Dobbs ruling, "47 GOP senators signed onto amicus briefs calling on the court to end" Roe.
Collins and Murkowski also helped shift the U.S. Supreme Court to the right during former President Donald Trump's tenure. Though Murkowski voted present rather than to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Collins voted against confirming Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Murkowski backed Barrett, Collins supported Kavanaugh, and they both voted for Justice Neil Gorsuch.
As The Washington Postreported Monday:
It's not clear that Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) would bring up the bill for a vote ahead of the midterm elections in November. There has been disagreement in the Democratic caucus on whether a bipartisan bill that has no chance of passage should be brought forward, which would make it more difficult for Democratic candidates to contrast themselves with Republicans. And many Democrats, Kaine said, would prefer the Democratic version of the bill, the Women's Health Protection Act, which includes fewer limitations on abortion.
Kaine calls the bill the bare minimum.
"What the four of us were trying to do was put a statutory minimum in place that replicated what the law was a day before Dobbs," he said.
The newspaper noted that Kaine also admitted their proposal does not have the support of 10 Republican senators.
Last week, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) blocked the Right to Contraception Act. Because Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) tried to pass the House-approved bill by unanimous consent, other GOP senators were not required to weigh in.
This post has been updated with the coalition statement.
Advocacy groups on Tuesday blasted new efforts by U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin to strike a deal with the GOP on climate legislation after months of the West Virginia Democrat preventing the House-approved Build Back Better Act from reaching President Joe Biden's desk.
"The White House and Democratic leadership must push for the solutions we need, not merely what pleases Joe Manchin."
Manchin and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) organized a Monday night meeting to "gauge bipartisan interest in a path forward that addresses our nation's climate and energy security needs head-on," a Manchin spokesperson, Sam Runyon, toldBloomberg.
Food & Water Watch managing director of policy Mitch Jones said in a statement Tuesday that "the Build Back Better bill was effectively stymied by Sen. Manchin, who is now apparently part of an effort to craft a bipartisan bill that would be even weaker than the compromise efforts he soundly rejected last year."
While congressional Democrats attempted to use the budget reconciliation process to pass the $1.75 trillion package, it was blocked by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Manchin, who said Monday that "if I can find something bipartisan, we don't need reconciliation."
According to Bloomberg, "Manchin told reporters after the meeting that one area of common ground could be reform of the federal oil and gas leasing process."
The outlet reported:
In addition to reform on permitting, a potential package could include revisions to federal land policy, aid for domestic pipelines, efforts to bolster production of both liquefied natural gas at home and abroad and critical minerals, a person familiar with the matter said. It's possible the changes could be paired with hundreds of billions of dollars in new and expanded tax credits for wind and solar power, nuclear plants, biofuels and advanced energy manufacturing sought by Democrats and the White House and included in earlier iterations of the Build Back Better spending bill, the person said.
Runyon didn't respond to a request for comment about the possible elements of a deal.
In his response to reports about Manchin's negotiations, Jones said that "this approach could only be considered 'climate legislation' if we warp the meaning of that term to include bills that will make climate change worse."
"Instead of letting Manchin and fossil fuel interests define the terms," he added, "the White House and Democratic leadership must push for the solutions we need, not merely what pleases Joe Manchin."
\u201c\ud83d\udea8\ud83d\udea8\ud83d\udea8I am begging everyone to pay attention to what is happening in Congress. After blocking the Dem climate+ agenda, Senator Manchin is pushing a \u201cdeal\u201d that would expand fossil fuel production and endanger many lives. This is not a climate deal, this is breakfast for industry.\u201d— Saul (@Saul) 1650979996
Sierra Club also released a statement Tuesday opposing attempts to compromise with the GOP, declaring that "just as there's no negotiating with arsonists on how much of a building they can burn, there's no negotiating with a party of climate deniers on climate action."
"For decades, the overwhelming majority of Republicans in Washington, D.C. have made their views on climate change abundantly clear: It's much ado about nothing, if it even exists," the group noted, citing some prominent examples--including recent comments from Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), who attended Manchin's meeting.
During an NPR interview in January, Cramer said:
The vast majority of people that we work for, that would be our constituents, believe that there is climate change, that it is going the wrong direction in terms of the temperature of the Earth and that they want us to do something about it. My starting point is that it's not near the crisis that the alarmists have made it out to be. But at the same time, nobody is going to solve the problem except humans. Other than God himself, we're the only ones in a position to contribute or to lower our contribution, whatever that might be. And our constituents expect us to do that.
Asked what he says to young people concerned about the future, Cramer said that "what I would tell them is that the Earth has gone through cycles for as long as there's been creation. What I would also tell them is what we can't do is we can't destroy ourselves in the process of trying to save the Earth."
Discussing the Monday meeting with Axios, Cramer said that Manchin, "not surprisingly, likes to be proactive and he wants to see what's possible."
"What's acceptable to them has got to be something that can get 10 of us," he added. "And that's going to be pretty tough."
\u201cBipartisan group of senators meets to figure out how to do not enough to solve an existential crisis, with the understanding that whatever they agree on, the wealthiest people and corporations on earth can't be asked to contribute a dime more in taxes. https://t.co/gQEzjIbgB6\u201d— Citizens for Tax Justice (@Citizens for Tax Justice) 1650981000
Sierra Club said that "even when Republicans are capable of recognizing the facts about the climate crisis, they're unwilling to take any action to address it," highlighting that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) "wasted decades denying the existence of climate change--collecting a small fortune in donations from corporate polluters along the way--only to now have no plan to address the crisis."
"It's past time for President Biden and Democratic leadership to reject this nonsense and deliver on their promises of action on climate, care, jobs, and justice," the group asserted. "Our communities and our planet urgently need investments in transitioning to clean energy, reducing pollution, cutting costs for working families, creating good jobs, and promoting environmental justice."
Sierra Club was among the groups that held "Fight for Our Future" rallies across the country this past weekend.
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"Building on this momentum, the Green New Deal Network will place ads in D.C. specifically targeting the Senate and President Biden to deliver on their promises to protect communities from climate, economic, and racial injustices as they return from recess," announced the group, which joined the rallies.
"Fighting for our future is more than just a slogan. It's about demanding that those who we elected actually show up to represent our best interests," said Angelica Zamora, the network's political manager for Arizona. "It is vital that we invest in our planet and people so that we can ensure justice for our communities."
"There is a small window of opportunity to reverse the damage of the climate crisis and provide vital resources that families in Arizona, and across the country, need to thrive," Zamora added. "We need public officials to not waste this moment, but join us in rallying for the security of our future."