Lisa Frank
Executive Director, Washington Legislative Office, Environment America; Vice President and D.C. Director, The Public Interest Network
Statement: Spending deal spares whales, clean energy rebates
Media Contacts
WASHINGTON – The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote Wednesday on a deal to avert a government shutdown and fund key environmental programs. The legislation:
- Excludes a policy rider that could have pushed North Atlantic right whales closer to extinction by blocking speed limits that save whales
- Largely preserves clean energy and energy efficiency rebates enacted in the Inflation Reduction Act
- Fails to fund the Monarch and Pollinator Highway Program, which would have created urgently needed habitat for declining bee and butterfly populations
- Blocks endangered species protections for the sage grouse
- Provides $1.69 billion for nuclear energy and repurposes $3.6 billion from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act for uranium fuel and nuclear reactors. Every uranium mine ever operated in the United States has required toxic waste cleanup.
If passed, the bill next goes to the U.S. Senate.
Lisa Frank, executive director of Environment America’s Washington Legislative Office, issued the following statement:
“This deal is a compromise and some of America’s amazing wildlife fared better than others. With multiple right whale deaths already this year, it’s a huge relief that this bill doesn’t worsen their plight.
“Bees, butterflies and birds were less lucky. By zeroing out funding for a bipartisan roadside habitat program, Congress missed an opportunity to help nature’s best pollinators. Congress should fund the Monarch and Pollinator Highway Program next year and pass the bipartisan Building Native Habitats at Federal Facilities Act.
“We also thank Congress and President Biden for protecting opportunities for Americans to save energy and electrify their homes and workplaces.
“Unfortunately, Congress is wasting billions of dollars on nuclear power. Calling nuclear ‘clean’ because it doesn’t emit carbon is like calling bacon fat healthy because it’s sugar-free. Why prop up an industry producing radioactive waste when we could put solar panels on all our roofs?”
“This bill isn’t perfect, but it could have been dramatically worse. Thank you to the green champions in Congress and the Biden administration who thwarted anti-environmental riders, protected wildlife and kept clean energy growing.”