November, 01 2021, 04:56pm EDT
Oil Change International Responds to U.S. President Joe Biden Speech at COP26
Today, U.S. President Joe Biden attended the COP26 climate negotiations in Glasgow, Scotland, and spoke to attendees on the United States' plans to address the climate crisis.
WASHINGTON
Today, U.S. President Joe Biden attended the COP26 climate negotiations in Glasgow, Scotland, and spoke to attendees on the United States' plans to address the climate crisis.
Prior to his speech, hundreds of COP26 attendees rallied nearby, including dozens of representatives from communities on the frontlines of fossil fuel extraction in the United States impacted by Biden's refusal to block fossil fuel expansion through executive action. Pictures are available here.
Oil Change International recently released new research analyzing at least 24 pending fossil fuel projects awaiting permit decisions from the Biden Administration, which collectively represent more than 1.6 gigatons of potential greenhouse gas emissions. This list of projects includes oil and gas pipelines such as the Line 3 and Dakota Access pipelines, and liquified natural gas (LNG) export terminals. Biden could stop these projects immediately through executive action, with no constraints from the U.S. Congress.
In response to Biden's speech, Oil Change International U.S. Campaigns Manager Collin Rees released the following statement:
"President Biden's claim that the U.S. is 'leading by example' is a slap in the face to communities suffering daily from the impacts of the climate crisis and fossil fuel extraction. It's long past time for our politicians to listen to these true climate leaders and end the era of fossil fuel production with a just transition.
"Biden's talk of 'climate leadership' will ring hollow until he takes executive action to limit the United States' plans for devastating fossil fuel expansion. For the U.S. to play a helpful role at the UN climate talks, Biden must end fossil fuel subsidies, stop oil and gas expansion, drastically reduce emissions, and massively scale up climate finance for adaptation and loss and damage."
Oil Change International is a research, communications, and advocacy organization focused on exposing the true costs of fossil fuels and facilitating the ongoing transition to clean energy.
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In Fiery Speech, Ocasio-Cortez Rips GOP Budget Bill as 'Deal With the Devil'
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Jul 02, 2025
U.S. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez delivered a scathing condemnation of the GOP's budget reconciliation package—particularly its devastating cuts to Medicaid—in remarks on the House floor Wednesday as Republicans worked to send the legislation to President Donald Trump's desk.
"This bill is a deal with the devil," said Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). "It explodes our national debt, it militarizes our entire economy, and it strips away healthcare and basic dignity of the American people. For what? To give Elon Musk a tax break and billionaires the greedy taking of our nation. We cannot stand for it, and we will not support it."
"You should be ashamed," she added.
AOC: "On this point of tax on tips, as one of the only people in this body who has lived off of tips, I want to tell you a little bit about the scam ... the cap on that is $25,000 while you're jacking up taxes on people who make less than $50,000 across the US ... while kicking… pic.twitter.com/5VrEbJNnHl
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 2, 2025
Ocasio-Cortez expressed contempt for the Trump-backed Republican bill's proposed tax deduction for tips, which would be capped at $25,000 per year.
The New York Democrat argued the provision is effectively meaningless "while you're jacking up taxes on people who make less than $50,000 across the United States while taking away their [nutrition assistance], while taking away their Medicaid, while kicking them off of the [Affordable Care Act] and their healthcare extensions."
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If approved, the Republican reconciliation bill would strip health coverage from at least 17 million Americans, according to expert estimates. That number includes the roughly 12 million who would lose coverage due to the bill's Medicaid cuts and millions more who would be left uninsured by the GOP's refusal to extend ACA subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year.
"President Trump had issued some statements throughout this process saying and urging, insisting, that this bill does not cut Medicaid," Ocasio-Cortez said Wednesday. "President Trump, you're either being lied to or you are lying, because this bill represents... the largest and greatest loss of healthcare in American history."
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President Donald Trump has openly stated his desire to dismantle the Federal Emergency Management Agency—a move that has left some experts fearful about how the United States will handle natural disasters such as hurricanes in the coming months.
The Revolving Door Project, a government watchdog group, has now put together a tracking tool to keep tabs on how much the administration's attacks on both FEMA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have worsened the nation's disaster preparedness.
The tool has two components: An interactive map showing all of the state disaster aid requests that the Trump administration has outright denied or only partially approved and an interactive timeline documenting all of the times that the administration has undermined the functionality of America's disaster preparedness agencies through actions such as placing agency employees on administrative leave and disbanding key bodies such as FEMA's National Advisory Council and its National Dam Safety Review Board.
All of these disruptions and cuts, argued Revolving Door Project senior researcher Kenny Stancil, are likely to come back to bite America in a big way when another natural disaster strikes.
"It's only a matter of time before Trump and Musk's reckless assault on disaster response and preparedness kills people in the United States," he said in explaining the need for the initiative. "It nearly happened in mid-May in Kentucky, where a DOGE-damaged NWS forecast office had to scramble for staff before a tornado. Amid last week's heatwave, low-income households across the country were missing the federal support they need to keep the air conditioning on. And when a major hurricane arrives, Trump, Musk, OMB Director Russell Vought, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem will almost certainly have blood on their hands."
Revolving Door Project executive director Jeff Hauser issued a similarly dire warning about the administration's actions on U.S. disaster preparedness and he described the actions being taken by the administration as "a matter of life-and-death." He also accused the administration of "preventing forecasters and emergency managers at all levels from doing what is necessary to prepare for and respond to disasters."
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While welcoming the "monumental win," the ACLU of Wisconsin's leader also stressed it's no time to back off the fight. "The political attacks on reproductive justice will not slow down, and we must remain vigilant."
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Rights advocates celebrated Wednesday after the Wisconsin Supreme Court's liberal majority struck down the state's abortion ban from 1849, but campaigners also emphasized that threats to specific healthcare providers and reproductive freedom in general persist.
After the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organizationdecision nixed nationwide abortion rights, the Badger State's anti-choice movement argued that the old ban, § 940.04(1), was back in effect. However, the Wisconsin top court concluded 4-3 that it is not, pointing to the state Legislature's actions between Dobbs and Roe v. Wade in 1973.
"We conclude that comprehensive legislation enacted over the last 50 years regulating in detail the 'who, what, where, when, and, how' of abortion so thoroughly covers the entire subject of abortion that it was meant as a substitute for the 19th century near-total ban on abortion," Justice Rebecca Frank Dallet wrote for the majority. "Accordingly, we hold that the legislature impliedly repealed § 940.04(1) as to abortion, and that § 940.04(1) therefore does not ban abortion in the state of Wisconsin."
"With this new ruling from our state's highest court, it's time for Wisconsin Republicans to stop forcing their way into our exam rooms."
Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin initially stopped providing abortions due to uncertainty over the old ban but resumed care a few months after Dane County Judge Diane Schlipper ruled in July 2023 that "there is no such thing as an '1849 abortion ban' in Wisconsin." Joel Urmanski, Sheboygan County's Republican district attorney, asked Schlipper to reconsider her decision, but she reaffirmed it that December. Urmanski then turned to the state's top court, resulting in Wednesday's ruling.
"Today's ruling is another important step forward in protecting and expanding access to abortion in Wisconsin," Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin said on social media. "Since the overturning of Roe, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin has maintained that Wis. Stat. 940.04 could not be enforced against abortion providers. This final ruling again confirms this."
"While we celebrate this ruling, there is more to be done. We will continue essential work to help protect and expand reproductive freedom in Wisconsin so that everyone who needs comprehensive reproductive healthcare in our state can get the nonjudgmental and compassionate care they deserve," the group added, thanking Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul "for their leadership and efforts to protect reproductive freedom in Wisconsin."
BREAKING: We won! In a lawsuit we brought more than three years ago now, the Wisconsin Supreme Court just ruled to protect reproductive freedom in our state and preserve Wisconsinites' access to abortion care.My statement below ⬇️
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— Governor Tony Evers (@govevers.wisconsin.gov) July 2, 2025 at 10:02 AM
Melinda Brennan, executive director of the ACLU of Wisconsin, had a similar reaction to the new decision, saying in a Wednesday statement that "we have been waiting for this moment since the United States Supreme Court overturned our constitutional right and generational expectation to abortion."
"Since then," she said, "pregnant people in Wisconsin have dealt with the catastrophic consequences of having their bodily autonomy stripped from them—including forced pregnancy, denial of critical medical care for pregnancy-related complications like miscarriage, and having to leave home just to get the treatment they need and deserve. Even though that right was restored by lower courts, the fact that the Wisconsin Supreme Court has now rendered the criminal abortion ban unenforceable means Wisconsinites no longer have to fear the archaic 1849 ban could go back into effect."
"With the ban struck down, Wisconsin is a more free and more just place to live," she added. "But that doesn't mean it's time to back down. The political attacks on reproductive justice will not slow down, and we must remain vigilant to make sure everyone who can get pregnant has access to the full range of reproductive healthcare, no matter where in the state they live. Politicians will keep trying to legislate away and restrict our reproductive rights, as well as roll back LGBTQ rights, freedom of expression, and more. While we should celebrate this monumental win, we can't let up."
Great news! The Wisconsin Supreme Court finally struck down an 1849 law that stripped women's rights through a near-total abortion ban. This move protects women's access to medical care and their right to control what happens to their own bodies.
— Rep. Mark Pocan (@pocan.house.gov) July 2, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Lucy Ripp of A Better Wisconsin Together, a progressive research and communications hub affiliated with ProgressNow, responded to the ruling by urging elected Republicans in the state to stop attacking reproductive freedom.
"The Wisconsin Supreme Court's ruling in this case is a historic step forward in protecting and expanding abortion rights in Wisconsin," said Ripp. "We applaud the progressive majority on the court for taking this case and ruling to protect Wisconsinites' right to access abortion care."
"In the face of relentless attacks from Republicans, the vast majority of Wisconsinites have said time and time again that decisions on abortion should be made between a patient and their doctor, not politicians," she declared. "With this new ruling from our state's highest court, it's time for Wisconsin Republicans to stop forcing their way into our exam rooms and finally put an end to their repeated attacks on our access to reproductive healthcare."
The swing state's highest court has attracted national attention in recent years, including with an April election to replace retiring Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, who joined Wednesday's majority opinion. This spring, Susan Crawford defeated far-right Brad Schimel, securing liberals' majority until 2028. Crawford is set to be sworn in at the beginning of August.
Because the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s decision is rooted in state law, SCOTUS cannot reverse it. Reproductive freedom has been restored in Wisconsin … but only for as long as its citizens continue to elect liberal state Supreme Court justices.
— Mark Joseph Stern (@mjsdc.bsky.social) July 2, 2025 at 9:56 AM
While the Wisconsin Supreme Court just affirmed the right to abortion in the state, access to such care remains at risk, in part due to recent action at the federal level. This week, Republicans in Congress are working to pass President Donald Trump's so-called Big Beautiful Bill, which critics call the "Big Ugly Bill" because of provisions including one to "defund" Planned Parenthood by blocking Medicaid payments to abortion providers.
After the U.S. Senate sent the megabill back to the House of Representatives on Tuesday, Planned Parenthood Action Fund president and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson blasted it as "a backdoor abortion ban," warning that "this bill threatens to close nearly 200 Planned Parenthood health centers and will create devastating gaps in our healthcare infrastructure by putting the full range of reproductive care, like birth control, cancer screenings, and STI testing and treatments out of reach for many."
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