Sierra Club Reacts to President Biden Support of Senator Manchin’s Polluters Over People Bill

President Biden’s senior advisor for clean energy innovation and implementation John Podesta signaled that the president is supportive of a bill reintroduced by Senator Manchin yesterday. Under the guise of “permitting” reform, the bill would undermine bedrock environmental laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), force dirty infrastructure projects on vulnerable communities, and jeopardize the clean air and water of communities across the country.

In response, Sierra Club Executive Director Ben Jealous released the following statement:

“Supporting legislation that would rubber-stamp a fracked gas pipeline and weaken critical environmental protections is not putting the country on the path towards clean energy innovation and implementation. To meet the President’s own climate goals, we must expedite clean energy, not fossil fuels. Championing this bill would be another step backwards from an administration that has said it wants to prioritize action on the climate crisis and advance environmental justice. The Sierra Club will continue to fight alongside frontline communities to protect their right to clean air and water. We will not allow the pet projects of fossil fuel interests to get pushed through against the will of impacted communities.”