Washington D.C. — Yesterday, after a Senate Budget Committee hearing on “The Cost of Inaction on Climate Change,” Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Ilhan Omar introduced the End Polluter Welfare Act to close tax loopholes and eliminate federal subsidies on the fossil fuel industry. The Act aims to eliminate corporate handouts to ultimately save up to $150 billion over the next ten years. The End Polluter Welfare Act is co-sponsored by Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-Calif.)
350.org Policy Director Natalie Mebane gave the following response:
“Senator Sanders is right on the mark: the cost of climate inaction is more expensive than transforming the U.S. economy away from fossil fuels. We wholeheartedly support the goal of the End Polluter Welfare Act to halt all tax loopholes, subsidies, and giveaways to the most polluting industry of all time. The era of fossil fuels has ended and it’s high time that Congress implements the necessary checks and balances to hold the coal, oil, and gas industry accountable for the damage they’ve done to our communities and planet. To ensure a just transition to an equitable economy driven by renewable energy, we must direct financial resources to real climate solutions and away from the very polluting corporations that have led us into this climate crisis.”
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Press contact: Thanu Yakupitiyage, [email protected]