In response to the Senate agreeing on a climate bill investing $369 billion into energy and climate change programs, NextGen America President Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez released the following statement:
“When young people turned out in record numbers last election cycle, they were voting for bold solutions to tackle our impending climate catastrophe. We’ve been leading the fight for climate action for nearly a decade, and we celebrate knowing that our efforts led to this historic moment. We commend Senator Manchin for finally doing the right thing and siding with the overwhelming majority of Americans who want immediate action on climate change. The agreed-upon bill is the most ambitious climate legislation in our country’s history and a direct result of millions of young people advocating for climate justice and pushing lawmakers forward.
“When Tom Steyer founded NextGen in 2013, we moved quickly and effectively to build a movement of young people that could use their collective power to mobilize on the climate crisis. Since then, we’ve registered more than 1.4 million young voters and educated millions more to push climate to the forefront of our country’s agenda.
“The Senate is currently split 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans, and we need every single Democrat to get this bill done. As we look ahead to the midterms, we have to vote out Republicans who wish to hold us in gridlock and roll back the progress we have made. It’s our people and our planet versus pollution, money, and greed.
“The Inflation Reduction Act will put our nation on track to cut pollution in half by 2030, create millions of good-paying clean-energy jobs, and reduce energy bills for working families across the country. It puts the health of people over the profit of big corporations, and prioritizes clean and cheap energy over dirty and expensive pollution. Congress must pass this immediately to put us on the right course to combating this climate catastrophe.”
