In response to the Senate vote to approve the debt ceiling bill, Collin Rees, United States Program Manager at Oil Change International, said:
“By voting for a dirty deal that fast-tracks the Mountain Valley fracked gas pipeline and guts bedrock environmental laws, Congress betrayed people and the planet. These provisions, which are totally unrelated to the national debt, will turn historically underserved and environmental justice communities into sacrifice zones.
“The pipeline would be a climate and environmental justice disaster, with emissions equivalent to building 26 new coal plants or adding 19 million passenger vehicles to the road. While this bill attempts to prolong the use of fossil fuels, science and justice unequivocally demand a swift transition to renewable energy. President Biden cannot claim to be a climate leader while boosting deadly oil and gas projects. We must end the era of fossil fuels.
“We applaud the bold leaders in Congress who voted to strip the Mountain Valley Pipeline from the Fiscal Responsibility Act and put people over polluters. We will continue to stand with frontline communities opposing this dirty project, and we will not back down. This pipeline will not be built.”