New York, NY – With President Biden announcing a negotiated Build Back Better framework, Rabbi Jennie Rosenn, Founder and CEO of Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action issued the following statement:
“After months of remarkable grassroots organizing to demand climate action, Congress today appears to be moving forward with the first substantive climate legislation in a generation. Today’s negotiated framework includes historic investments in clean energy, environmental justice, and good-paying jobs. This package should be passed at the same time as the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, in order to accelerate our transition to the clean energy future that we so desperately need. It is long past time that America confronted the climate crisis.
“But this framework falls short of the promises our leaders made. Politicians at the margins of the Democratic caucus, who do the bidding of fossil fuel corporations and other moneyed interests, eliminated a target to reach 100% clean electricity by 2035 along with needed expansions in access to education, affordable healthcare, and paid leave. Today we lift up the cardinal Jewish commandment: “Justice, justice you shall pursue.” We stand with every working family, every American striving for a fair shot, and the courageous activists who are building a more just and livable future for us all.
“As this framework moves forward, it is time for the Biden Administration to adopt aggressive executive actions to accelerate federal climate action. We call on the President to ban oil and gas extraction on public lands, cancel ongoing and future fossil fuel infrastructure projects, and introduce new regulations to rapidly cut transportation and electricity emissions. We will continue building a Jewish climate movement that confronts the crisis with spiritual audacity and builds political power to call for action at the scale that science and justice demand.”