“We cannot and should not remain silent in the face of injustice”
NEW YORK, NY – Upon the US House of Representatives’ passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, the debt ceiling agreement, Rabbi Jennie Rosenn, Founder and CEO of Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action issued the following statement:
“Like so many Americans, we were relieved to hear that a deal was reached to avoid default on the national debt. But it is also clear that this compromise traded away some of the rights and protections that will help us achieve a just and livable future for generations to come.
The legislation weakens foundational environmental law, fast tracks the fracked-gas Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) – which has already been sued by the state of Virginia and found guilty of water quality violations – and makes troubling changes to critical social safety net programs.
All told, these provisions undermine our ability to safeguard our collective future and put communities on the frontlines of poverty and pollution, especially communities of color, in harm’s way. This is the latest attempt by fossil fuel companies and those who do their bidding to profit on the backs of working families and at the expense of our collective future.
We want our economy and society to thrive, but we cannot and should not remain silent in the face of injustice. Invoking the Jewish tradition of tochecha or rebuke, we denounce dangerous and short-sighted attempts to build new fossil fossil projects and harm impacted communities. We call on Members of Congress to join us in raising our voices of concern.
It’s not too late for the Senate to strike the provisions that will worsen the climate crisis and pass a clean debt ceiling bill. We’re counting on Majority Leader Schumer to continue to lead on climate and environmental justice by allowing amendments to the bill, and for Senators to vote for the future that science and justice require.”