Brad:

Right now, the GOP Congress isn’t planning to include any disaster relief in the continuing resolution that must be passed by tomorrow to prevent another government shutdown. Instead they plan to lift budget limits to give the military $659 billion.

It is critical that we send as many emails as possible to Congress right now to demand better for our fellow Americans under attack not just by fossil-fueled disasters but also their own government.

Write letters to your Members of Congress as they vote on the latest stopgap spending bill.

An $81-billion climate-disaster bill to help the survivors of the fossil-fueled Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria and the Western wildfires has languished since December. As communities from Puerto Rico to California struggle to recover from these disasters, we cannot leave them behind.

This is what global warming looks like: In Texas, survivors of Hurricane Harvey are still grappling with chemical spills and toxic flooding from the area’s fossil-fuel infrastructure—especially in lower-income communities. And the news just broke of yet another FEMA scandal in Puerto Rico, where a contractor was contracted for 30 million meals—and only delivered 50,000. Maria leveled or damaged more than a third of homes on the island—and the federal government is doing close to nothing.

“Many Puerto Ricans see the disaster as an opportunity to rebuild smartly,” NewsDay writes. “But to do so, the island needs more help, and more recognition by Washington that these are fellow citizens, too.”

The 3.4 million American citizens of Puerto Rico have no vote in Congress. They are working to survive, recover, and rebuild. Today, we can take a minute to be their voice.

Write your Congressional representatives now and demand climate justice.

Your fellow climate hawk,
Brad

References

Four months after Maria, still desperate in Puerto Rico, NewsDay
https://www.newsday.com/opinion/editorial/puerto-rico-after-hurricane-maria-1.16501714

FEMA Contract Called for 30 Million Meals for Puerto Ricans. 50,000 Were Delivered, The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/06/us/fema-contract-puerto-rico.html

In Puerto Rico, a housing crisis U.S. storm aid won't solve, Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-puertorico-housing-specialreport/special-report-in-puerto-rico-a-housing-crisis-u-s-storm-aid-wont-solve-idUSKBN1FQ211

Floods Are Getting Worse, and 2,500 Chemical Sites Lie in the Water’s Path, The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/02/06/climate/flood-toxic-chemicals.html

Senate nears two-year deal on spending, The Hill
http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/372657-senate-nears-two-year-deal-on-spending

House sends spending bill to keep government open to the Senate, CNN
https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/06/politics/house-vote-shutdown-government-spending/index.html