Concerned citizens nationwide are telling Congress our real health care crisis from the coronavirus is no excuse to bailout the fossil fuel industry.

The national League of Conservation Voters (LCV) and 17 other environmental advocacy organizations sent a joint letter regarding pending economic stimulus legislation to members of Congress last week. The letter opposes the inclusion of bailout assistance to the dirty fossil fuel industry, and calls instead for the inclusion of support for actions to address the climate crisis.

“On behalf of our millions of members, supporters, and workers, we the undersigned strongly support your efforts to respond to the COVID-19 global public health crisis and its economic ramifications and believe that any government economic stimulus package or supplemental funding in response at least should not exacerbate two other ongoing crises – climate change and environmental injustice – and rather should advance solutions that boost economic recovery and tackle those two crises as well,” the signers said.

Positive measures cited in the letter included infrastructure spending in disadvantaged communities, new transit and active transportation infrastructure, and aid for transitioning to a clean energy economy.