Spotlighting the Defaulters
Conservation voters are shining a spotlight on Congressional defaulters—and the truth is ugly. For a start, 100 thousand clean energy jobs will go in the trash bin if the defaulters get their way.
The headlines this past week have been full of the tense negotiations between the Biden Administration and the House Republican leadership over raising the federal “debt limit.” In reality, the debate is over whether a far-right House majority will force the United States government to default on payment of obligations (including Social Security and Medicare payments, veterans benefits, salaries for members of the military and other government employees, etc.) that Congress has already authorized.
These defaulter politicians are trying to use the threat of global economic catastrophe from an American default on its bills as blackmail to force draconian cuts to every program they happen to dislike—including health care, renewable energy development, and environmental protection. Advocates for responsible government—including conservation voters—are calling out these deadbeat members of Congress via ads targeting their districts.
“House Republicans are hoping their constituents won’t notice the incredibly irresponsible risks they are taking with their own districts’ future and the entire country’s economy–all to score points for Big Oil and MAGA extremists,” said Pete Maysmith, Senior Vice President for Campaigns at the League of Conservation Voters (LCV). “We aren’t going to stop making sure these communities hear about the real costs in terms of jobs and critical services their families could feel if Republicans in Congress, including their own representative, get their way.”
“With their Default on America Act, House Republicans are proving yet again that they’d rather serve the interests of Big Oil, than the health and wellbeing of their constituents,” said Lori Lodes, Executive Director of Climate Power. “Their communities deserve to know that their representative voted to kill good clean energy jobs in their districts to give more tax breaks to Big Oil.”Watch the national ad being run by LCV and Climate Power here.
