Washington, DC, April 28, 2020 — Today, Greenpeace sent a letter to Congressional leadership outlining priorities for upcoming stimulus measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic fallout. The letter — signed by Greenpeace USA Executive Director Annie Leonard and addressed to Representative Nancy Pelosi and Senator Chuck Schumer — urges Congress to transform our country in response to the COVID-19 crisis rather than return to an economy dependent on exploitation and extraction.
To that end, Greenpeace has outlined six policy priorities to ensure that COVID-19 relief efforts prioritize those on the frontlines of the crisis and pave the way for a just, equitable recovery:
- Provide resources to meet immediate needs and ensure relief is given directly to people, including an Essential Worker Bill of Rights.
- Protect democracy by expanding access to the polls and ensuring the security, integrity, and resilience of our electoral system.
- Institute safeguards to prohibit corporate attempts to escape oversight and transparency or use taxpayer money for purposes beyond promoting maximum employment.
- Oppose all attempts to bail out the fossil fuel industry and establish new restrictive conditions on loans through the CARES Act.
- Launch a multi-trillion dollar green infrastructure effort, secure equitable and just investments and protections for communities on the frontlines of pollution and climate disasters, and launch innovative programs to spur job creation beyond fossil fuel extraction.
- Pursue a stabilization strategy for the oil industry’s inevitable permanent decline.
Read the full letter and policy proposals here: https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Greenpeace-Letter-to-Congressional-Leadership-COVID-Response-Recovery-April-2020.pdf
Read a specific briefing on policies to address orphan oil well remediation here: https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/research/policy-briefing-remediation-of-orphan-oil-gas-wells-in-covid-19-stimulus/
Read a specific briefing on policies to protect energy workers and communities in COVID-19 recovery here: https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/research/policy-briefing-protecting-energy-workers-and-communities-in-a-just-covid-19-recovery/
Contact: Ryan Schleeter, Senior Communications Specialist, Greenpeace USA: [email protected], +1 (415) 342-2386
