Lauren Lantry, Sierra Club (202) 548-6599 or lauren.lantry@sierraclub.org
Alyssa Roberts, League of Conservation Voters, (202) 454-4573 or aroberts@lcv.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Ahead of this week’s potential vote on the Cassidy-Graham bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Alaska Wilderness League, the Sierra Club, the League of Conservation Voters, Natural Resources Defense Council, Green Latinos, Green For All, Safe Climate Campaign, Earthjustice, Environmental Working Group, Endangered Species Coalition, Earthworks, Friends of the Earth, Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, Oil Change International, The Climate Reality Project, Clean Water Action, Climate Vote Hawks, and 350.org are again urging Congress not to repeal the ACA and to support Planned Parenthood in a letter sent today.
This letter follows one sent in March ahead of the House vote on the repeal of the Affordable Care Act and another in June sent before the last Senate repeal vote.
“As organizations working to ensure that families and communities have access to safe and healthy environments, we recognize that preventive health services and increased access to insurance coverage are critical to promoting public health, especially in the low-income and front line communities that often bear the brunt of environmental pollution,” the groups wrote in the letter. “Therefore, on behalf of our millions of members, activists and supporters nationwide, we urge you to support communities and populations that are at risk from environmental health harms by opposing the repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and maintaining funding for frontline service providers, like Planned Parenthood.”
"Millions of people in this country would be at grave risk by the repeal of the Affordable Care Act and the systematic defunding of Planned Parenthood and its health centers. Furthermore, Senators are writing this legislation in back rooms, avoiding the normal legislative process to avoid public scrutiny of their actions.”
Full text of the letter can be found here.
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 2.7 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.
About Natural Resources Defense Council
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City; Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles; San Francisco; Chicago; Bozeman, Montana; and Beijing. Visit us atwww.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.
About the League of Conservation Voters
The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) works to turn environmental values into national, state and local priorities. LCV, in collaboration with our state LCV partners, advocates for sound environmental laws and policies, holds elected officials accountable for their votes and actions, and elects pro-environment candidates who will champion our priority issues.