trey.pollard@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON, DC - Just one week after Donald Trump declared that “I am proud to shut down the government" in order to secure taxpayer funding for a racist, useless, and destructive border wall he has repeatedly claimed would be paid for by Mexico, Trump has vetoed legislation to fund the government and provoked a government shutdown.
In Response, Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune Released the Following Statement:
“The Trump Shutdown will put tens of thousands of people out of work, throw our public lands and their surrounding communities into uncertainty, and take the people who keep toxins out of our air and water off the beat.
“Why? So that Donald Trump can engage in a political stunt about a ‘wall’ which is completely useless, exorbitant, and destructive. Congress should put an end to this circus once and for all by making clear it will reject any funding for Trump’s border wall whatsoever, and providing a clean funding package for the government right away.”
THE CONSEQUENCES OF A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN:
NATIONAL PARKS & VISITORS AT RISK:
A government shutdown would put thousands of people out of work and deny public servants their paychecks right before the holidays.
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Uncertain plans for national parks and public lands will throw our national park service, park visitors, and the communities surrounding our public lands into chaos.
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This is a time people should be able to spend with their families in special places like the Grand Canyon, Yosemite and the Statue of Liberty, but all that is now up in the air.
PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY AGENCIES WOULD BE SHUT DOWN:
Shutting down the government also shutters essential agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency, taking watchdog officials who keep toxic pollution out of our air and water off the beat.
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During the 2013 shutdown, cleanup work on many of the 800 contaminated federal Superfund sites stopped.
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The same year, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission had to send all but about 300 of its 3,900 workers home during the shutdown, and had to cancel all emergency preparedness exercises and routine inspections of nuclear materials and waste licensees.
A USELESS, OBSCENELY EXPENSIVE BORDER WALL:
A border wall, which would cost more than $26 billion, is widely recognized as an ineffective boondoggle that would have no discernable impact on immigration along the border.
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The Government Accountability Office cannot reference a single report that proves border walls inhibit crime or increase safety.
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Despite that, communities along the border are already dealing with the damages of existing sections of wall and fencing every day.
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Ongoing damages including flooding, the cutting off of wildlife migration routes, and the tearing apart communities already decimated by this administration’s cruel and racist immigration agenda.
IT'S TIME FOR CONGRESS TO REJECT TRUMP’S BORDER WALL BOONDOGGLE AND KEEP OUR GOVERNMENT OPEN.
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 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.