Jonathon Berman, jonathon.berman@sierraclub.org
Washington, DC -- Today, after hours of failed delay tactics from Senate Republicans, Democrats advanced H.R. 1319, the American Rescue Plan Act, a $1.9 trillion COVID relief package. The bill, which the Sierra Club and partner organizations strongly supported, includes an extension of unemployment insurance, survival checks, $20 billion for a national vaccination program, and funding state, local, and Tribal governments.
In response, Sierra Club Deputy Director of Legislative and Administrative Advocacy Kirin Kennedy released the following statement:
“In the past year, we have suffered unimaginable loss and heartache. Nearly 29 million of our family, friends, and neighbors have contracted COVID, and we’ve lost more than 520,000 of them to the deadly virus. Millions more have lost their jobs and their livelihoods and are struggling to make it through the day. We need help; our communities need help. Thankfully, Congressional Democrats took action and passed a relief bill that will deliver much needed assistance to us, to our communities, and to easing the burden of this pandemic and the economic crisis it exacerbated.
“The Sierra Club applauds Congressional Democrats for providing relief and delivering assistance by passing the American Rescue Plan Act while their Republican counterparts were too busy exploiting delay tactics that accomplished neither.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, 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.