Groups Support Senators’ Attempt to Rollback Trump’s Sham Energy Emergency

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Senate failed to advance a resolution, introducedby U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM), that would repeal the sham energy emergency executive order signed by Donald Trump. The executive order has been used as an excuse by the Trump administration to give handouts to Big Oil and Gas executives while attacking affordable, clean energy, raising consumer costs and killing jobs in the process.

Sierra Club and nearly 170 other groups sent a letterto Senators asking them to support the resolution. The letter reads:

"President Trump's declaration is a thinly-veiled attempt to ban cleaner and cheaper forms of energy and gut environmental protections in order to further enrich his oil and gas executive donors at the expense of our communities, property rights, and clean air and water."

The groups cite a variety of reasons to support termination of the executive order including the administration's attacks on grid stability, safety, and reliability, as well as undermining efforts to keep energy affordable for Americans, including rolling back energy efficiency standards.

In reaction, Sierra Club Director of Beyond Fossil Fuels Policy Mahyar Sorour issued the following statement:

"It has been painfully obvious from the beginning that the only reason Donald Trump declared an energy emergency was in order to line the pockets of his fossil fuel donors - he told us as much on the campaign trail. Now the American people are starting to feel the effects of higher energy prices because of this sham emergency and the subsequent attack on clean energy. We are grateful for the leadership of Senators Heinrich and Kaine and Senate Democrats to get rid of this disastrous executive order."

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About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America's largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of 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 https://www.sierraclub.org.