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Progressives Reject “Compromise” Infrastructure Bill They Say Fails to Meet Scale of Climate Crisis

HeadlineJun 15, 2021

Senator Bernie Sanders, Ed Markey and other progressive lawmakers are rejecting a bipartisan infrastructure bill negotiated by Democrats Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, along with Mitt Romney and other Republicans. The compromise package calls for $580 billion in new spending, which climate activists say is far short of what’s needed to avert a climate catastrophe.

Meanwhile, dozens of youth climate activists marched across the Golden Gate Bridge Monday, capping a 266-mile march across California to demand officials take real action on the climate crisis. The protesters ended their march at the San Francisco home of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. This is 17-year-old Ema Govea, a member of the Sunrise Movement and one of the leaders of the march.

Ema Govea: “They are not being brave, and they’re not fighting hard enough to keep the climate in this infrastructure bill, to fight for the boldest, most well-funded civilian climate corps possible. And we know — we understand the science. We know what is necessary. We are asking for their legislation to be at scale with the climate crisis. And frankly, everything that they’re putting forward is too watered down. It’s just not enough.”

The protest came as California faces a historic drought, with firefighters preparing for a wildfire year they anticipate could rival last year’s record-breaking season.

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