Contact: [email protected] With the Senate’s passage of the latest permitting reform bill today, Mar Zepeda Salazar, legislative director at Climate Justice Alliance, issued the following statement: ‘Millions of voters delivered a clear message to the nation’s political leadership last week: they want change that puts people first, prioritizes affordability and democracy and holds powerful corporations and politicians accountable to the same rules as everyone else. ‘At a moment when Congress has been given a mandate to protect and safeguard the people, it is disgraceful that senators have voted to pass a dirty permitting deal that locks in fossil fuel pollution for generations and puts corporate profits ahead of our families’ health and economic well-being. Let me be clear: We need sound permitting reform. This means a process that delivers the clean energy and infrastructure our communities need, efficiently and responsibly, and with community support. But this bill was shaped by the very industries that have spent decades damaging our health, exploiting our resources, and putting our futures at risk. It gives fossil fuel companies a fast lane to build polluting projects while circumventing environmental review and community input. The result will be dirtier air, more asthma attacks, higher healthcare costs, and further damage to our public lands. ‘The process that produced this bill is just as troubling as the deal itself. You cannot claim to be delivering for communities when you negotiate on our futures without us. This legislation was negotiated behind closed doors, without the transparency, meaningful consultation, or accountability communities deserve. For Tribal nations and Indigenous peoples, the consequences threaten sovereignty, destroying sacred sites, and protections for their lands and waters. ‘This vote is shameful. Communities deserve a seat at the table, but instead we are having our futures negotiated away behind closed doors.The ‘Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act,’ betrays families and communities across this country by putting clean water, air, and our health on the line. Working people should not have to sacrifice these basic protections for corporations that drive up costs, pollute our communities, and use their money and influence to write the rules. ‘In the new Congress, lawmakers must drastically shift course and put families first. That means establishing sensible safeguards and lasting protections for people, ensuring meaningful public participation and respect for Tribal sovereignty, holding corporate polluters accountable, and passing sound economic and environmental legislation that puts people and planet first, including the Environmental Justice for All Act.’ ### The post Senate’s vote to pass BAAJA ‘betrays families and communities across this country’ appeared first on Climate Justice Alliance.