Congressional Progressive Staff Association Outraged by Continued Climate Policy Inaction, Supportive of Arrested Members
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 26, 2022
CONTACT
CPSA Press Steward
CPSA.info@mail.house.gov
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Congressional Progressive Staff Association (CPSA) released the following statement in response to the arrests of its members during a peaceful demonstration condemning climate inaction:
“Yesterday morning, 6 congressional staffers, including several members of CPSA, were arrested after holding a peaceful sit-in alongside eleven other colleagues in Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office, urging him to reopen negotiations and do everything within his power to pass robust climate policy. The demonstration follows the submission of a letter a letter to President Biden organized by members of CPSA’s Climate Policy Working Group and signed by over 150 congressional and executive agency staff imploring him to work aggressively with Leader Schumer and Senator Joe Manchin to pass and enact the environmental policy we so desperately need.
“With 60% of congressional staff under the age of 35—facing futures increasingly threatened by a deteriorating climate—we will experience a disproportionate amount of the damage caused by today’s climate inaction. We have spent years drafting policies aimed at combating the climate crisis and fought tirelessly for the inclusion of such policies in the Build Back Better reconciliation package. It’s past time for the Senate to deliver this widely popular agenda to the President’s desk. Time is running out, and the stakes could not be higher.
“The CPSA Steering Committee fully supports and commends those who bravely put their bodies on the line yesterday. When millions of lives are at stake—including the constituents we serve, our families, and our loved ones—it is our responsibility as public servants to do everything in our power to protect them. This marks a new era of staffer activism and organizing, emphasizing both the urgency of the moment as well as the enormity of what is at stake should the Senate fail to act.
“This week, staff have shown Senator Schumer what it means to be bold, creative, and unflinching in the face of the climate crisis. We are doing everything in our power to protect our futures, the futures of our communities, and the future of humanity. President Biden, Senator Schumer, and every other public servant must do the same. Our lives depend on it.”