For Immediate Release
July 13, 2021
Maryland LCV Hosts statewide Town Hall with Rep. Steny Hoyer about how the Build Back Better Plan will benefit all Marylanders
Annapolis, MD– Almost a hundred Marylanders tuned in Tuesday afternoon for a virtual Town Hall with Maryland Congressman Steny Hoyer to discuss how the Biden Administration’s Build Back Better plan will directly benefit Marylanders. Community leaders asked the Congressman questions about how he will champion this ambitious clean energy, environmental justice, and jobs plan.
“I am glad to participate in this evening’s town hall with the Maryland League of Conservation Voters and people across our state who care deeply about how we can build Maryland back better,” said Congressman Hoyer. “Marylanders deserve strong investments in infrastructure that will help lay the foundation for our families, communities, and economy to thrive.
This means creating more union jobs with strong wages, addressing environmental and economic inequities in communities of color, addressing the climate crisis, and boosting our economy at the same time. That is why I am working hard to enact President Biden’s American Jobs Plan into law. I thank the Maryland League of Conservation Voters for hosting this discussion today and all the Marylanders who tuned in because they continue to believe strongly in the importance of a sustainable environment and a robust economy.”
“Marylanders have made clear that they support meaningful investments in climate, clean energy jobs, and justice,” said Kim Coble, Maryland LCV executive director. “The Biden Administration’s Build Back Better plan would deliver these investments, and we greatly appreciate Congressman Hoyer’s leadership role in promoting this much-needed plan.”
“We’re running out of time to tackle the climate crisis and address longstanding environmental injustice in this country,” said Matthew Davis, LCV Senior Director of Government Affairs. “It’s imperative for Congress to pass the entire Build Back Better agenda, and put us on the path to 100% clean energy in order to get people back to work in high-quality jobs while investing in ambitious climate solutions and environmental justice.”
“It is critical that working people are front and center as our economy transitions and that we create good, union jobs, while tackling the climate crisis,” said Dan Taylor, Regional Field Organizer with the BlueGreen Alliance. “The Biden administration’s American Jobs Plan is a great first step that puts people first as it ambitiously tackles today’s challenges.”
“Justice 40 holds tremendous promise for fence line communities in the fight against climate change. To make the promise a reality, the NAACP Maryland State Conference implores our legislators to build in specific language to the funding, oversight, interventions, and authority, to ensure organizations, which have historically been instruments for imposing discriminatory, race-based policies and practices, use the funding as intended.” said Staci Hartwell, Co-Chair, NAACP Maryland State Conference, Environmental and Climate Justice Committee.
“It’s important to ensure that water is a central component of any infrastructure package. We want to see both investment in hard infrastructure and flood-resilient nature-based infrastructure. Wetlands, trees, and aquatic ecosystems are critical to water health as well as drinking water pipes and wastewater treatment facilities,” said Rosa Hance, Maryland Sierra Club Chapter Chair.
“Preservation is not exclusively about the physical power of preserving historic buildings and sites,” said Nicholas Redding, President and CEO of Preservation Maryland. “Preservation is also a valuable workforce development tool; trained hands within trades careers are required to complete vital revitalization and restoration work across the state.”
“The immediate health effects of climate change, such as heat related deaths in the Pacific Northwest, are increasing dramatically. The Biden administration climate plan is ambitious and needs to be passed this year to provide impetus for action to prevent even more catastrophic events in the future. Personally, as a physician, this is a moral imperative. We applaud Congressman Hoyer’s work on this issue.” said Christine D. Berg, M.D. of Greenbelt Climate Action Network.
“The Build Back Better plan will begin to address systemic crises in our frontline communities, including the interconnected challenges of climate change, COVID-19, the economic crisis, and racial injustice,” said Wandra Ashley-Williams, Maryland Regional Director of Climate XChange.
“Access to clean water is essential to a better, healthier, more equitable future. Yet many children and families across the U.S. still do not have access to safe sanitation or lead-free water from their taps—especially in low-income communities of color,” said Becky Hammer, Senior Attorney & Deputy Director of Federal Water Policy at NRDC. “President Biden’s American Jobs Plan would replace 100% of the lead pipe and service lines and modernize the nation’s drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater systems—all at no cost to homeowners.”
“Congress needs to invest in clean water for all and environmental justice for the communities that have borne the brunt of decades of pollution and economic decline,” said Willis Kliefoth, Director of Digital Communications for Potomac Conservancy. “The American Jobs Plan provisions for green jobs, environmental justice, and nature-based infrastructure are key aspects of a bold, holistic vision for economic recovery that will make our communities healthier and more resilient, restore wildlife habitat, and ensure an equitable transition to a green jobs-based economy.”
Partners for this event included Strong Future Maryland, CCAN, GCAN, Sierra Club- SoMD, National Wildlife Federation, Preservation MD, NAACP-MSC, Climate X Change, NRDC, Potomac Conservancy, and Blue Green Alliance.
This event was recorded and streamed live on facebook.
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Maryland LCV is known for educating lawmakers and holding them accountable for their leadership and votes on key environmental issues. Their annual scorecard, along with other reports, help inform voters about their legislators’ records.
Mdlcv.org