RECLAIM Act
Why we organize for Climate Justice, Racial Justice, a Just Transition, and a healthy democracy
Anyone in the U.S. under the age of forty and paying attention has lived their entire life aware of the existential threat caused by the global climate crisis. In recent years, Americans of all ages have expressed increased levels of alarm and urgency about climate change. According to Pew Research Center, in 2020 nearly seven-in-ten Biden voters (sixty-eight percent) said climate change was very important to their vote; six-in-ten Americans viewed climate change as “a major threat to the well-being of the U.S.” A Tufts University study found that young Americans named climate change as one of their top three concerns motivating them to vote in 2020, behind COVID-19 and racism.
Whatever Happened to the RECLAIM Act? Mitch McConnell killed it.
We are two women who have different connections to Appalachia, but who share a passion for the mountains. Melissa grew up in Van Lear, the home of Loretta Lynn. Her mom and dad still reside there. Many of her relatives worked in the mines, including both of her grandfathers. Rebecca lived much of her adult life in the hills of North Carolina.
Kentuckians are hurting, but Sen. McConnell does nothing
Kentuckians are hurting from the triple whammy of long-term economic distress, the COVID-19 health crisis, and collapse of jobs and income due to the pandemic. According to a recent story in the Washington Post, 1/2 of all adults in Kentucky have lost some employment income since March, 1/4 of all Kentuckians say they do not get enough food to eat, and 1/3 of all Kentucky households struggle to pay the rent or mortgage.
Yet Sen. Mitch McConnell, arguably the most powerful member of Congress, seems to have turned his back on the people he represents, and millions of people in the United States.
RECLAIM Act, AML Pass the House as part of H.R. 2, The Moving Forward Act
Additional Media Contact
Rebecca Shelton
Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center
859-893-0543
Resources
RECLAIM Act and AML pass the House as part of The Moving Forward Act
Kentucky will have a better chance at seeing its $400 million backlog of mine reclamation projects move forward thanks to legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on July 1.
Both the RECLAIM Act and reauthorization of the Abandoned Mine Lands Program were included in the INVEST in America Act (a.k.a The Moving Forward Act), a broad bill addressing the country’s infrastructure needs.
"I am overjoyed that Congress is finally helping to clean up abandoned mines and polluted waterways," said Joanne Hill, a retired nurse originally from Harlan County now living in Pulaski County. "For too long, Kentuckians have been pleading for action with no response.”
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