On June 17th, FCNL was one of 13 religious organizations that signed a letter to the House of Representatives, urging an appropriations package that provides robust funding for the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Interior and does not include any anti-environmental riders.
June 17, 2019
Dear Representative,The faith community remains committed to protecting God’s creation, addressing climate change and ensuring clean air, land, and water for our communities. We therefore maintain that funding for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a government entity charged with protecting God’s creation and human health, and the Department of the Interior, charged with administering our nation’s public lands, should remain robust.
We were encouraged to see that the proposed appropriations bill includes an increase over 2019 enacted levels for the Department of Interior and Environmental Protection Agency. In particular, we are encouraged to see increased funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, operation of the National Park System, the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds, Superfund, Environmental Justice, and geographic restoration programs for the Great Lakes and Chesapeake Bay.
The religious community has worked faithfully for decades to highlight how water pollution, land contamination, air pollution and climate change impact vulnerable populations like the elderly, communities of color, and low-income communities. As people of faith, we are working to ensure healthy communities and that our children and grandchildren inherit an earth not impaired by climate change, air pollution or water pollution. We look to the Department of Interior and, in particular, the EPA to help us in this endeavor. Therefore, we urge you to ensure that sufficient investments are made in programs that protect human health and God’s gift of land, air, water, and wildlife.
We urge you to ensure an appropriations package that provides robust funding for the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Interior and does not include any anti-environmental riders.
Sincerely,
Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach
Creation Justice Ministries
Franciscan Action Network
Friends Committee on National Legislation
GreenFaith
Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility
Interfaith Power & Light
Leadership Conference of Women Religious
Office of Social Justice, Christian Reformed Church in North America
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas’ Institute Justice Team
Union of Reform Judaism
Unitarian Universalists for Social Action
The United Methodist Church - General Board of Church and Society