From PennFuture (http://www.pennfuture.org):
Deadlock over the state budget continues in Harrisburg and without your help, a clean healthy environment could be sacrificed as part of the deal.
Just this week, the Senate rejected HB 453, an ill-conceived plan by the House of Representatives to raid more than $600 million of funding they falsely claimed was “surplus.” Most of this money has been reserved for energy and environmental projects and its loss would jeopardize hundreds of projects and would impact every county across the state. The Senate made the right choice, but the fight isn’t over. The House and Senate must go back to the drawing board to reach a compromise.
We are calling on the House and Senate to reach a deal on a Clean Budget.
Unfortunately, instead of simply voting for a new and much-needed severance tax on natural gas, the legislature is considering:
- Allowing drillers to hire their own consultants to approve gas permits
- Stripping the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection of its ability to protect citizens
- Raiding funding for environmental protection and public transportation
- Weakening laws that protect our drinking water from dangerous manganese pollution
- …and more.
Please drop what you’re doing and take a moment to contact your state representative now. Go to https://pennfuture.salsalabs.org/statehouseofrepresentativesbudget/index.html to be connected. Let him/her know that citizens have a Constitutional right to clean air, pure water, and a healthy environment. This is your right and your property, not a bargaining chip for the legislature to trade.
Tell her/him to oppose any deal that sacrifices our health and safety by giving gas companies free rein to drill near schools and bury pipelines in our yards.
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