RICHMOND – Yesterday, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WVa.) announced he had reached an agreement with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which if passed would be the largest climate action funding package in our nation’s history, resulting in a 40 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2030.
In response to this historic announcement, Michael Town, executive director of the Virginia League of Conservation Voters, released the following statement:
“This is a huge, transformative moment in the climate fight. After months of negotiations and a full-court press by advocates, we now have the largest climate investments in our nation’s history. This legislation will build on progress we’ve already made here in Virginia by taking meaningful action that invests in a sustainable, just future, cuts pollution, and expands clean energy alongside efforts to reduce everyday household costs for Virginians. This package, and the negotiations that got it here, are not perfect – we are concerned about an apparent agreement outside of this bill to ease infrastructure permitting – but the benefits to our climate and our future outweigh any downside that we can see. The Senate must act to get this done.”