Today, The House of Representatives passed Louisiana Representative Steve Scalise’s H.R. 1, dubbed ‘The Polluters over People Act’ with 224 votes from Republicans, including Louisiana Representatives Clay Higgins, Mike Johnson, Julia Letlow, and Garret Graves, and 4 votes from Democrats. The Polluters Over People Act would fasttrack fossil fuel projects and gut environmental safeguards like the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA). With 13 more gas export terminals proposed for construction or expansion in Louisiana, and countless other fossil fuel projects planned along the Mississippi River, this bill would have an outsized impact on Louisiana by accelerating the oil and gas industry’s expansion in the state.

In response, Anne Rolfes, the Executive Director of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, issue the following response:

“The oil and gas industry made more than $400 billion in record profits last year. Meanwhile, the people of Louisiana suffer. Almost everyday, I talk to either shrimpers and fishermen in Cameron Parish who are watching companies like Venture Global build gas export terminals right on top of their fishing grounds or people in  Cancer Alley whose families and friends are dying from pollution. This bill is an outrageous assault on ordinary people in Louisiana in defense of big business. There’s no other way to look at it. It’s a particular affront to Black communities who already bear the burden of pollution in this state. But that’s no surprise coming from Steve Scalise, a man who collaborates with white supremacists. 

The notion that it is too difficult to build petrochemical plants in Louisiana is laughable. Just look around. We are one of the most polluted states in the country, with cancer risks that are skyrocketing. People should understand that Scalise has introduced this bill  at this moment explicitly to make the destruction of our coast possible. The oil and gas industry has a plan to build over a dozen gas export terminals along the Louisiana coast. That’s what this bill is about. He wants to make that happen faster. Does this make sense for a state being destroyed by hurricanes? Absolutely not. This bill puts all of us  in danger of more flooding via coastal destruction, and only serves Scalise’s greedy ambitions.

 If industry were so good for our state, we would long-ago have led the nation in health, education, and other meaningful categories. Instead, we remain mired in poverty, mired in pollution, and mired in dysfunctional and disgusting politics that prioritizes the destruction of our state. The People over Polluters Act is  just the latest and most egregious act in a  sordid  history of the oil and gas lobby’s control of our politicians. This act would gut the slim protections we have. It’s an outrageous attack on the people of Louisiana.

We need leaders who will find solutions to the insurance debacle for homeowners, not make us more vulnerable by destroying our coast. We need leaders who will fight for the shrimpers and fishermen who keep our world renowned seafood industry alive and the people who have lived in the River Parishes for generations. Steve Scalise and the Louisiana Representatives who voted for this bill should be ashamed. 

We applaud Representative Troy Carter for voting against this bill as well as the Biden administration’s commitment to veto this bill. We call on every elected official who represents Louisianans to put people over polluters.”

Earlier today, frontline leaders from environmental justice communities held a press conference in Washington D.C. alongside members of Congress opposing the People over Polluters Act. The communities most impact by this bill are united in their opposition, and they are flanked by members of Congress such as Senator Markey, Rep. Grijalva and Rep. Blumenauer.

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