As Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana’s 1st Congressional District is poised to become the next Speaker of the House, Louisianans fear what his speakership will mean for the state and the country’s future. As the election is being determined, Anne Rolfes, Executive Director of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, released the following statement:

“Representative Steve Scalise appeared on Fox News after the fires in Maui and blamed the inferno on government regulations and the transition to green energy – his usual foils.  Meanwhile, his own state of Louisiana has been ravaged this summer by unbearable heat, dwindling fish in the Gulf of Mexico, record setting wildfires, an ongoing drought and a resulting water crisis. He has not done anything about these disasters. People in his own district, in lower Plaquemines Parish, have not had drinking water for months due to the saltwater wedge, a crisis caused by drought and dredging the Mississippi River for the oil and gas industry’s massive tankers, and Scalise has not even expressed concern or offered assistance. These are his own constituents and they do not have drinking water. It doesn’t get more basic than that.

All he has had to say about these disasters is, ‘we had hot summers 150 years ago.’

A Scalise Speakership, with his ties to, and nearly $400,000 in donations from, the oil, gas and petrochemical industry, his disregard for climate science, and his lack of concern for the climate crisis his own constituents are facing, would be yet another step toward turning Louisiana into an industrial wasteland, and putting the rest of the country at even greater risk of climate disasters.

Representative Scalise’s letter for his candidacy invoked his bill, the Lower Energy Costs Act, also known as the Polluters Over People Act, a bill that would gut protections guaranteed by the National Environmental Policy Act, and hand the oil and gas industry shortcuts through the safety review, permitting and public input processes.

This summer, with its heatwaves, wildfires, and drought, has shown us what we get from policies like those advocated by Representative Scalise. Those of us working to thwart his dangerous vision and work for a safer, cleaner Louisiana will work harder than ever. We invite the rest of the country to join us.”