Statement: HECHO Supports Historic Investments and Action on Climate, Health, Inflation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Hispanics Enjoying Camping Hunting and the Outdoors (HECHO) applauds the historic effort in Congress to tackle the climate crisis, reduce inflationary costs for Hispanic families, lower drug prices, and trim the federal tax deficit. 

In a deal struck last week, the U.S. Senate recently passed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 after months of negotiations among Democrats. Congress failed to pass the critically important climate provisions of the Build Back Better Act, which HECHO strongly supported. 

Camilla Simon, HECHO’s executive director said: 

“There is much to be proud of in this bill. Especially important is the historic funding to address the worsening climate crisis. This funding will make a historic investment in mitigating the climate impacts on our watersheds, invest in our nation’s farmers and climate-smart practices, and fix long-overdue issues, including raising outdated oil and gas royalty rates and charging companies when they waste methane on our public lands – climate and fiscal policies that HECHO has been advocating for years. 

“Additionally, this legislation invests in a more aggressive transition to renewable energy, offering families of different income levels the opportunity to transition to electric appliances, make electric vehicles more affordable, and offer tax deductions for residential solar energy. It’s important that this transition is equitable and available to all Americans, in particular, our Hispanic communities.” 

In addition to these critical investments, HECHO also supports the following climate provisions included in this bill: 

• Support for rural electric co-operatives to transition to clean energy 

• Investments for climate-smart forestry to improve carbon sequestration 

• Clean energy tax credits for residential rooftop solar and heat pumps 

• Expanded electric vehicle tax credits for consumers 

• Funds to benefit low-income communities installing rooftop solar 

This historic bill will also lower health insurance costs for 13 million Americans, by an average of $800 per year, and impose a 15% minimum tax on corporations earning more than $1 billion annually. 

HECHO now calls on the U.S. House of Representatives to promptly pass the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, and help fulfill our nation’s obligation to aggressively address the climate crisis for our benefit, and that of our future generations. 

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