LANSING, Mich. — Lansing-area leaders and elected officials gathered on Wednesday to call on U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin to encourage her colleagues in Congress to support investments in clean energy, clean transportation and jobs.
“Our community is ready and we are expecting leadership from both the state, the local and federal levels. I will say this, here in the city of Lansing we’ve made those investments… Now it’s up to Congress to do their part," said state Rep. Sarah Anthony, D-East Lansing.
Anthony and Lansing Mayor Andy Schor said they want to see congressional leaders support President Joe Biden's Build Back Better Act, which aims to cut carbon pollution in the United States by at least 50 percent by 2030.
So far Slotkin has not publicly said she supports the act.
“Now is not the time to be timid, now is not the time to cut corners," Anthony said. "Now it is time for everyone on both sides of the aisle to do what’s best for our constituents across the country.”
Lansing School District Board Member Missy Lije said better air quality will improve the quality of life for children like her son, Eric.
“As a mom I believe that Eric deserves not to be harmed by the air he breathes, the weather events that he lives through and any unsustainable environments the adults in our community have created for him to live in for the rest of his life," Lije said.
Elizabeth Hauptman of Moms Clean Air Force explained that air pollution effects children more directly.
“Pollution harms all of us but disproportionately impacts children," she said. "Children are smaller and they’re closer to the ground than the rest of us-- standing just about tailpipe high where concentration is directed right at them.”
Biden's Build Back Better Act is being debated in Congress and, if implemented, the speakers said on Wednesday, could bring Michigan hundreds of new clean energy jobs.
