GOP’s Tax Scam Raids America’s Last Wildland

WASHINGTON – Congress has passed a $1.5 trillion package of tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy that opens the way for oil exploration and drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge—America’s last truly wild place.

Rhea Suh, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, made the following statement:

“This is a shameful betrayal and a fraud on the American people.  The purpose of setting a sanctuary aside is to keep it safe from exactly this kind of industrial—and permanent—ruin. The last thing the country needs is more fossil fuel development in a pristine and ecologically vital area.

“This is merely the latest gambit in a GOP campaign to liquidate our public lands and waters.  We will fight at every turn to preserve the country’s treasured places for our children and grandchildren.”

NRDC’s President, Rhea Suh, offers more on the tax scam in this recent blog.       

For more on what’s at stake in the Arctic Refuge, see this recent blog by Niel Lawrence, Alaska Director for NRDC’s Land and Wildlife Program.

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The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.