On August 10, 2021, the Senate voted on amendment 3115 to the infrastructure bill.
Senate adopts Ernst (R-IA) amendment “to establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to prohibiting or limiting the issuance of costly Clean Air Act permit requirements on farmers and ranchers in the US or the imposition of new federal methane requirements.”
Your Senators’ future voting record might improve if you tell them how you wanted them to vote on Ernst Amendment 3115. We invite you to tell them.
First you need to know …
How’d your Senators vote?
Find out how your Senators voted here.
Now it’s time to …
Craft your email
If your Senator voted ‘nay’…
…this is an excellent opportunity to thank them for favoring the pricing of carbon emissions into the cost of producing all GHG-emitting products.
We recommend you write your own email in your own words. That said, here is a sample high-five letter you’re welcome to use as a starting point:
Dear Senator ________,
Thank you for voting ‘nay’ on the Amendment (Ernst Amdt. No. 3115 ) during the roll-call vote taken August 10, 2021.
According to the EPA, livestock is responsible for 95% of domestic agricultural CH4 emissions. Methane emissions from livestock in 2019 totaled nearly ten million tons.* That’s on par with total CH4 emissions of 10.7 million tons from the energy sector.**
This is why I appreciated your vote against the short-sighted amendment no. 3115.
Please do what you can to put a price on carbon, and to ensure that pricing applies to agricultural producers. Anything less is robbing our future. The climate crisis is here. The latest IPCC report made it clear that we are at an all-hands-on-deck moment. To buy us time, we must rapidly reduce emissions – not only of CO2 – but also of SLCFs (Short-Lived Climate Forcers) like CH4. We need fast emission reductions in all sectors, including agriculture.
Thank you, [a voting constituent]
* Table 5-2 https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2021-02/documents/us-ghg-inventory-2021-chapter-5-agriculture.pdf#page=3
** Table 3-2 https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2021-04/documents/us-ghg-inventory-2021-chapter-3-energy.pdf#page=4
If your Senator voted ‘yea’…
… you may feel inclined to express disappointment.
Dear Senator ________,
I was disappointed to discover you voted ‘yea’ on the Amendment (Ernst Amdt. No. 3115 ) during the roll-call vote taken August 10, 2021.
According to the EPA, methane (CH4) emissions from livestock in 2019 totaled nearly ten million tons.* That’s on par with total CH4 emissions of 10.7 million tons from the energy sector.** With this vote you declared affermatively that you are comfortable letting those emissions continue unabated and unencumbered.
The climate crisis is here. The evidence is all around us, and the latest IPCC report made it clear we are at an all-hands-on-deck moment. I expect my U.S. Senators to do everything in their power to ensure that our children inherit a liveable planet. Your ‘yea’ vote tells me this is not a priority for you. I, and my friends will remember this vote at the ballot box.
You can do better. Specifically, you can make sure the U.S. government puts a price on carbon emissions.
I believe in a free market that accounts for externalities such as carbon emissions. That’s why putting a price on carbon emissions- at the source – is the single most effective way of paying the costs now, rather than putting it on the tab for future generations to pay.
So I would ask you to reconsider future votes on the issue, and prioritize policies that ensure carbon emitters in all sectors pay the true costs of emissions. Retail prices should reflect the true costs of production.
We need fast emission reductions in all sectors, and we need those reductions now. This is why I’m disappointed in your recent vote. You can re-earn my trust by pushing for free-market carbon solutions that properly put a price on carbon emissions.
Thank you,
-[a voting constituent]
* Table 5-2 https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2021-02/documents/us-ghg-inventory-2021-chapter-5-agriculture.pdf#page=3
** Table 3-2 https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2021-04/documents/us-ghg-inventory-2021-chapter-3-energy.pdf#page=4
Applaud or Excoriate…
For this exercise, you’re simply sending a letter to each of your two Senators. It’s entirely possible one will get a high-five letter, and another a shame-on-you letter.
Find your Senator’s contact forms on Senate.gov, and submit your letters there: