WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressional leadership announced that they have reached an agreement on an omnibus and extenders package that will fund the government through FY 2016. In reaction, LCV Senior Vice President for Government Affairs Tiernan Sittenfeld issued the following statement:

“This package is a real mixed bag. It has a major holiday gift for Big Oil, but it also brings some holiday cheer for clean energy and our public lands, while leaving those pushing destructive anti-environmental riders out in the cold.

“We strongly oppose lifting the crude oil export ban – a massive handout to Big Oil that incentivizes drilling and fracking. It’s no surprise that Senator McConnell made this his top legislative priority, but he and other extreme Republicans in Congress were forced to stop standing in the way of badly needed, bipartisan efforts to extend clean energy tax credits and a short-term reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund. We are also pleased that they had to abandon their attempt to include more than 100 extreme anti-environmental riders.

“We commend our allies in Congress and the Obama Administration who fought hard and will continue working with them to preserve clean air and water, address climate change, and protect our lands and coasts by keeping dirty fossil fuels in the ground and under the ocean.”

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