Tell the Senate to Pass a Budget that Defends the Environment

The process to prepare and pass a fiscal year (FY) 2027 federal budget has begun in Congress. Agencies like EPA, NOAA, and FEMA depend on robust congressional appropriations to fulfill their missions of protecting people, the environment, and our climate. The president’s proposed budget contains massive cuts to these agencies and their programs. Contact your senators and urge them to reject President Trump’s skewed priorities and to pass a budget that defends and funds climate solutions such as clean, affordable, and renewable energy in the FY 2027 budget.

Background

The yearly federal budget process started last spring when the White House prepared a budget proposal, which it sent to Congress. The White House budget proposal is a “starting point.” It contains the administration’s fiscal goals and policy preferences and has no binding authority. Congress responds by producing a “Budget Resolution” and twelve appropriations bills. The Budget Resolution is not a law. It is designed to harmonize anticipated policy making decisions under an overarching fiscal plan. It lays out Congress’s own spending, revenue, borrowing and economic goals and sets the total level of discretionary funding for the coming fiscal year.

After the discretionary funding allocations are determined, the funding process moves to the appropriations committees in each chamber. Appropriations is responsible for determining program-by-program funding levels. This is done through twelve separate appropriations bills that apply to the various federal agencies. President Trump’s proposed FY 2027 budget made significant cuts to essential climate and environmental programs. Congress can restore funding for these programs by including clean energy tax credits, the greenhouse gas reduction fund, and the federal energy assistance program in the appropriations bills.

Why Now

The Senate is scheduled to be in session again on November 9, 2026. When Congress reconvenes, it must resolve budget issues and keep the process moving forward. The annual budget must be approved before money can be allotted or spent. Federal funding is available only until December 11, 2026 so Congress must pass appropriation bills to keep the government running. Since the federal government plays a critical role in protecting American families, businesses, and communities against the effects of climate-driven extreme weather, now is the time to tell our Senators to reject proposed funding cuts to climate and environmental protections and restore clean and affordable energy programs in the budget.

Jewish Perspectives

A great teacher once observed that to understand a synagogue’s priorities and values, look closely at its budget. A national budget is more than columns of numbers; it is a moral document, revealing what we as a nation choose to protect and whose needs we choose to meet. Our elected representatives, entrusted to act on our behalf, must pursue tzedek (justice) and consider the well-being of all people, especially the most vulnerable (Deuteronomy 16:20). The prophet Jeremiah (12:4) can be counted on to cry “How long must the land languish, the grass of all the countryside dry up? Must beasts and birds perish because of the evil of its inhabitants." Our tradition reminds us that we cannot separate our moral responsibilities from the consequences of our actions upon Earth. At this critical time, we must not waste precious resources and do all that is humanly possible to protect the habitability of Earth, entrusted to our care “to till it and tend it” (Genesis 2:15). Congress’s “power of the purse” is not just a constitutional power; it is a moral responsibility to invest our public resources in protecting people, preventing climate harm, and safeguarding the Planet for future generations.

Learn More

Policy Basics: Introduction to the Federal Budget Process, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

https://www.crfb.org/papers/reconciliation-101, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget

Inside Appropriations: Understanding Where Clean Energy Landed in 2026 and the Importance of the Federal Funding Process, Center for Climate and Energy Solutions

Sample Message to Your Senator

I urge you to include climate solutions, such as restoring funding for clean, affordable, and renewable energy programs, in the Fiscal Year 2027 budget.

As a citizen who pays taxes, I want my money to be used to fund programs that will protect American families and businesses from the harms of climate-driven extreme weather. The solutions are within our reach – so I urge you to restore funding in climate solution programs, such as the clean energy tax credits, in the budget. Cutting these affordable programs will only intensify the storms, flooding, and wildfires we are experiencing, and increase our energy bills.  

This is a priority for me because explain why you care….

As a Jew, my faith teaches me that a person’s character is determined in part by how they spend their money. Budgets reveal our values. I feel it is imperative that we contribute to national efforts to protect people and heal the Earth.  [Or insert your own personal Jewish connection.]

I urge you to assert Congress’s “power of the purse” and reject devastating funding cuts to climate solutions and restore clean, renewable, and affordable energy funding in the FY2027 budget.

How to Contact Your Senator

Find your Members of Congress at https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials

Call the Capitol switchboard (202) 224-3121 to reach your Senator’s office.

Online: Find your Senator’s website and look for the “Contact” page to submit a message. To find a Senator’s website, search lastname.senate.gov.