The House Just Made it Easier to Target Climate Groups
That so many Democrats voted for that bill can be explained partially by the speed with which it was introduced; the package it was a part of was introduced and then put to a vote practically overnight using a fast-track process. But its passage also relied on more widespread support within the Democratic caucus for more hawkish foreign policy measures, as well as strong support from American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, and the Anti-Defamation League, ADL.
Congressional Progressive Caucus leaders Pramila Jayapal, Mark Pocan, and Greg Casar—who’ve been outspoken on climate and environmental matters—all voted for H.R. 6408 in April. None responded to my requests for comment for a story on that at the time. CPC deputy whip Ro Khanna, who also initially voted for H.R. 6408, said at the time that he did so to “ensure we curtail foreign terrorist organizations that, if unchecked, jeopardize our national security and could entangle us in another endless war. I wish that protections for climate, peace, and other nonprofits had been included to protect their work and will push for that.” Jaypal, Pocan, Casar, and Khanna all voted against H.R. 9495 this week and last week, with Jayapal speaking out against it on the floor Thursday.
This isn’t the first time that environmental groups have been caught in the crosshairs of bipartisan support for Israel’s war on Palestine and efforts to criminalize those who oppose it. Backlash to the the Boycott, Divest, Sanctions campaign launched in 2005 in solidarity with Palestinian civil society groups, for example, has led in some odd directions in recent years. Specifically, bills passed in Texas to punish companies the state believes to be participating in the BDS campaign now serve as models for conservative efforts to blacklist financial institutions “discriminating” against oil and gas producers by using environmental, social, and governance-based, or ESG, investment criteria. Like anti-BDS measures, Texas’s “Energy Discrimination Elimination Act” bars the state from entering into contracts with companies that are deemed to be “boycotting” fossil fuel firms.