Action Fund: Making Our Voice Heard on the Hill
Posted: 10-Dec-2008; Updated: 20-Jul-2009
See some of our hard-hitting ads urging Congress to act on global warming: Climate action ad campaigns
Major opponents of global warming legislation spend $1 million a day lobbying on Capitol Hill. But the environment is making itself heard too.
EDF has long been a powerful voice in Washington, and when the need began to exceed the $1 million annual cap on our lobbying established by tax law, we created a sister group, the Environmental Defense Action Fund, which is free of spending limits. This has enabled us to ratchet up our legislative efforts, particularly on climate, and to advocate strong environmental laws even as the stakes increase.
Non-tax-deductible gifts to the Action Fund allow us to target key legislators and mount ad campaigns that mention legislation directly. In California, for example, our pivotal intervention helped win the first statewide cap on global warming pollution.
We played a key role in drafting the bill and were one of two environmental cosponsors, along with NRDC. To deliver our message more forcefully, we have assembled a network of influential supporters, the EDF Strategic Partners. These allies — including local and national civic and religious leaders, economists and CEOs — contact legislators personally and explain our solutions.
Now, with Congress beginning to debate climate legislation in earnest, our Strategic Partners have quickly gained a high profile, helping to bring 30 U.S. senators and representatives to hear our views on the need for a nationwide carbon cap. We also placed TV ads in 28 states to help sway wavering legislators. Our message: climate action will be a stimulus for jobs and economic growth.
"Strategic Partners helped us reach labor unions and other key groups," says our climate expert Melissa Carey. Our Strategic Partners have been active on other fronts as well. We brought 50 farmers and ranchers to Washington to urge increased conservation funding in the Farm Bill.
Our efforts paid off in 2008 when we helped secure new funding to restore wetlands, preserve habitat and curb agricultural runoff. We also succeeded in getting environmental advocates appointed to fishery management councils across the country.
"The goal is for Strategic Partners to become a consistent presence in the lives of decision makers," says Wendy Sommer, the program's director.
