Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and Representative Jared Huffman (D-CA-02) today led the reintroduction of the Keep It in the Ground Act—comprehensive legislation to stop new fossil fuel extraction on public lands and in public waters.
“Climate chaos is the most significant risk humanity faces. The earth is telling us how much trouble we’re in,” Merkley said. “The last five years were the hottest on record—each progressively more dangerous than the last. In my home state of Oregon, over 1.9 million acres were burned in 2024, the most acreage in the last 30 years. The only way to address this is to quit extracting and burning fossil fuels. We’re paving the way to climate catastrophe.”
“The climate crisis is happening now. Communities across the country are already facing the effects of climate change, and it’s critical we reduce emissions by keeping the world’s remaining fossil fuels in the ground,” Huffman said. “This legislation is one of the most sensible steps the federal government can take to reduce emissions, protect the public, and avoid the most damaging impacts of climate change.”
Merkley and Huffman reintroduced the Keep it in the Ground Act with U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Edward J. Markey (D-MA) and U.S. Representatives Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-12), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14), Salud Carbajal (D-CA-24), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-07), Jesús “Chuy” García (D-IL-04), and Jim McGovern (D-MA-02).
Full text of the Keep It in the Ground Act can be found by clicking here.
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