Write a Letter to the Editor Celebrating Climate Investments in the Inflation Reduction Act

Context

Throughout our history, we’ve joined across races and places to solve big problems. We’re seeing what’s possible when a core group of elected leaders join everyday people to fight Big Oil and Big Pharma, and deliver what our families need to thrive, like the freedom to power our communities with clean energy, create good-paying, union jobs, and lower our healthcare costs.

We’re specifically talking about the historic investments the Biden Administration has made to implement a Clean Energy Plan and lower everyday healthcare costs for millions of Americans, all the while making sure big corporations pay their fair share just like everybody else. This is made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed in August of 2022.

This is a huge achievement that calls for celebration. And who wouldn’t want to celebrate the incredible impact of an active and inclusive government that is funding our future? With your help, we can get the word out and make sure our communities know about these benefits, and also make sure folks understand how we gained them!
Talking Points
The language we use in the “What’s there to celebrate?” section of our Public Celebration Toolkit is a great place to pull from! We worked closely with messaging experts like Climate Power and We Make the Future to be sure we’re uplifting the most popular benefits and using race class messaging frames throughout that toolkit. Key ways we are thinking about the benefits of this legislation are:
1. Creating Millions of Jobs
2. Keeping Money In Our Pockets
3. Accelerating Our Clean Energy Future
Review this Values, Villain, Vision messaging guidance from We Make the Future, and see how you can incorporate that framework in your LTEs.
Writing Tips

Keep it short! A letter should be 150-200 words.

Focus on one idea. If you have more to say, you can write more letters!

Be personal. Stories and personal opinions are more moving than facts. Make the letter personal by describing how you or someone you know is being affected. This will make your letter more powerful and memorable.

Larger newspapers and magazines will only publish letters that are responding directly to a recent article - that means within the last 1-3 days for a daily paper or the previous issue for a weekly or monthly.

Sample: The Inflation Reduction Act is Making a Difference

No matter where we come from, what type of job we have, or the amount of money in our pockets, most of us want to leave a better world for the generations to come. But for too long, fossil fuel CEOs and certain politicians have put profits ahead of people, refusing to take action that will protect our children - and our children’s children - from the impacts of a changing climate. 

In 2022, Democrats in Congress worked with President Biden to pass the Inflation Reduction Act. Every household in America will benefit from the investments in the Inflation Reduction Act—no matter your race or place. Companies are already breaking ground on new projects that will bring clean energy and jobs to communities across the country, including solar and wind projects, battery factories for things like electric cars, and electric vehicle manufacturing plants. Our votes mattered: the Inflation Reduction Act is the start of what can happen when we work together to ensure future generations have the opportunity to be healthy and thrive.

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