BREAKING: After months with no town hall, teenager interrupts Sen. Rubio fundraiser to ask why he is putting fossil fuel industry donations above his constituents’ safety
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 22, 2017
Contact: Stephen O’Hanlon, Sunrise, 610–955–7398, stephen@sunrisemovement.org
After months with no town hall, teenager interrupts Sen. Rubio fundraiser to ask why he is putting fossil fuel industry donations above his constituents’ safety
ORLANDO, FL — Senator Marco Rubio hasn’t held a town hall in months — saying his constituents “get rude and stupid” at them — so earlier this evening, 19 year old constituent September Porras made her way into his fundraiser to ask him why he’s taking his cues from the fossil fuel executives bankrolling his campaign rather than the people of Florida who face the threat of climate change every day. [Video]
In 2016 alone, Senator Rubio received $753,201 from the oil and gas industry, second only to Ted Cruz, and has refused to accept the scientific consensus that climate change poses a serious threat to Floridians’ health, safety, and economic security.
“This is personal for me,” said Orlando resident September Porras, 19. “My father and grandmother both work outside and each year they work in hotter and more dangerous conditions. My family should be worth more to Senator Rubio than oil and gas industry money.
“Rubio keeps putting the interests of the fossil fuel industry CEOs and lobbyists who bankroll his campaigns over everyday Floridians who are scared about what climate change means for our communities,” she added.
“We could create tens of millions of jobs for working people stopping climate change and protecting Americans’ health and safety, but politicians like Mr. Rubio and the corrupt CEOs backing them are holding us back,” said Varshini Prakash, a spokesperson for Sunrise. “If they don’t clean up their act, we will replace them with real leaders who will fight for the health and wellbeing of all people.”
Throughout the Congressional Recess this August, Sunrise members around the country will be at town halls and fundraisers to #ShineALight on the corruption and negligence of elected officials and call on them to take bold stands against Trump and fossil fuel CEOs’ attacks on our environment and health.
###
Sunrise is a movement to stop climate change and create millions of good jobs in the process. We’re building an army of young people to make climate change an urgent priority across America, end the corrupting influence of fossil fuel executives on our politics, and elect leaders who will stand up for the health and well-being of all people. For more information, visit sunrisemovement.org.
