Will Rep. Van Ordern and MAGA Republicans Continue to Block Climate Progress As Wisconsinites Face the Threat of Wildfires?

Eau Claire, WI — Wisconsinites are facing air quality warnings as toxic air from Canadian wildfires reaches communities across northern and central Wisconsin. This is a deja vu moment for many families impacted by devastating wildfire fumes less than a year ago. Third Congressional District residents may remember that their representative, Rep. Derrick Van Orden, responded to last year’s Canadian wildfires by making an anti-LGBTQ “joke” about the event — minimizing the impact of this extreme weather event. 

Unfortunately, despite Wisconsin’s northern and central congressional districts being at the frontline of these toxic wildfire fumes, their MAGA Republican Representatives continue to be dead set on killing climate and clean energy investments aimed at making these disasters rare. 

There is no doubt that the climate crisis is making wildfires and toxic pollution worse: 

• Climate change is making conditions hotter and drier, exacerbating fire season and magnifying the devastating impacts of wildfires year after year. 
• A May 2023 study found that almost 40% of forest area burned by wildfire in the western United States and southwestern Canada in the last 40 years can be attributed to carbon emissions associated with the world’s 88 largest fossil fuel producers and cement manufacturers.
  • The emissions generated in the extraction of fossil fuels, as well as the burning of those fuels, have increased the amount of land burned by wildfire by raising global temperatures and amplifying dry conditions across the West. 

MAGA Republicans in Congress, including Van Orden, oppose the clean energy plan despite these projects addressing the climate crisis and the money flowing into their districts. In April 2023, House MAGA Republicans, including Rep. Van Orden, voted in favor of the Default on America Act, which aimed to repeal the clean energy tax incentives from the clean energy plan. Before assuming office, Van Orden called the clean energy plan “junk.” 

• Nine of Wisconsin’s 11 new clean energy projects are in Republican-held districts, representing 81.81% of all projects in the state, 91% of jobs (1,012), and 51.1% of investments ($470 million.) 
• A new clean energy project is investing $345 million in Congressional District 3.

As the wildfire season impacts communities in Wisconsin and across our country, will Rep. Van Orden and MAGA Republicans continue to overlook the health impact of these wildfires on their constituents and gut the investments going to their districts? 

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