WASHINGTON, Sept. 27 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Tuesday issued the following statement after Majority Leader Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced he was removing Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-W.Va.) big oil side deal from a critical government funding bill:

“I want to congratulate the more than 650 environmental groups and community organizations who made clear that, in the midst of the horrific climate crisis that we face, the last thing we need is a side deal which would build more pipelines and fossil fuel projects that would have substantially increased carbon emissions. This is a victory for the survival of the planet and a major loss for the fossil fuel industry.

“The United States and the rest of the world must move away from our dependence on authoritarian regimes, like those in Russia and Saudi Arabia, for our energy. We must now go forward in creating millions of new jobs by transforming our energy system away from fossil fuel toward energy efficiency and sustainable energy.”