Rom was among 50 Minnesotans chosen to attend the “Communities in Action: Building a Better Minnesota” event;
Rom praised the Biden-Harris administration for its balanced approach in promoting economic development in Northern Minnesota
(Ely, MN) -- Today, March 1, National Chair Becky Rom of the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters joined distinguished community leaders and elected officials from across Minnesota in Washington, D.C., for the “Communities in Action: Building a Better Minnesota” event at the White House. In this historic forum, Minnesotans shared ways the Biden-Harris Economic Plan has positively impacted the daily lives of Minnesota residents. Leaders heard directly from the people and organizations that are helping to make a difference in their communities. Rom was selected to attend along with only 49 other key Minnesotans that included mayors, county representatives, and leaders in labor, environmental, affordable housing, and community action organizations.
Becky Rom praised the balanced approach of the Biden-Harris Administration:
“Today at The White House, I had an opportunity to meet with leaders from all across our state who are working to create positive change at the White House’s historic ‘Communities in Action: Building a Better Minnesota’ event. I applaud the Biden-Harris Administration’s balanced approach to economic development in Northern Minnesota. Thanks to Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality Brenda Mallory for acknowledging Interior Deb Haaland’s Public Land Order that withdrew 225,504 acres of federal lands and minerals in the headwaters of the Boundary Waters from mining for 20 years and for celebrating locally-based conservation efforts. The Public Land Order has removed a dark cloud that has been hanging over our community - our businesses, our families, and Boundary Waters visitors from across the nation - the dark cloud being the threat of sulfide-ore copper mining directly upstream from the Wilderness.”
"The Biden Administration's massive investment in roads, bridges, affordable high-speed internet, and other critical infrastructure through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will create union jobs and catalyze economic opportunity in our state, while its protection of the Boundary Waters will allow Wilderness edge communities to thrive.”
The Biden-Harris Administration has made great strides already in implementing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and it is delivering results for the people of Minnesota. To date, $2.7 billion in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding has been announced and is headed to Minnesota with over 166 specific projects identified for funding. As a result of the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Minnesota will receive approximately $2.3 billion for transportation to invest in roads, bridges, public transit, ports, and airports and roughly $120 million for clean water. And, as of today, more than 171,000 households across the state are receiving affordable high-speed internet due to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
A vast collection of peer-reviewed science shows that if a Twin Metals were built along the rivers and streams flowing into the Wilderness pollution and environmental degradation would be certain. The Boundary Waters is the most heavily visited wilderness area in the United States, attracting more than 165,000 visitors each year from all over the world and helps drive more than $900 million in annual economic activity and over 17,000 jobs. A peer-reviewed independent study from Harvard University showed that protecting the Boundary Waters from a proposed Twin Metals sulfide-ore copper mine would result in dramatically more jobs and more income over a 20-year period.
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