Biden joint session of Congress/first 100 days coverage: Resources and interview opportunities

Media Contacts
Matt Casale

Former Director, Environment Campaigns, PIRG

U.S. PIRG

WASHINGTON — The hundredth day of every U.S. presidency has become a milestone at which media, pundits and the American public assess how the new president is doing. President Joe Biden will give his own views on how things are going on Wednesday, April 28, during a joint session of Congress. The actual hundredth day is Thursday, April 29.

After American voters chose President Biden in record numbers, the incoming president focused his goals on four crises, including climate change — a daunting challenge given the environmental rollbacks of his predecessor. With that in mind, U.S. PIRG Education Fund and Environment America Research and Policy Center released First Things to Fix, a report listing the most important issues the Biden administration should tackle first, from an environmental perspective. In advance of the president’s speech, those groups and their colleagues throughout The Public Interest Network are sharing information that can help you contextualize the accomplishments of the first 100 days, and what challenges and opportunities lay ahead for the Biden administration.

Recent reports on related issues from Environment America, U.S. PIRG and our think tank Frontier Group:

Report: Offshore Wind for America

Report: Blueprint for America

Report: Highway Boondoggles

Report: Destination Zero Carbon

Report: Safe for Swimming?

Report: A Path to Cleaner Water

Report: Get the Lead Out

Report: Renewables on the Rise

Report: Electric Buses in America

Report: The State of Recycling

Report: Transform Transportation

The following experts are available to interview either over the phone or on camera:

Clean energy:

Johanna Neumann, [email protected], is the senior director of Environment America’s Campaign for 100% Renewable Energy at the local, state and national level. Her team is working on a variety of clean energy initiatives including offshore wind, electrifying buildings and clean energy tax credits, and last year launched a campaign to make every new home a solar home. Johanna has appeared on MSNBC’s Hardball and been quoted in the Washington Post and Baltimore Sun. 

Clean water:

John Rumpler, [email protected], directs Environment America’s Clean Water program, including water infrastructure policy initiatives. In 2020, John testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the urgent need to invest in water infrastructure. He also co-authored three recent reports related to water infrastructure: A Path to Cleaner Water, Get the Lead Out and Safe for Swimming? He’s appeared on camera for CBS This Morning, among other outlets, and has been interviewed by such outlets as U.S. News and World Report, Bloomberg and WebMD.

The climate crisis:

Andrea McGimsey, [email protected], is the senior director of global warming solutions for Environment America. She directs our work to go fossil fuel free, promote carbon-free transportation, reduce power plant pollution, and more. As a local elected official in Virginia, she worked on climate-friendly infrastructure, so her constituents could choose to walk, bike, take mass transit, or charge their EVs with solar power in county parking lots. She has co-authored several research reports, including Climate Solutions from Day One and From Pollution to Solutions. Her current efforts include defending the Clean Air Act and building bipartisan support for climate legislation in Congress. Andrea has appeared on camera for CBS News and other outlets. Her opinions have been published recently in The Hill, The Houston Chronicle, and The New York Times

Matt Casale, [email protected], is the director of U.S. PIRG’s environment campaigns and the author of the aforementioned First Things to Fix report. The PIRG environment program aims to implement climate solutions that support a cleaner, healthier future for our children and grandchildren, including stopping new fossil fuel infrastructure, ending subsidies for polluting industries and investing in clean, renewable technologies. Matt is also lead on much of PIRG’s infrastructure work, and has co-authored research reports on the subject, including the Blueprint for America. He has been interviewed and quoted by several major national media outlets, including The Washington Post, U.S. News and World Report, The Boston Globe and Citylab, and published an opinion piece in The Hill on what should be included in a sustainable infrastructure plan.   

Conservation:

Steve Blackledge, [email protected], is the senior director of Environment America’s Conservation Program. He led our successful national campaign to win full and permanent funding for the Land and Water Conservation Program through the Great American Outdoors Act. Steve’s team works to protect our lands and waters — from the Tongass National Forest in Alaska to the Florida Keys. They advocate for the wildlife with which we share our planet, including right whales, monarch butterflies and more. Steve has appeared on and in a wide variety of media outlets, including on CBS News last year.

Infrastructure policy:

Tony Dutzik, [email protected], is associate director and senior policy analyst with Frontier Group, a research and public policy organization, and has co-authored or supervised the production of numerous reports on infrastructure policy, including reports on infrastructure finance (Who Pays for Roads?, Private Roads, Public Costs), future infrastructure needs (A New Direction), zero-carbon transportation (A New Way Forward), and electric vehicle charging (Plugging In). A former journalist, Tony has been featured in reports by such media outlets as The New York Times, Financial Times and The Economist.

Transportation:

John Stout, [email protected], is U.S. PIRG’s Transportation Campaigns advocate. Whether it’s stopping “highway boondoggles,” ramping up public transit and alternative modes of transportation, or transitioning school districts’ bus fleets from diesel to electric, the program aims to transform how Americans get from Point A to Point B. He has co-authored research reports on the subject, including on how to reimagine the nation’s transportation infrastructure and recently had an opinion piece published in The Washington Post. 

Morgan Folger, [email protected], runs Environment America’s Clean Cars Campaign, which aims to reduce emissions from America’s top contributor to the climate crisis: the transportation sector. Morgan works to generate support for policies nationally and in states across the country that electrify cars, electrify buses, and reduce the need to drive. She co-authored recent reports on decarbonizing the transportation sector and air pollution, and has been interviewed and quoted by several major national media outlets, including Popular Science and Smart Cities Dive, and published an opinion piece in CNN.Com on clean car rules.

Zero waste:

Alex Truelove, [email protected], directs U.S. PIRG’s Zero Waste Program, which aims to reduce waste and build more effective recycling and composting systems to improve public health, protect the environment and conserve resources. Alex has contributed to a number of reports on recycling and composting infrastructure and has been recently featured by The Hill and Waste Dive.

Topics