Madeleine Para | CCL President: hey everybody i'm Madeline para and i'm your incoming executive director, welcome to the first CCL national call of 2022 will hear from our speaker in just a few minutes after just a few thoughts for me as we start the year.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: So I hope you're glad, as I am to be together going into a new year, and I also hope that despite the many complications of this holiday season.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: You had a chance to reflect on the things that matter to you to rest to connect with people you that you love.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: About of my own holiday plans were messed up this year for the complications of the pandemic and the weather, but one of my very favorite times was an hour spent with two of my longtime CCL buddies the gift of their friendship just means so much to me.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: it's not uncommon I think in our CCL chapters that we may make really deep friendships and then they last through time and there what holds us together.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: So I want to thank all of the longtime CCL who've reached out to the challenges of the pandemic to draw on the newer folks that are coming.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: to your chapters and draw them into your circles of friendship, I think of Garrett canal he's a group leader and a former state coordinator in Texas and he's now a member of our IT staff.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: He did a breakout session on onboarding and our November conference and he said, my best friends, they started out as my new prospects.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: So that's a quote right out of the breakout recording my best friend started as my new prospects I just think that's such a sweet reward for the time that he spent welcoming new people to CCL.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: So we're together here today, at a time when the pandemic is surging we don't yet know the outcome of the budget reconciliation bill.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: And the anniversary of the January six violence in our capital is really fresh on our minds.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: In times like these it's understandable to feel discouragement or despair and I suspect that nearly everybody on this call battles with that at least sometimes.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: We can get help for that from each other, I see you do that for each other, we can get help from my resilience program so i'd CCL community and I especially want to plug the act of hope workshops that Steve 11 offers.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: And of course we work at practicing putting our attention on the victories that we do have and on our gratitude.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: I think, to that some people find comfort or strengthen their spirituality and sometimes we just use like the power of decision that we have to keep taking action.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: Of kind of no matter what we're feeling I think at my own times of discouragement I try to work on myself and and let go of the desire to have a feeling that i'm going to know the outcome.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: And just keep working to shift things in the right direction, some days i'm more optimistic than other days, but every day I just keep working on the problem.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: And every day I like doing it with you that really helps so after our speaker today will have a Congressional update from our government affairs staff.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: 10 Tyler she's going to tell you that build back better is not dead, and though it's an uphill battle to get a carbon price in it, our allies in the Senate have not given up.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: So that may fly in the face of our despair, but I want you to think about this members of Congress I realist.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: If or when they think that this path for carbon pricing is fully close they're going to tell our staff and together we'll look for other paths.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: But since they haven't stopped trying behind closed doors, and since they tell us that they need us now to remind the President and Senate.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: That we're watching and that we want this action, I think we owe it to them to stay in action and, of course, we're going to tell you how to do that later in the call.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: So one more thing, before I introduce our speaker and I am really excited about having Jose a good deal with us again.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: I just want to say that, in addition to the gift of your time and friendship and your courage to stay an action, I want to thank you for the incredible financial gift giving that took place in December with our year end to feel.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: You know, when a girl and her team once again they set an outrageous goal, where most biggest goal ever have $1.5 million.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: And though Monday was biting her nails through December, once again, you validated or faith and trust in you and the progress bar went up steadily all month.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: And it did the kind of search that kind of surgery like in the last two days of December together, you and your friends donated $1,580,672 and that put us in good shape for this new year, and I thank you so much for that.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: So our speaker today what's a good so he is a longtime friend and partner to CCL we first got to know him as he was working with the friends committee on national legislation.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: And then he moved over to the Catholic climate covenant where he's now the executive director it's not a coincidence that both the friends Committee and the class with climate covenant have actively supported the energy innovation and carbon dividends.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: he's also a veteran and a graduate of villanova last school and someone who works tirelessly to bring people together so Jose welcome to the national hall call first just so glad to have you.

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Jose Aguto: Thank you so much Madeline if it is an absolute honor to be with you and thank you for your inspiring opening remarks.

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Jose Aguto: recognizing that the challenges that we are all facing during these times and seeking strength from one another.

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Jose Aguto: And also, from our faith if if we have one, and that is one of the reasons why I stepped into the the faith realm of advocacy with the friends committee.

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Jose Aguto: and also as a cradle Catholic ultimately with the Catholic climate covenant that that my faith and many people who share the same faith.

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Jose Aguto: believe that we can overcome that nothing is impossible with God and that with the saving grace of each other and the saving grace of the Testaments of our faith, we can carry on.

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Jose Aguto: In difficult times, and it is a real testament to see many CCL folks who continue to persist and hope and and see the good in people even our enemies and our adversaries and continue on with this good fight so.

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Jose Aguto: So thank you for that.

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Jose Aguto: I first wanted to start with talking about.

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Jose Aguto: The Catholic Church writ large, and I know that it gets some bad press and there's a lot of conflict within it, but there's so much more to the Church.

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Jose Aguto: So many millions of Catholics who serve and live the Gospel and I really want to bring that dimension forward before we move into the more granular aspects of.

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Jose Aguto: Of what the Covenant does and how we advocate, and how we work with CCL to promote justin climate action so i'm going to do a little.

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Jose Aguto: Quick tour through some dimensions of of our Church of the Catholic Church both globally and the United States and then move on to more granular aspects of the Catholic climate covenant in our work.

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Jose Aguto: So as an overarching matter the Catholic Church has 1.3 billion people across the world at 16% of the population and we fall under.

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Jose Aguto: One aspect is the nice seen creed, which was established in 381 ad and one of the phrases which were keep every mass is that we believe that we are one holy Catholic and apostolic church.

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Jose Aguto: So while it may not seem like that sometimes to folks we still strive as Catholics, to be that way, and we are unified every day by the mass.

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Jose Aguto: The readings and the Gospel and the eucharistic celebration, are all the same, in the hundreds of thousands of churches across the world every day celebrating the same mess.

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Jose Aguto: And we are also under the leadership, as you know of the Pope, who is currently Pope Francis.

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Jose Aguto: So it is there's a kind of a singular unity that's distinct in the Catholic Church that continues and that we strive to hold that unity moving forward as a church.

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Jose Aguto: And in the United States there are 70 million Catholics that fall under 193 diocese under which there is a bishop, who runs those diocese.

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Jose Aguto: And within them within the US Catholic Church, there are over 17,000 parishes 63 over 6000 parochial schools over 220 Catholic colleges and universities Catholic healthcare systems which are one out of every six citizens in or not city Americans or people in the United States.

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Jose Aguto: Hundreds of religious orders thousands of charitable organizations and I just want to note because we have all seen some of us have experienced the recent disasters.

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Jose Aguto: In Arkansas in Colorado and some of my friends and family in the Philippines that.

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Jose Aguto: Catholic charities USA is one of the largest social service providers in the United States and Catholic relief services is one of the largest international provider of services.

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Jose Aguto: In the world, and so I just want to bring a little bit of understanding or appreciation of some of the work they do, and that this is also part of the Catholic Church.

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Jose Aguto: So i'm going to share my screen for a second here.

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Jose Aguto: And so I wanted to talk a little bit about so Catholic charities, for example, and and when you look at what some of their priorities are you see how many they do affordable housing immigration.

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Jose Aguto: food assistance, for example in.

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Jose Aguto: In my diocese of arlington they are the largest provider of services to allow the Afghan refugees to come and integrate into our country.

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Jose Aguto: You see here during coven in 2020 that Catholic charities USA served over 15 million people.

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Jose Aguto: And then moving forward to Catholic relief services, which is one of the largest international relief organizations in the world.

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Jose Aguto: 2017, for example, serving 12.4 million people emergency response and in agriculture, millions of people in 51 countries and in health 93.

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Jose Aguto: million people in 42 countries, and right now they're in the Philippines helping of people who over 140,000 families in the Philippines that are left homeless, because of super typhoon right.

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Jose Aguto: So these are some of the dimensions that are also part of the Catholic Church.

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Jose Aguto: What brings us together also is what's called Catholic social teaching where we proclaim the Catholic Church for claims that.

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Jose Aguto: Human life is sacred and the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society.

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Jose Aguto: And what that includes under those themes is care for creation, which is a requirement of our faith, it is a relatively new requirement, but it is indeed a requirement and as Pope Francis said, and without to see.

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Jose Aguto: Living our basic vocation to be protectors of god's handiwork is essential to a life of virtue, it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience so to note that we as Catholics need to weave this into our faith as something that is.

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Jose Aguto: elemental fundamental to our faith Now this is relatively new and so what the covenant is doing is trying to help we've care for creation into the life and ministries of our church.

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Jose Aguto: And we seek to do so, as many of you are familiar, through Pope francis's encyclical adapt to see.

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Jose Aguto: But we also know that many pope's three probes prior to him i've been making statements about our call to care for creation and he is standing on the shoulders of those prior pope's.

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Jose Aguto: And so we have a covenant our charge in the United States with doing that weaving through education, facilitating inspiring organizing galvanizing advocating a many, many verbs.

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Jose Aguto: To bring this with our partners in the United States with our constituents or 10s of thousands of constituents and through particular programs, for example.

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Jose Aguto: Here, this is a, this is the Covenant page front page you'll see.

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Jose Aguto: We are working with the Vatican, with regard to the implementation of that console doubt to see an actual platform which we'll talk about a little bit later.

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Jose Aguto: You see advocacy right here in the second box, where we were advocating for the build back better bill also making specific mention of the hope for carbon pricing.

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Jose Aguto: And we also have, for example, our Catholic energies program where we work with Catholic institutions across the country to get solar onto onto their lands or onto their roofs and so, for example.

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Jose Aguto: This was just recently shown.

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Jose Aguto: In yells of climate communication Center for climate communications our Catholic energies program put the largest solar array.

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Jose Aguto: In Washington DC on the lands of the missionaries of charity that St Teresa of Calcutta is order and they have a hospice in northeast DC.

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Jose Aguto: We we were charged with installing that for Catholic charities and now Catholic charities DC is now carbon neutral.

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Jose Aguto: And we also Catholic energies also has 16 dynasty 16 parishes in the diocese of Richmond who are putting solar on their roofs as well and we're working cross the country with other Catholic institutions.

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Jose Aguto: We also have a creation care teams and over 400 creation care teams exist in parishes and really disorders across the country.

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Jose Aguto: And we're also doing some youth young adult mobilization inspiring young adults who want to talk about climate action and want to talk about ecological conversion in prayer word indeed.

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Jose Aguto: And so that we can animate in a faith filled way climate action and meeting both the spiritual needs, as well as the advocacy needs of youth and young adults across the country.

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Jose Aguto: Lastly, from a non advocacy perspective, I wanted to talk about the lead out to see action platform, and this is an announcement by the Vatican.

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Jose Aguto: Five years or six years after the publication of blood out to see a desire to implement without to see in the integral astrology across seven sectors.

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Jose Aguto: Of the Catholic global Catholic Church around seven goals from prayer to word deed and to do so in a seven year journey.

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Jose Aguto: And we are, we are blessed to be the US implementation of the lead out to see action platform, if you go and you will see this load out to see goals here.

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Jose Aguto: And so across seven sectors, they will seek to do implement particular actions that will be sent out by the Vatican, in order to in order to embark on this seven year journey.

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Jose Aguto: So we the Covenant are the implemented through our website, we are all part of god's plan god's planet.us and you can see, we are also doing so in these seven sectors families parishes diocese etc.

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Jose Aguto: And I just want to briefly note, for example, it's very important that we engage with diocese and so you're seeing in the United States, that there are diocese that are stepping into.

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Jose Aguto: The vatican's initiative through their lead out to see action plans, seeing here the diocese of San Diego archdiocese of Washington DC the archdiocese of Atlanta, and we have approximately.

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Jose Aguto: 20 other diocese that are in process of doing this, so this is very exciting initiative or seeking again to weave care for creation into the life and Ministry of our church.

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Jose Aguto: Okay, so Lastly, and thank you for your patience here.

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Jose Aguto: want to talk about advocacy.

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Jose Aguto: We do so in ways that are familiar to many of you in that we see that of God and everyone that we seek to build bridges and to work across the aisles and not to demonize and to raise up.

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Jose Aguto: The shared dignity of all people, so that we can have the solutions that we need.

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Jose Aguto: In parlance, that would be loving my neighbor and, indeed, even in the Gospel Jesus calling for us to love thy enemy.

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Jose Aguto: And, knowing that this is exceptionally difficult during these times that we must still continue to have the needles of our moral compass pointed in that direction if we are going to believe in durable.

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Jose Aguto: and lasting peace in comedy across our society, we do so in partnership with others, we also do so with our with our own constituents through when you're familiar with the letter of engagement.

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Jose Aguto: I know you're all professionals about this, so you know about that, but two examples that i'll raise we we had a petition.

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Jose Aguto: Last year, calling for the administration and Congress to support build back better and all of those wonderful provisions.

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Jose Aguto: We worked with one of our partner organizations, the ignition solidarity network.

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Jose Aguto: And their constituents who are composed of young adults high schoolers and college students during their lobby day in November, they took the signatories of that letter and those petitions.

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Jose Aguto: To their meetings with their legislators, so that was a you know beautiful partnership, the second partnership that I absolutely am excited to talk about.

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Jose Aguto: Is the one with your Catholic action team ccls Catholic action team led by Steve Coleman and Andy finale and both Steve and Andy are also champions in the Covenant space with creation care teams, I would say almost single handedly they were able to get three of our bishops from.

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Jose Aguto: To recently in 2021 Bishop mcilroy from San Diego bishops stove lexington Kentucky and then Bishop when ski in Florida.

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Jose Aguto: and various ways to support carbon pricing explicitly with us, allowing us additional space to demonstrate that there is some support within the Catholic Church and within the Catholic hierarchy for carbon pricing.

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Jose Aguto: So absolutely delighted to have partnered with Steve until have leveraged and Andy until leverage their particular advocacy.

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Jose Aguto: That they did on their own in partnership so that we could bring a larger Catholic voice into this space.

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Jose Aguto: Lastly, i'll say, and I only found this out recently because we've been continuing to try and work with our West Virginia constituents and others.

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Jose Aguto: In some of the church leaders to promote not just carbon pricing, but build back better at large, but in that exploration just wanted to share and I shared this with Danny and Madeline Danny Richter and Madeline.

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Jose Aguto: A couple weeks ago.

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One second.

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Jose Aguto: Pope Francis.

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Jose Aguto: In.

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Jose Aguto: voice support for carbon pricing and if you can see the highlighted text here.

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Jose Aguto: So I so feel free to use this to say that, at least at some point in 2019 to Pope Francis expressly supported carbon pricing and feel free to use that in your advocacy and so with that I will close and thank you for your patience and I apologize that it went over a bit.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: Oh no apologies needed Jose Thank you, it was so uplifting to hear about all the different things that the Catholic climate covenant is doing.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: and be reminded of the size and reach of the Catholic Church and, of course, we always love hearing about the collaboration that you've had with our Catholic action T.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: flannery what are you seeing in the Q amp a.

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Flannery Winchester | CCL Communications Director: Alright, our most uploaded question or top question here, says the strongest opposition, I hear to progress on climate comes sometimes from Christians, some of whom are members of Congress, and this voluntary is asking why you think that might be and what can we do to change that.

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Jose Aguto: wow that's a great question um.

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Jose Aguto: But let me, let me start with an overarching context here, and I think, maybe, many people are already familiar with this.

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Jose Aguto: That, unfortunately, well, fortunately or unfortunately Americans, the strongest affiliation that they're centering on at this time is political.

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Jose Aguto: Not faith, and so I think a lot of the calculations that many of us Americans, including politicians do or based on their political affiliation or their economic interest and not their faith.

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Jose Aguto: That being said, in during these times and metal and you made mention of this and you know the the the sober reality of January 6 and the divergent responses of our are two major political parties.

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Jose Aguto: Were feeling a little bit more we're feeling compelled to really speak directly to the faith dimension.

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Jose Aguto: That a politician is.

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Jose Aguto: claiming to be a part of, and to do so in a good way, not in a judgmental way but i'm so just envisioning this in my head.

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Jose Aguto: Because we are thinking about this very seriously with our faith partners to be going to the hill.

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Jose Aguto: and hoping to speak with the legislators and to say you know if you are indeed a Catholic, and we all share the same faith and the same principles.

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Jose Aguto: Can we speak on that level, can you make decisions, you know, based on what you understand from your faith and in this way it's sort of moves aside the other calculations that may be in in the basket.

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Jose Aguto: basket of calculations and then we're coming purely as fellow Christians or you know have other fellow faith traditions and those concepts and that's really where we're getting to.

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Jose Aguto: During these precarious times.

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Flannery Winchester | CCL Communications Director: Alright, our next question is our church leaders talking to elected officials to encourage them to take climate action.

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Jose Aguto: Well, I know.

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Jose Aguto: We are um I would say as an overarching matter in my.

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Jose Aguto: Know we're a large church and we have we have different actors, you know advocating for different things, for example, a Catholic relief services will be very you know active in international aid and you know the same with.

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Jose Aguto: With Catholic charities with regards to domesticate and food and things like that so.

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Jose Aguto: I would say that we are working with church leaders to lift up this dimension.

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Jose Aguto: Of the suite of of Catholic priorities I would admit to saying that it is not a top priority for most of them it is actually our job at the Covenant to lift up this dimension across the broad panoply of their legislative priorities.

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Flannery Winchester | CCL Communications Director: All right, alright um this question is from Joanne she says my chapter doesn't have any active Catholic Members what would be the best way for us to connect our message with local Catholic leaders and congregations.

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Jose Aguto: well.

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Jose Aguto: Well, I love to work with you, directly or in and also my colleagues.

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Jose Aguto: As I mentioned, we have you know 400 creation care teams and given the vatican's huge lift to implementation we're excited to launch and have incentive incentivize Catholics across the country so let's do some matching some asset mapping on that that's okay.

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Flannery Winchester | CCL Communications Director: All right, and Madeline what time do we need to how much time do we have for questions.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: We have two or three more minutes.

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Flannery Winchester | CCL Communications Director: Okay um let's see.

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Flannery Winchester | CCL Communications Director: uh okay this question.

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Flannery Winchester | CCL Communications Director: says well first this questioner says, thank you Jose for all these important initiatives and then they asked are there interfaith efforts to promote these actions among leaders of other faiths, can you speak to any interfaith stuff you're aware of.

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Jose Aguto: With regard to the vatican's lead out to see action platform.

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Jose Aguto: or just generally speaking.

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Flannery Winchester | CCL Communications Director: I think, just in general on climate.

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Jose Aguto: Okay, so we do work, I would say, from an interface perspective.

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Jose Aguto: On the advocacy level.

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Jose Aguto: I will admit on the program level, because this is such a heavy lift and the uptake is a small percentage of the Catholic Church right now and.

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Jose Aguto: Given the vastness that I mentioned, for example, 16,000 parishes that we are primarily focused on getting your Catholics and appears to step into the programmatic dimensions but from again from an advocacy perspective we do work on an interface.

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Flannery Winchester | CCL Communications Director: gotcha okay so for our last question here we'll take this one that says Could you provide some specific ways.

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Flannery Winchester | CCL Communications Director: Oh, we need the first part of the question she says the Catholic University, where I work, signed on to the La auto see action platform Could you provide some specific ways we could partner with CCL to achieve some of the LSA P goals.

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Jose Aguto: partner with CCL on cat on that colleges and university i'm not sure I can answer that question, but what I can say is that i'm just going to do a quick share screen here first.

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Jose Aguto: Pardon me that there is a tremendous.

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Jose Aguto: There is a tremendous initiative by Loyola university Chicago that was developed.

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Jose Aguto: and adapted by.

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Jose Aguto: The Vatican to get these.

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Jose Aguto: colleges and Catholic colleges and universities into interaction.

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Jose Aguto: Pardon me sorry, here we go.

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Jose Aguto: And so, if you want to go to our we are god's planet this lead out to see university pathways is the gold standard for how universities will step into activity with regard to lead out of see and then probably there will be ways in which your CCL chapters can also be a part of that.

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Flannery Winchester | CCL Communications Director: Thank you, thank you.

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Jose Aguto: Thank you.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: Thank you so much Jose and I look forward to a great deal to us continuing to partner and work together and see what in our different.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: orbits and ways and populations that we can keep moving things forward so here's to tremendous success for the Catholic climate covenant in 2022.

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Jose Aguto: there.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: Chris yeah you're totally welcome to stay on for the rest of the call you might be interested in the legislative update that Gentile is about to give, but I just deeply appreciate your taking the time on the weekend to be with us.

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Jose Aguto: Thank you, thank you, a blessing to be with you all yeah.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: Okay, so um I want to welcome and introduce Jen Tyler who is one of our directors of government affairs, she is a wonderful addition to our staff, she has years of experience on the hill.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: Particularly serving as staff to the Republican representative john cat cow so Jen help us understand what's going on, I know it's hard.

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Jennifer Tyler | Director of Government Affairs: No thanks thanks Madeline and I want to start with something that will hopefully allow a lot of us to take a collective exhale and saying that build back better is not over, with I know there were some remarks before.

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Jennifer Tyler | Director of Government Affairs: The holiday break about sending her mentioned being a no boat but it's been confirmed it's not dead.

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Jennifer Tyler | Director of Government Affairs: And at the same time, I think that also might drive some of us a bit crazy, given how long this entire process has been how hard you've all been working on it, but it's dragging out further.

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Jennifer Tyler | Director of Government Affairs: is pretty exhausting and frustrating and Congress has this uncanny ability to drag everything out and make it much more complicated than anyone thinks it should be.

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Jennifer Tyler | Director of Government Affairs: But even though we're not at the finish line there's definitely been progress your calls or emails they're all making a big difference so.

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Jennifer Tyler | Director of Government Affairs: here's where things stand, currently we're entering a new round of negotiations.

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Jennifer Tyler | Director of Government Affairs: As I mentioned, Senator mentioned before the Christmas break said he was a no vote, but since then we've had confirmations from leader schumer.

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Jennifer Tyler | Director of Government Affairs: From the White House and from Senator mentioned himself saying that negotiations on build back better on the reconciliation bill.

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Jennifer Tyler | Director of Government Affairs: are continuing leader schumer even promised to bring the bill to the floor for a vote, so all signs are indicating that negotiations are continuing, everyone is still working to reach a final agreement.

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Jennifer Tyler | Director of Government Affairs: I think even more promising them those remarks were the remarks that Senator manchin made earlier this week, he said that the climate provisions for the least controversial.

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Jennifer Tyler | Director of Government Affairs: And would be the easiest to reach an agreement on think that sounds like music to a lot of our ears.

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Jennifer Tyler | Director of Government Affairs: it's still unclear exactly what the points of discussion are in climate So what are the specific policies that have been agreed to what are some outstanding concerns that Senator mansion and some others might have we're not sure on.

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Jennifer Tyler | Director of Government Affairs: But it is clear that the climate provisions themselves are not dead.

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Jennifer Tyler | Director of Government Affairs: Turning to what we focus on mostly the price on carbon it's still uncertain how likely, that is to be included it's still an uphill battle, but we are here unconfirmed reports from our allies in the Senate.

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Jennifer Tyler | Director of Government Affairs: That Senator mentioned has not close the door on that and I know our West Virginia folks are doing great outreach there.

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Jennifer Tyler | Director of Government Affairs: So, all in all we're hearing this reaffirmation that they're continuing to work on go back better.

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Jennifer Tyler | Director of Government Affairs: But the question still remains what's the timeline since it's being dragged out.

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Jennifer Tyler | Director of Government Affairs: And I want to take a step back and provide you with a little more of an overview of what Congress has going on there's still a lot on their plates, the same as there was in December.

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Jennifer Tyler | Director of Government Affairs: The next couple of weeks, the Senate has committed to dedicating to voting rights after that they're going to have to deal with the president's budget.

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Jennifer Tyler | Director of Government Affairs: The state of the Union address is the first week in March and then they'll have to fund the government once again.

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Jennifer Tyler | Director of Government Affairs: And this is all going to have to happen, while koba cases that are are at an all time high on the hill like they are all around the country.

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Jennifer Tyler | Director of Government Affairs: offices are trying to figure out how do we go back to remote working, how do we have safe in person voting for members of Congress and the House in the Senate.

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Jennifer Tyler | Director of Government Affairs: So this is all to say that the timeline on build back better, but on a lot of things remains very much in flux.

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Jennifer Tyler | Director of Government Affairs: Most likely we're looking at a two to three month timeline before this all wraps up on build back better and the reconciliation bill.

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Jennifer Tyler | Director of Government Affairs: So coming back to what does this mean for us, what does this mean for CCL, why are we doing another call to action right now.

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Jennifer Tyler | Director of Government Affairs: Like I said overall there's a lot of promising statements coming from key senators, including Senator mansion on the likelihood of getting these robust climate policies across the finish line.

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Jennifer Tyler | Director of Government Affairs: The battle for a price on carbon it's still an uphill one, but our champions in the Senate, who have been fighting for this since day one, just like you all have.

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Jennifer Tyler | Director of Government Affairs: are going to continue fighting for price until we deal is signed into law and that's exactly what we're going to do.

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Jennifer Tyler | Director of Government Affairs: I also want everyone to take a moment to reflect on the victories we've had along the way, I know we all look at the final product what's going to be in the bill in the long run.

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Jennifer Tyler | Director of Government Affairs: But we can't lose sight of what we're doing in this process, getting nearly every senator in favor of a carbon price is no small feat that's not something I think many people would have expected.

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Jennifer Tyler | Director of Government Affairs: Even a few months ago, so that's a huge huge victory that we definitely have to keep in mind and take stock of and be very proud of.

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Jennifer Tyler | Director of Government Affairs: And I also want to remember that, with or without a price this bill is going to be the largest climate investment in our nation's history either way.

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Jennifer Tyler | Director of Government Affairs: So we have to keep the pressure up to make this across the finish line and to make it better.

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Jennifer Tyler | Director of Government Affairs: and, specifically, why is call of action, why are we, focusing on the White House senate democrats.

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Jennifer Tyler | Director of Government Affairs: When we've heard from our key allies in the Senate, but the White House continues to be a bit of a weak spot on climate and bill back better negotiations.

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Jennifer Tyler | Director of Government Affairs: we're hearing that they definitely definitely need more of a push in the right direction, they need to hear a little bit more from everyday folks about the importance of climate, so that they.

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Jennifer Tyler | Director of Government Affairs: are joining these conversations with a little more gusto behind their commitment to the climate revisions.

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Jennifer Tyler | Director of Government Affairs: So as negotiations start back up, we need to make sure the White House and Senate democrats continue to hear your voices.

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Jennifer Tyler | Director of Government Affairs: On the importance of climate action generally in this bill getting that across the finish line, including the price on carbon.

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Jennifer Tyler | Director of Government Affairs: And lastly, I just want to say I know Madeline mentioned some of this, but this has been such a long process much longer than any of us anticipated.

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Jennifer Tyler | Director of Government Affairs: But I just want everyone to remember that your progress and progress we're making shows how important your outreach has been it's already paying off.

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Jennifer Tyler | Director of Government Affairs: So we should all be hardened and how much our work is already making a difference, how far we've already come and we just need to keep it up to make sure that Congress gets this done.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: Thank you so much, and that is really, really helpful and.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: Keep up the great work guys there and our tct.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: So we're going to jump to our actions next if you have questions from what Jen was talking about where we're not going to take them now we're going to ask you to put them in the forums and community.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: As we always do with our questions, because that way lots and lots of people could see them.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: So as Jen said for the next one to three months or for however long it takes budget reconciliation is our top priority.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: And you know, whatever you personally think the odds of our success our it's our job to increase those ads if we possibly can.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: So turn out all the emails to buy it and also the democratic senators that you can respond and keep using CCL usa.org slash take hyphen action that should be familiar right now.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: And I suggest that as you're doing that, in particular with you as you're asking your friends and family or sympathetic organizations to join us in this action, give them the heads up that you might.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: ask them to do it again as events unfold in DC right now we're letting Biden, and the politicians know that we haven't gone away in a month or two, we might need to say more to them, based on the content of their negotiations so we're going to keep putting everything we have in the mobilizing.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: When you go to CCL usa.org slash take hyphen action you'll see the progress bar you'll see that we are three quarters of the way to the initial goal that we set of 10,000 contacts that is totally fantastic.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: And I want us to blow past that 10,000 really quickly and then I want us to keep going let's just call it an unstoppable surge can we get to twice that number just keep going folks.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: Right, so I don't notice how many there are in a call, but on the call right now with is generally more than 1000 I invite you to queue up CCL usa.org slash take hyphen action if you haven't done this already and then as soon as the call is over, you can send out your emails yourself.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: So that's the first action for January the Second Action sets the stage for your work for the rest of the year.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: So you're starting at this month, but it's something you'll keep coming back to we've identified three big priority actions to keep coming back to throughout 2022.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: The first one is to make your group stronger by being an oasis in the storm to everybody who comes.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: we've been saying we need each other, and we need our friendships in order to stay afloat and these challenging times.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: So try not to let your urgency to get to the actions squeeze out the time for people to connect even a little bit of time spent checking in with each other at every meeting at heart, and says to stay in action instead of maybe hiding under the covers.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: All right, the second priority action for the year is focused on Community education and outreach last year, you did a super job with APP it's blowing past all previous years.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: i'd like to see 2020 to be a year that we do that with presentations whether they're virtual or in person, however, you need to do them.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: We have a really fantastic presenters action team and we're also going to be providing more staff, support for this.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: And the goal your presentations should be to tell stories that move more people in your community to action, which I think.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: means helping them see both what's been done already, and how and what more is needed, and how they can help.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: We went to the politicians, then, to see a growing demand for action during this election year because of that work.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: And that speaks to the third priority action it's all about the elections, so going back to mission impossible your mission should you choose to accept it.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: is to use every lever of political will, you have this year and repeatedly get the message to all candidates running for Congress or locally, that the voters want more action on climate change.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: You don't even have to be that specific about what solutions you want we'll work with Congress on that, through our lobby lover simply make it clear, as the campaign's ramp up that lots of voters want more climate action from Congress.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: So here's a way to think of the year, think of it like a gardener.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: you're bringing budget reconciliation to harvest by giving your nearly full grown plant aka the build back better act, a great deal of your attention.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: For as long as it takes for that fruit to ripen up.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: And you're simultaneously building up the fertility of the soil, through your presentations and engagement with all candidates, so that the next Congress can grow a good crop of climate legislation and make lots of friends, of course, while you tend to regard climate gardens.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: I see i'm going to tell you, real quick about three upcoming conferences if you're a conservative, we have an event for you on march 29 30th.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: We are organizing a conservative climate leadership conference in person in Washington DC it's an event only for conservatives.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: are lining up republican members of Congress of speakers, people like representative curtis with hopefully Senator murkowski.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: As well as leaders from ECO rights organizations to facilitate conservatives coming together to move powerfully on climate so we're making invitations now and you'll see on the land on the landing page for the event.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: As as people get actually signed on with members of Congress it's hard to get them to commit early, but we are encouraged very encouraged about who we think will be able to get.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: Whatever does or doesn't happen by a budget reconciliation, we know we're going to need all political parties fully engaged on the problem.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: So this conference is our way of saying CCL never stopped doing conservative outreach during budget reconciliation, but if you thought we did well then we're back.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: Now just briefly if you're a liberal leaning Member please support the event, by helping Conservatives, you know, to get there, but please don't try to come yourself.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: This event, so that conservatives can be 100% themselves, while they're there and support each other, and there is an application process, you can get the details at CCL usa.org slash conservative conference that one doesn't have a hyphen CCL usa.org slash conservative conference.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: The next conference is for each and every one of you are doing national conference will be in person in Washington DC June 12 to 14.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: We expect to open registration in February.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: And yes, it will be possible to participate remotely remotely, but if you can find a way to come in person and it's safe for you, we promise to knock your socks off.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: or taking a fresh look at everything about the Conference, so that you come away when you go back home connected informed and empowered.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: i'll just also mention that mark Reynolds will be there and will be loving him up in some way, so in my mind that's another reason to come if you can.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: write diversity and inclusion team has also inspired and will be organizing a virtual conference in September and I plan to be at that whenever it is a couple of quick numbers for you.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: In 2021 supporters used our online action tools to write call tweet and submit LTE 215,120 times 28,853 calls were made via the monthly calling campaign.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: And CCL Community became our most visited website with just over 2 million page views.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: And you used it, you went to it so many times to support your action you used it to take 3,674,086 discrete actions like posting on forums downloading resources and rsvp to events.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: So that is our call before you go on to your group meeting of the rest of your weekend, please go to CCL usa.org slash take hyphen action.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: and send those emails President Biden, and your senators or somebody in your household to do it if you already have i've done it, it was easy Thank you.

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CC sellers, are you tired.

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Of course you you've been sprinting for 13 years.

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Madeleine Para | CCL President: And this year, we have the audacity to ask you to pick up the pace to hold this man to his promise the United States sets out on the road to cut a greenhouse gases in half, by the end of this decade, and you didn't disappoint.

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You showed.

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The kind of grit that will go down without a fight that will give us a letter or shut up until the goal is a key.

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We look at you, in all and, above all, gratitude gratitude for your listening ears, for your perceptive hearts gratitude for your focus for your dedication your preparation your great.

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We are grateful for you and the banner year we've created together.

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Now.

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let's go make another one.