We speak with one of the group of five climate activists who have entered their eighth day of hunger strike demanding President Biden pass the full $3.5 trillion Build Back Better plan to combat the climate crisis and expand the U.S. social safety net.

The climate programs drafted in the bill face opposition from Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, who has made millions of dollars from coal companies in his home state of West Virginia since taking office.

​​”I’m on hunger strike for my family and my future and the promises that the president made to young people who put him in office,” says Kidus Girma, who is on the eighth day of the hunger strike.

He argues the reconciliation deal President Biden is said to have cut with Manchin “is simply not enough,” and calls Biden “too much of a coward to fight for the people who actually put him in office.”

Democracy Now! produces a daily, global, independent news hour hosted by award-winning journalists Amy Goodman and Juan González. Our reporting includes breaking daily news headlines and in-depth interviews with people on the front lines of the world’s most pressing issues. 

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Amy Goodman Biden Administration Build Back Better Plan Climate Change Climate Crisis Climate Programs Democracy Now! Free Speech TV Joe Manchiin Kyrsten Sinema President Biden United States