Congress: Ban Water Futures Trading!

No one should be allowed to gamble on clean, safe water – but that’s exactly what financial speculators are trying to do by trading water futures on the stock market. Allowing Wall Street speculators to profit off and drive up prices on a resource that we all need is dangerous!

The good news? Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Ro Khanna just introduced legislation to ban water futures trading! This bill would protect water as a human right by declaring that water is not a commodity for financial speculators to gamble with.

Urge your members of Congress to co-sponsor the Future of Water Act (HR 7182, S 3886) to ban water futures trading!

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Dear Member of Congress,

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I urge you to support the Future of Water Act ((HR 7182, S 3886) to ban stock market speculators from gambling on our water.

No one should be allowed to gamble with clean, safe water – and that’s why we need to stop financial speculators from trading water futures. It's dangerous to allow speculators to profit off climate change-driven water shortages and drive up prices on a resource that we all need to live. From increased water prices to the loss of small family farms, the only people who would benefit from water futures trading are financial speculators.

Allowing financial speculators to engage in water futures trading could:
- Increase water prices
- Encourage market manipulation and excessive speculation
- Lead to the loss of small farms

Sen. Warren and Rep. Khanna introduced the Future of Water Act (HR 7182, S 3886) on World Water Day, an international day to advance the human right to water and sanitation. This legislation would ban water futures trading and affirm that water is not a commodity.

In December 2020, following a devastating wildfire season and anticipating another major drought in California, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange launched the world’s first water futures market, allowing financial speculators to gamble on water prices in California. This is dangerous. Water is a human right – it should benefit people, not enrich financial speculators.

I urge you to co-sponsor this legislation that would stop financial speculators from gambling with our water now. Please support the Future of Water Act to ban water futures trading and affirm that water is not a commodity!

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If you already support the Future of Water Act, thank you for your leadership on this critical issue! Please continue to support this important piece of legislation.

Sincerely,

[First Name] [Last Name]
[Your Address]