WASHINGTON— As extreme heat gripped most of the country today, more than 150 social justice, environmental, faith, health and labor groups urged federal, state and local elected officials to ban utility disconnections, tax polluters to finance renewable energy and strengthen worker protections. The “extremely dangerous,” persistent heat dome sitting over the central and eastern U.S. this week will be “a shock to the system,” meteorologists said.

In letters sent today to the National Governors Association, the U.S. Conference of Mayors and Congress, the groups said President Trump has put millions of lives at risk by dismantling federal agencies and life-saving programs that help working families keep their homes cool and survive deadly heat waves like the one this week.

“I’ve felt dizzy, weak, unable to breathe, with cramps, and my heart beats very fast, desperate,” said José, a 24-year-old roofer from Florida who does not want his last name used. “The heat suffocates me and many times I’ve been close to going to the hospital. While working on the roofs, it feels like the heat is over 110° or 115° and we only take one or two short breaks. I need this work to survive, but as the summers get hotter, I worry that one day I will collapse.”

The groups said governors and mayors should request major disaster declarations for extreme heat to unlock funding for critical emergency relief solutions, including resilient energy systems like rooftop solar and cooling centers and hydration stations to protect workers and other people at risk of dying in the heat.

“Mayors and governors must act now with bold, local solutions, including expanded public transit and community-centered strategies like neighborhood cooling hubs,” said KD Chavez, executive director of Climate Justice Alliance. “We also urge stronger labor protections, including municipal and state-level heat standards, to protect postal workers, farmworkers and all outdoor workers who are increasingly exposed to deadly heat without adequate safeguards. Extreme heat has been endangering communities across the country. We're feeling it closely this week and know it will only get worse. Our growing dependence on aging buildings, air conditioning and a fragile, fossil fuel-dependent power grid is putting lives at risk, especially in frontline, low-income neighborhoods and U.S. territories without government representation.”

Last year was the hottest on record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which expects all states to see a hotter-than-average summer this year.

“Millions of lives are at risk this week as extreme heat scorches our country. Trump and his billionaire buddies will have blood on their hands,” said Jean Su, a senior attorney and energy justice program director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Corporations are taking advantage of working people and stripping them of access to life-saving utilities, clean water, and a safe and resilient future. Congress and especially state leaders must deliver emergency relief and tax greedy polluters who are endangering our lives and the climate. Everyone deserves heat-resilient homes, schools and workplaces.”

Extreme heat is the deadliest disaster, claiming more lives each year than hurricanes, tornadoes and floods combined. Every day of extreme heat in the United States claims about 154 lives. In the past seven years there has been a nearly 17% increase each year in heat-related deaths. Among those most harmed by extreme heat are outdoor workers and children.

“We’re not asking for the moon here. We’re just looking for state and federal officials to help keep people alive during the summertime,” said Will Humble, executive director of the Arizona Public Health Association. “Heat kills as many people in Arizona as influenza and pneumonia, and every one of those heat deaths is preventable. The least our elected officials can do is make sure people have places of refuge from these deadly fossil fuel-driven heat waves. We also need stronger limits on summertime electricity shutoffs, so people aren’t dying because the utility company has turned off their power.”

Since taking office Trump has stripped Americans of access to life-saving measures, including the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program and Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program, which help more than 8 million working families pay their utility bills.

“Heat is the leading cause of weather-related deaths in this country,” said Amy Liebman, chief program officer at Migrant Clinicians Network. “Over the past three decades, on average, heat has resulted in more U.S. deaths each year than hurricanes and tornadoes combined. That is why it is so urgent for our elected officials to be able to declare an emergency during extreme heat events.  It is a matter of life and death.”

The administration has fired staff at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, crippling the agency’s ability to help communities before and after disaster strikes. And the country’s first-ever proposed federal heat standard, which would prevent heat-related illness and injury in workplaces, is stalled after staff cuts at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Only 27 states have banned utility companies from shutting off electricity during the summer. Even in those states, shutoff rates are rising during periods of extreme heat.

In 2024 six major investor-owned utilities — Georgia Power, DTE Energy, Duke Energy, Ameren Corporation, Pacific Gas & Electric and Arizona Public Service — shut off power to households at least 400,000 during the summertime, according to a Center report. From January to September, these six utilities raked in more than $10 billion in profits. And the companies have imposed crippling rate hikes — collectively increasing customers’ rates by at least $3.5 billion between 2023 and 2027.