Washington, D.C. – Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Rep. A. Donald McEachin (D-Va.) will introduce their landmark Environmental Justice for All Act at a press conference this Thursday at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time in Longworth 1334 in Washington, D.C. The event, part of a yearlong process with advocates and stakeholders, will be livestreamed at http://facebook.com/nrdems.

Among other key features, the bill creates a Federal Energy Transition Economic Development Assistance Fund – paid for by new fees on oil, gas and coal companies – to support communities and workers as they transition away from greenhouse gas-dependent economies. The bill expands legal rights for underserved communities and creates new federal grants and program authority to address environmental racism and disparate impacts nationwide.

Grijalva and McEachin released a discussion draft version of the bill in November 2019, which subsequently served as the basis for months of public input and recommendations through an innovative online comment tool called POPVOX. The introduction of the final bill opens a new phase of the lawmakers’ ongoing project to revitalize environmental justice in federal policy.

The lawmakers held a daylong convening on environmental justice at the U.S. Capitol on June 26, 2019, and continue to host regular discussions of the Environmental Justice Working Group, an alliance of stakeholders that helped craft the Environmental Justice for All Act from its inception. In addition to opening the draft bill to online comments, the authors used outside recommendations to shape the statement of principles on which the bill was ultimately based.

The bill includes issues in the Natural Resources Committee’s jurisdiction, including an update of the National Environmental Policy Act, and Grijalva intends to hold a hearing this year.

When: Thursday, Feb. 27, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time

Where: 1334 Longworth House Office Building (livestreamed at http://facebook.com/nrdems)

Speakers

• Chair Grijalva
• Rep. McEachin
• Angelo Logan, Moving Forward Network
• Taysha DeVaughan, Alliance for Appalachia
• Juan Parras, Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services

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