TUCSON— Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) thanked the House Democratic Caucus today for reappointing him as Chair for the 117th Congress, saying he looked forward to focusing on climate change and environmental justice as key themes in the coming term.

 

“The Natural Resources Committee has taken big strides in leading on climate change and environmental justice over the past two years, and with a Biden administration focused on its clear national mandate to address those issues, we can achieve big things in the next Congress,” Grijalva said today. “I thank my colleagues for continuing to put their trust in me. I intend to repay that trust with meaningful polluter oversight and substantive legislative action that will make the American people proud of Democratic leadership on these issues.”

 

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris introduced the Senate companion of Grijalva’s landmark Environmental Justice for All Act, which he introduced earlier this year with Rep. A. Donald McEachin (D-Va.) and a team of cosponsors. Advancing that legislation and seeing its principles folded into federal policy, he said, would be a top priority in the new year.

 

“Environmental justice is more than a buzzword – it’s a way of doing things that we should have started pursuing a long time ago,” Grijalva said. “It’s time to center our economy on human well-being instead of polluter profits and stop sacrificing whole generations and entire chunks of the country. President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris understand that, and I look forward to working with them to implement serious reforms in the coming Congress.”

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