[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 362 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 362

  Affirming the need to achieve environmental justice, commending the 
    work of environmental justice advocates, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 25, 2017

Mr. McEachin (for himself, Ms. Jayapal, and Ms. Barragan) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Natural Resources, for a 
 period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Affirming the need to achieve environmental justice, commending the 
    work of environmental justice advocates, and for other purposes.

Whereas environmental injustice exists whenever governmental action or inaction 
        causes environmental risks or harms to fall unfairly and 
        disproportionately upon a particular group or community;
Whereas racial minority, low-income, rural, indigenous, and other often-
        marginalized communities are especially likely to face environmental 
        injustice;
Whereas limited resources and lack of political power ensure that marginalized 
        communities host pollution-producing or potentially toxic facilities, 
        including power plants, pipelines, industrial sites, garbage transfer 
        stations, incinerators, landfills, and sewage treatment plants, at 
        disproportionate rates;
Whereas marginalized communities suffer from systemic governmental failures to 
        adequately invest in the kind of infrastructure and services that reduce 
        the risk of environmental accidents or disasters, and that facilitate 
        swift, effective responses to such occurrences;
Whereas the presence of pollution-producing sites can compromise public health, 
        safety, property values, and quality of life even if no accident or 
        disaster occurs;
Whereas air and water quality are often especially poor in marginalized 
        communities, and governmental permitting and investment decisions 
        directly contribute to this inequity;
Whereas scientific evidence increasingly links poor environmental quality with 
        disabilities and chronic illnesses, including cancer, asthma, 
        neurobehavioral disorders, learning disabilities, and abnormal hormone 
        functioning;
Whereas environmental justice exists when public policies successfully prevent 
        or correct unfair disparities in environmental quality, and resultant 
        disparities in public health and quality of life;
Whereas environmental justice is possible only if vulnerable groups and 
        marginalized communities can express their needs and concerns, and only 
        then if policymakers listen;
Whereas the environmental justice movement seeks to address the unjust social, 
        economic, and political marginalization of minority, low-income, rural, 
        and indigenous communities;
Whereas environmental justice advocates seek healthy home, work, and 
        recreational environments for all human beings, and healthy habitats for 
        non-human life;
Whereas community health depends in part upon factors like adequate transit 
        options, walkable neighborhoods, and other public goods that 
        marginalized communities are often denied;
Whereas environmental justice requires responsible and balanced use of land and 
        resources, in a way that does not unfairly burden marginalized 
        communities;
Whereas environmental justice can only be achieved and sustained in the context 
        of a greener economy;
Whereas ``greening'' the economy requires concrete governmental actions, 
        including investments in clean technologies; in sustainable, low-carbon 
        transportation and energy production systems; and in workforce training 
        initiatives that prepare citizens for well-paying jobs in new or 
        evolving industries;
Whereas environmental justice requires fair processes and a good-faith approach 
        to public policy, including regulatory decision making;
Whereas in the 1990s, in response to the environmental justice movement, Federal 
        agencies were directed to incorporate environmental justice goals into 
        their programs and activities;
Whereas vulnerable populations and marginalized communities continue urgently to 
        need fairer environmental policies, and more inclusive and equitable 
        processes; and
Whereas all Americans would be better served by a policymaking process that did 
        not unfairly prioritize the comfort and health of some groups or 
        communities at the expense of others: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) reaffirms the vital importance of clean air, clean 
        water, resource conservation, and other policy goals that 
        spurred lawmakers to enact existing environmental and public 
        health protections;
            (2) affirms that the need for adequate environmental and 
        public health protections is inextricably linked with the need 
        for a more sustainable economy and greener, more livable 
        communities;
            (3) affirms that environmental and public health policies 
        should adequately and equally protect all Americans, and that 
        equal protection is possible only in a context of environmental 
        justice;
            (4) commends environmental justice advocates for their 
        continuing struggle to achieve fairer, healthier, more 
        sustainable policies and outcomes;
            (5) acknowledges the prevalence of environmental injustices 
        that directly affect the health and well-being of individuals 
        and communities across the country, especially racial minority, 
        rural, indigenous, and low-income communities; and
            (6) affirms its commitment to ameliorating existing 
        environmental injustices, and to preventing future injustices, 
        by supporting greater objectivity, transparency, and outreach 
        in policymaking at all levels of government; by supporting 
        improved two-way communication between policymakers and those 
        affected by their decisions; and by supporting processes that 
        ensure policymakers give due consideration not just to the 
        effects of their decisions, but to how those effects are 
        distributed and by whom they are borne.
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