[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 59 (Wednesday, April 5, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E454]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   TRUMP DIRTY ENERGY EXECUTIVE ORDER

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                       HON. NANETTE DIAZ BARRAGAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, April 5, 2017

  Ms. BARRAGAN. Mr. Speaker, after the hottest recorded year in 
history, Donald Trump and his Environmental Destruction Agency under 
Administrator Scott Pruitt will undo more than a decade's worth of 
progress fighting climate change and protecting public health by 
seeking to eliminate the Clean Power Plan as we know it.
   The Clean Power Plan which seeks to reduce carbon pollution from 
fossil-fueled power plants by more than 30 percent, was the biggest 
action the United States had ever taken to reduce carbon pollution, the 
main source driving climate change. It was also the lynchpin of the 
Paris Climate Agreement which brought countries from all over the world 
together for the first time to combat climate change.
   By weakening the Clean Power Plan and retreating as the world's 
leader in combating climate change, the Trump Administration is giving 
away the ever-growing clean energy economy to China.
   Contrary to President Trump's assertions, these actions will not 
bring back coal-mining jobs in Appalachia as natural gas continues to 
be more economically competitive than coal, the main reason for coal's 
demise.
   The climate gap, the sometimes hidden and often-unequal impact of 
climate change on people of color and the poor, is real and only 
getting worse. Climate change disproportionately impacts minority and 
low-income communities like those in my district, especially with 
respect to heat waves, air quality and extreme weather events.
   Low-income and minority communities in the inner city are more 
susceptible to the ``heat island'' effect where temperatures are 
magnified by concrete and asphalt. Reports have shown that African 
Americans living in Los Angeles are twice as likely to die as other 
Angelenos during a heat wave.
   One of my top priorities is the issue of environmental justice--
people should not breathe dirtier air simply because of their income or 
what they look like. As a United States Congresswoman for California's 
44th congressional district, I will do everything I can to ensure clean 
air, water and lands for vulnerable populations.

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