[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 105 (Wednesday, June 16, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E658]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       ENACTING CLIMATE INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE AMERICAN JOBS PLAN

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                          HON. DORIS O. MATSUI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 16, 2021

  Ms. MATSUI. Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak about the importance 
of including climate change focused provisions in any forthcoming 
infrastructure package.
  My district of Sacramento, one of the most flood-prone cities in the 
nation, relies on modernized flood control infrastructure to protect 
against the threat of inundations intensified by climate change. Just 
last year, my home state of California experienced the wildfire season 
on record and this year, we are bracing for what will be one of the 
worst droughts in recent decades. All of these are testaments that the 
climate crisis is here . . . and we have no time for half measures.
  As we make the most consequential generational investments on our 
nation's crumbling infrastructure, Congress must prioritize bold 
investments in resilience, clean energy, jobs, and environmental 
justice while lowering our carbon footprint to avert the worst impacts 
of the climate crisis. The President's American Jobs Plan does just 
that.
  As a leader in clean transportation and strong vehicle emission 
standards, I am thrilled to see that the American Jobs Plan will spark 
the electric vehicle revolution. The AJP would build a network of five 
hundred thousand EV chargers, replace fifty thousand diesel transit 
vehicles with cleaner vehicles, create a million jobs in the auto 
industry, and help consumers purchase the vehicles of tomorrow. These 
infrastructure improvements are critical to lower transportation 
emissions, the largest source of carbon pollution in the United States, 
and to decrease tailpipe pollution which disproportionately impacts 
communities of color.
  Further, the American Jobs Plan will help us meet this moment with a 
visionary agenda that elevates every community-creating at least 2.7 
million jobs in the new green economy and investing 40 percent of 
infrastructure funds in disadvantaged communities.
  It is time for Congress to follow the President's leadership and pass 
an infrastructure package that will help us build a cleaner economy 
that values workers, communities of color, and all Americans who need 
environmental, climate, and economic justice. In 2021, we cannot 
address infrastructure without addressing climate change.

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