[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 16737-16738]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         PRESERVING OUR PLANET

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Loretta Sanchez) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 
direct our attention to the importance of preserving our planet and 
what we should do to address the issue of the changes going on in our 
climate.
  Protecting our environment and addressing climate change are issues 
which are important to all of our cities across the United States. In 
fact, at a very local level, many of our communities are working on 
these issues because they face them directly head on.
  For the Latino community, like other communities, we are family-
oriented, and we want to provide a better future for our generations to 
come. That includes leaving our planet better--better--for our 
grandchildren and their children.
  As the Latino population continues to increase in the United States--
we are about one out of every four, and they say that in another 30 or 
40 years, we will be one out of every three Americans--our exposure to 
climate change and the risks of pollution are even more important 
because our ZIP Codes--where we live, where the Latino community 
lives--are where we are highest at risk.
  It is estimated that close to 50 percent of all Latino Americans live 
in counties that frequently violate ground-level ozone standards. It 
just doesn't affect Latinos, by the way. Asian Americans tend to also 
live in those ZIP Codes.
  What that means is that we are breathing dirtier air than most 
Americans, and we have more respiratory illness. Poor environmental 
protections affect the food that we feed our children, the air that our 
families breathe, and the water that we drink.
  Since I was elected to Congress almost 20 years ago, I have worked 
tirelessly to work in Orange County--where I live and where I 
represent--to help get some green projects in, both in Orange County 
and in California.
  For example, I have fought to maintain the funding for the Pacific 
Crest Trail, which serves residents of the entire West Coast and 
visitors from around the world. Of course, I am an avid hiker; so, I 
love that trail.
  In fact, in this Congress, I cosponsored legislation which would 
permanently extend the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which ensures 
the conservation of national parks, rivers, and streams. It provides 
grants to local parks and to recreation projects.
  One of the things it does is try to ensure that, for example, 
California, being so long in length, you could start at the southern 
portion of California and actually walk through wilderness all the way 
to the Oregon border.
  The Land and Water Conservation Fund is a bipartisan program. That is 
why it kind of distresses me a little bit that we, as a Congress, 
haven't funded it, because it is incredibly important, especially in 
urban areas, such as my district, where there is little natural 
environment left and where we need open space and green parks.
  It is where Latinos go to have their barbecues. It is where we have 
our family gatherings. It is incredibly important to us. Sometimes we 
live in pretty cramped conditions, and we need that outdoor space, even 
if it is in an urban area. Places like Pearson and Pioneer Park in my 
hometown of Anaheim or Centennial Park in Santa Ana or our beautiful 
Santa Ana Zoo have all been made possible by the Land and Water 
Conservation Fund.

[[Page 16738]]

  Mr. Speaker, do you know what the total cost to taxpayers for these 
wonderful developments are? Zero. The land and water conservation comes 
at no cost to the taxpayer, but it benefits them immensely. And, still, 
this House has failed to fund this. It expired on September 30.
  Mr. Speaker, the Land and Water Conservation Fund is another example 
of a commonsense--commonsense--bipartisan program on which this House 
has neglected to act.
  So I ask the Members of the House, can you go back to the people of 
your district and say to them: Oh, I don't really care about your 
parks. I don't really care about the environment. I don't care about 
where you hang out with your families? This Congress has to act. We 
should act together on this because it is incredibly important to our 
families.
  I will leave you with a quote, another one from one of my favorite 
people, His Holiness Pope Francis: ``I call for a courageous and 
responsible effort to `redirect our steps' and to avert the most 
serious effects of the environmental deterioration caused by human 
activity. I am convinced that we can make a difference.'' I am sure.

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