The House Natural Resources Committee recently advanced legislation aimed at promoting environmental justice and civil rights, according to a press release by EarthJustice.
House Resolution 2021 (HR 2021), dubbed also known as the "Environmental Justice For All Act," was approved by the committee on July 27 and will now go to a full House vote.
"The bill would enable frontline environmental justice communities to hold polluters accountable in court for projects that use federal funds and engage in environmental discrimination," the EarthJustice press release states.
According to EarthJustice, the bill includes policies that would reinforce the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by requiring federal agencies to evaluate the disparate effects of pollution on communities of color as well as low-income areas.
"The #EJforAll Act ensures all Americans, regardless of income or background, can live in healthy communities," Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-CA) stated on Twitter. "Authored by @RepGrijalva, the Environmental Justice for All Act, was passed out of committee yesterday, & is headed for a full House vote."
EarthJustice also notes that the measure would levy additional taxes on oil, gas, and coal companies in order to support investments in environmental justice communities.
“For too long those in power have ignored the concerns of communities across the country struggling with a long history of exposure to toxic pollution," EarthJustice Healthy Communities Program Legislative Director Raul Garcia stated, "This bill is an important step toward giving the communities most impacted by pollution the tools to hold polluting industries accountable and remedy generations of environmental racism that has disproportionately impacted communities of color and those of low-income"
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) also expressed her satisfaction at the resolution's passing in a recent tweet.
"Thank you @RepRaulGrijalva for visiting my district and reinforcing what it means when we do nothing against environmental racism for our frontline communities," Tlaib stated.
The vote to send HR 2021 to the floor of the house was won by a majority of 26 votes in favor to 21 votes against, as reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources.
The measure received support from every single Democrat member, while every single Republican member voted against it.
