Building Back Green

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. ESPAILLAT. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend my colleagues for acting to tackle the climate crisis. Under President Biden's leadership, we are celebrating America's efforts to combat our world's largest existential threat: global warming.

Last week, Speaker Pelosi led a diverse group of House Democrats to Glasgow, Scotland. I was part of that group, the COP 26 conference, and our message was clear. The U.S. is proud to be back in the Paris Agreement and will continue to demonstrate our commitment to reach net- zero emissions.

Our commitment was met by action, not only with the agreements that were struck during the conference, but also the sound policies included in the Build Back Better Act. The framework's $555 billion investment represents the largest single investment in our clean energy economy in history. This includes buildings, transportation, industry, electricity, agriculture, and climate-smart practices across lands and waters.

As an environmental justice policy, the Justice40 acknowledges decades of environmental burdens on Black, Brown, and indigenous communities. Upholding this policy is vital to guarantee that communities that have weathered the costs of climate change finally receive commonsense human rights.

Let's build back better. Let's build back green.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source