Advancing Environmental Justice

Floor Speech

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Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, everyone, no matter their ZIP Code, should be able to enjoy natural resources. This week, Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury and I introduced the Environmental Justice in Recreation Permitting Act to require the Biden administration to complete an inner-agency report on the effects of special recreation permits on environmental justice communities.

Our communities of color, Mr. Speaker, low-income communities, Tribal and indigenous communities are on the front lines of the climate crisis.

Enabling greater connections between environmental justice communities and recreation opportunities on our public lands and waters is just the beginning of advancing true environmental justice for our residents in Michigan's 12th District and beyond.

Every single American, Mr. Speaker, deserves the right to breathe clean air, and every American deserves to experience all that our public lands and waters have to offer. This body must do more to protect them instead of gutting our bedrock environmental laws.

This legislation, Mr. Speaker, did pass the House in the Protecting America's Wilderness and Public Lands Act, and I urge my colleagues to pass this commonsense bill again this session.

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