04.21.20

Chair Grijalva, Reps. McEachin and Lowenthal Holding Livestreamed Roundtable on Environmental Justice, Economic Inequality in Coronavirus Response

Washington, D.C. – Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Reps. A. Donald McEachin (D-Va.) and Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.) are holding a livestreamed roundtable discussion this Thursday, April 23, at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time on how the coronavirus has exacerbated longstanding environmental and economic inequalities in American society and how Congress should respond.

The event will be livestreamed on Facebook at https://bit.ly/3ap9LjF and YouTube at https://youtu.be/qsOn1A0dz98.

Reps. Grijalva and McEachin coauthored the Environmental Justice for All Act, which they introduced in February following an unprecedented public outreach and engagement effort with historically marginalized stakeholders. You can learn more about the bill and their stakeholder process at https://bit.ly/3eE8atm. They also led a letter with 41 House Democratic colleagues on March 26 urging House and Senate leaders to account for underlying health and economic disparities across the country in crafting future COVID-19 response bills.

Rep. Lowenthal chairs the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, which oversees fossil fuel extraction on federal lands and waters, among other issues important to environmental justice communities. He is an original cosponsor of the Environmental Justice for All Act.

Confirmed speakers for Thursday’s event include:

  • Chair Grijalva
  • Rep. McEachin
  • Rep. Lowenthal
  • Michele Roberts
    Environmental Justice Health Alliance for Chemical Policy Reform
  • Dr. Francesca Dominici
    Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
  • Sylvia Betancourt
    Long Beach Alliance for Children With Asthma
  • Matt Bruenig
    People’s Policy Project
  • Reverend F. Wayne Henley
    Cedar Grove Baptist Church, Charles City, Va.

Dr. Dominici published a widely noted study earlier this month highlighting the connection between air pollution and higher COVID-19 mortality rates, using data from counties that accounted for 90 percent of U.S. COVID-19 deaths as of April 4.

The Committee launched an online Coronavirus Resource Center in March available at https://bit.ly/2WwiPjo. The upcoming event is the second in a series of livestreamed discussions the Natural Resources Committee is holding on coronavirus impacts, following last Thursday’s event on the administration’s failed response in Indian Country.

Press Contact

Media Contacts: Adam Sarvana (Grijalva)

(202) 225-6065 or (202) 578-6626 mobile

 

Ralph Jones (McEachin)

(202) 802-1721 or Ralph.Jones@mail.house.gov

 

Keith Higginbotham (Lowenthal)

(202) 740-2517 or