A trio of House progressives launched a new caucus Thursday they say will allow communities to better liaise with Congress on environmental issues.
Reps. Summer Lee (D-Pa.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.) are leading the People’s Environmental Justice Caucus, which will focus on the environmental needs of historically marginalized communities.
“Environmental justice has always been driven by the leadership of communities who have been forced to live with pollution, disinvestment, and the consequences of climate change. The People’s Environmental Justice Caucus is about ensuring those communities are not only heard but centered in federal policymaking,” Lee said in a statement.
Lee announced the caucus’s formation last year, but said she held off on the official launch until Grijalva — whose father, the late Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), championed environmental justice in the House — could come on board.
