Ruiz Leads Bicameral Effort to Address COVID's Impact on Communities Plagued by Environmental Injustice

Press Release

As Congress considers additional funding to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, members of the House and Senate have introduced legislation seeking to address the disproportionate impact that COVID-19 has on communities experiencing environmental injustices. Rep. Raul Ruiz, M.D. (D-CA) introduced H.R.6692, the Environmental Justice COVID-19 Act, alongside Rep. Donald McEachin (D-VA). The bill would provide $50 million for environmental justice grant programs to monitor pollution and investigate COVID-19's impact in frontline communities. The Environmental Justice COVID-19 Act was included in the latest House coronavirus relief package, H.R. 6800 the HEROES Act.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) introduced the Senate companion (S. 3680) along with Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE).

"As an emergency physician and public health expert, I know firsthand that poor air quality can lead to higher rates of asthma and pulmonary diseases and put a population at higher risk of death due to COVID-19," said Rep. Ruiz, an emergency medicine physician. "That is why marginalized and underserved communities who experience environmental hazards like air pollution have been hit harder by the Coronavirus and why they need the essential resources that the Environmental Justice COVID-19 Act will help provide during this pandemic."

"Communities of color and low-income communities face public health challenges at alarming rates, and these challenges--like high rates of asthma caused by poor air quality--make these communities especially vulnerable to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic," said Sen. Duckworth. "I'm proud to join with colleagues in the House and Senate to introduce legislation that would provide funding to programs that investigate COVID-19's impact on environmental justice communities."

"The coronavirus is invisible but it has exposed so much of the reality we must now confront: even without COVID-19 plaguing us, communities of color, low income communities, and indigenous communities suffer disproportionate impacts of contaminated environments, including higher rates of cancer, birth defects, asthma, and more," said Sen. Booker. "As we work to tackle this virus and plan for the future, we cannot afford to go back to what was normal before the pandemic. We must work to build a new normal, and this legislation is an important first step."

"Communities seeing higher rates of coronavirus infection and death in this country are the very same ones facing disproportionate levels of air, land and water pollution. It's not a coincidence. It's a stark reminder that environmental quality and public health are critically connected, and that communities of color, low income communities, and indigenous communities have been underserved and overlooked for far too long," said Sen. Carper, top Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. "It's also why achieving environmental justice must be a key part of our national strategy to overcome this deadly pandemic. We can't have a healthy economy without healthy people, and no one can be healthy without clean air to breathe, safe water to drink and an environment free of toxic chemicals and pollution. It's that simple. These federal programs take community-centered approaches to address the underlying environmental factors at the root of public health problems."

"The coronavirus is disproportionately devasting environmental justice communities, and instead of providing greater protection, the EPA has chosen to abdicate its responsibility to protect frontline communities," said Congressman McEachin. "In the face of EPA inaction, I am proud to introduce the Environmental Justice COVID-19 Act alongside my colleague, Rep. Ruiz. The federal government cannot continue to turn a blind eye to these wrongs and Trump's EPA must not be allowed to leave behind environmental justice communities in yet another chapter in our nation's legacy of systemic equality."

Source