A joint resolution recognizing the duty of the Federal Government to create a Green New Deal.

IIA Calendar No. 27 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. J. RES. 8 Recognizing the duty of the Federal Government to create a Green New Deal. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 13, 2019 Mr. MCCONNELL introduced the following joint resolution; which was read the first time FEBRUARY 14, 2019 Read the second time and placed on the calendar JOINT RESOLUTION Recognizing the duty of the Federal Government to create a Green New Deal. Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives 1 of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 3 Congress finds that— 4 (1) the October 2018 report entitled ‘‘Special 5 Report on Global Warming of 1.5 C’’ by the Inter- 6 governmental Panel on Climate Change and the No- 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Feb 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SJ8.PCS SJ8 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •SJ 8 PCS vember 2018 Fourth National Climate Assessment 1 report found that— 2 (A) human activity is the dominant cause 3 of observed climate change over the past cen- 4 tury; 5 (B) a changing climate is causing sea lev- 6 els to rise and an increase in wildfires, severe 7 storms, droughts, and other extreme weather 8 events that threaten human life, healthy com- 9 munities, and critical infrastructure; 10 (C) global warming at or above 2 degrees 11 Celsius beyond pre-industrialized levels will 12 cause— 13 (i) mass migration from the regions 14 most affected by climate change; 15 (ii) more than $500,000,000,000 in 16 lost annual economic output in the United 17 States by the year 2100; 18 (iii) wildfires that, by 2050, will annu- 19 ally burn at least twice as much forest 20 area in the western United States than 21 was typically burned by wildfires in the 22 years preceding 2019; 23 (iv) a loss of more than 99 percent of 24 all coral reefs on Earth; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Feb 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SJ8.PCS SJ8 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •SJ 8 PCS (v) more than 350,000,000 more peo- 1 ple to be exposed globally to deadly heat 2 stress by 2050; and 3 (vi) a risk of damage to 4 $1,000,000,000,000 of public infrastruc- 5 ture and coastal real estate in the United 6 States; and 7 (D) global temperatures must be kept 8 below 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industri- 9 alized levels to avoid the most severe impacts of 10 a changing climate, which will require— 11 (i) global reductions in greenhouse gas 12 emissions from human sources of 40 to 60 13 percent from 2010 levels by 2030; and 14 (ii) net-zero global emissions by 2050; 15 (2) because the United States has historically 16 been responsible for a disproportionate amount of 17 greenhouse gas emissions, having emitted 20 percent 18 of global greenhouse gas emissions through 2014, 19 and has a high technological capacity, the United 20 States must take a leading role in reducing emis- 21 sions through economic transformation; 22 (3) the United States is currently experiencing 23 several related crises, with— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Feb 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SJ8.PCS SJ8 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •SJ 8 PCS (A) life expectancy declining while basic 1 needs, such as clean air, clean water, healthy 2 food, and adequate health care, housing, trans- 3 portation, and education, are inaccessible to a 4 significant portion of the United States popu- 5 lation; 6 (B) a 4-decade trend of wage stagnation, 7 deindustrialization, and anti-labor policies that 8 has led to— 9 (i) hourly wages overall stagnating 10 since the 1970s despite increased worker 11 productivity; 12 (ii) the third-worst level of socio- 13 economic mobility in the developed world 14 before the Great Recession; 15 (iii) the erosion of the earning and 16 bargaining power of workers in the United 17 States; and 18 (iv) inadequate resources for public 19 sector workers to confront the challenges 20 of climate change at local, State, and Fed- 21 eral levels; and 22 (C) the greatest income inequality since 23 the 1920s, with— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Feb 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SJ8.PCS SJ8 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •SJ 8 PCS (i) the top 1 percent of earners accru- 1 ing 91 percent of gains in the first few 2 years of economic recovery after the Great 3 Recession; 4 (ii) a large racial wealth divide 5 amounting to a difference of 20 times 6 more wealth between the average White 7 family and the average Black family; and 8 (iii) a gender earnings gap that re- 9 sults in women earning approximately 80 10 percent as much as men, at the median; 11 (4) climate change, pollution, and environ- 12 mental destruction have exacerbated systemic racial, 13 regional, social, environmental, and economic injus- 14 tices (referred to in this section as ‘‘systemic injus- 15 tices’’) by disproportionately affecting indigenous 16 peoples, communities of color, migrant communities, 17 deindustrialized communities, depopulated rural 18 communities, the poor, low-income workers, women, 19 the elderly, the unhoused, people with disabilities, 20 and youth (referred to in this section as ‘‘frontline 21 and vulnerable communities’’); 22 (5) climate change constitutes a direct threat to 23 the national security of the United States— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Feb 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SJ8.PCS SJ8 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •SJ 8 PCS (A) by impacting the economic, environ- 1 mental, and social stability of countries and 2 communities around the world; and 3 (B) by acting as a threat multiplier; 4 (6) the Federal Government-led mobilizations 5 during World War II and the New Deal created the 6 greatest middle class that the United States has ever 7 seen, but many members of frontline and vulnerable 8 communities were excluded from many of the eco- 9 nomic and societal benefits of those mobilizations; 10 and 11 (7) a new national, social, industrial, and eco- 12 nomic mobilization on a scale not seen since World 13 War II and the New Deal era is a historic oppor- 14 tunity— 15 (A) to create millions of good, high-wage 16 jobs in the United States; 17 (B) to provide unprecedented levels of 18 prosperity and economic security for all people 19 of the United States; and 20 (C) to counteract systemic injustices. 21 SEC. 2. GREEN NEW DEAL POLICY. 22 It is the policy of the United States that— 23 (1) it is the duty of the Federal Government to 24 create a Green New Deal— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Feb 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SJ8.PCS SJ8 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •SJ 8 PCS (A) to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas 1 emissions through a fair and just transition for 2 all communities and workers; 3 (B) to create millions of good, high-wage 4 jobs and ensure prosperity and economic secu- 5 rity for all people of the United States; 6 (C) to invest in the infrastructure and in- 7 dustry of the United States to sustainably meet 8 the challenges of the 21st century; 9 (D) to secure for all people of the United 10 States for generations to come— 11 (i) clean air and water; 12 (ii) climate and community resiliency; 13 (iii) healthy food; 14 (iv) access to nature; and 15 (v) a sustainable environment; and 16 (E) to promote justice and equity by stop- 17 ping current, preventing future, and repairing 18 historic oppression of indigenous peoples, com- 19 munities of color, migrant communities, 20 deindustrialized communities, depopulated rural 21 communities, the poor, low-income workers, 22 women, the elderly, the unhoused, people with 23 disabilities, and youth (referred to in this sec- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Feb 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SJ8.PCS SJ8 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •SJ 8 PCS tion as ‘‘frontline and vulnerable commu- 1 nities’’); 2 (2) the goals described in subparagraphs (A) 3 through (E) of paragraph (1) (referred to in this 4 section as the ‘‘Green New Deal goals’’) should be 5 accomplished through a 10-year national mobiliza- 6 tion (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Green New 7 Deal mobilization’’) that will require the following 8 goals and projects— 9 (A) building resiliency against climate 10 change-related disasters, such as extreme 11 weather, including by leveraging funding and 12 providing investments for community-defined 13 projects and strategies; 14 (B) repairing and upgrading the infra- 15 structure in the United States, including— 16 (i) by eliminating pollution and green- 17 house gas emissions as much as techno- 18 logically feasible; 19 (ii) by guaranteeing universal access 20 to clean water; 21 (iii) by reducing the risks posed by cli- 22 mate impacts; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Feb 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SJ8.PCS SJ8 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •SJ 8 PCS (iv) by ensuring that any infrastruc- 1 ture bill considered by Congress addresses 2 climate change; 3 (C) meeting 100 percent of the power de- 4 mand in the United States through clean, re- 5 newable, and zero-emission energy sources, in- 6 cluding— 7 (i) by dramatically expanding and up- 8 grading renewable power sources; and 9 (ii) by deploying new capacity; 10 (D) building or upgrading to energy-effi- 11 cient, distributed, and ‘‘smart’’ power grids, 12 and ensuring affordable access to electricity; 13 (E) upgrading all existing buildings in the 14 United States and building new buildings to 15 achieve maximum energy efficiency, water effi- 16 ciency, safety, affordability, comfort, and dura- 17 bility, including through electrification; 18 (F) spurring massive growth in clean man- 19 ufacturing in the United States and removing 20 pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from 21 manufacturing and industry as much as is tech- 22 nologically feasible, including by expanding re- 23 newable energy manufacturing and investing in 24 existing manufacturing and industry; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Feb 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SJ8.PCS SJ8 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •SJ 8 PCS (G) working collaboratively with farmers 1 and ranchers in the United States to remove 2 pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from 3 the agricultural sector as much as is techno- 4 logically feasible, including— 5 (i) by supporting family farming; 6 (ii) by investing in sustainable farm- 7 ing and land use practices that increase 8 soil health; and 9 (iii) by building a more sustainable 10 food system that ensures universal access 11 to healthy food; 12 (H) overhauling transportation systems in 13 the United States to remove pollution and 14 greenhouse gas emissions from the transpor- 15 tation sector as much as is technologically fea- 16 sible, including through investment in— 17 (i) zero-emission vehicle infrastructure 18 and manufacturing; 19 (ii) clean, affordable, and accessible 20 public transit; and 21 (iii) high-speed rail; 22 (I) mitigating and managing the long-term 23 adverse health, economic, and other effects of 24 pollution and climate change, including by pro- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Feb 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SJ8.PCS SJ8 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •SJ 8 PCS viding funding for community-defined projects 1 and strategies; 2 (J) removing greenhouse gases from the 3 atmosphere and reducing pollution by restoring 4 natural ecosystems through proven low-tech so- 5 lutions that increase soil carbon storage, such 6 as land preservation and afforestation; 7 (K) restoring and protecting threatened, 8 endangered, and fragile ecosystems through lo- 9 cally appropriate and science-based projects 10 that enhance biodiversity and support climate 11 resiliency; 12 (L) cleaning up existing hazardous waste 13 and abandoned sites, ensuring economic devel- 14 opment and sustainability on those sites; 15 (M) identifying other emission and pollu- 16 tion sources and creating solutions to remove 17 them; and 18 (N) promoting the international exchange 19 of technology, expertise, products, funding, and 20 services, with the aim of making the United 21 States the international leader on climate ac- 22 tion, and to help other countries achieve a 23 Green New Deal; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Feb 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SJ8.PCS SJ8 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •SJ 8 PCS (3) a Green New Deal must be developed 1 through transparent and inclusive consultation, col- 2 laboration, and partnership with frontline and vul- 3 nerable communities, labor unions, worker coopera- 4 tives, civil society groups, academia, and businesses; 5 and 6 (4) to achieve the Green New Deal goals and 7 mobilization, a Green New Deal will require the fol- 8 lowing goals and projects— 9 (A) providing and leveraging, in a way that 10 ensures that the public receives appropriate 11 ownership stakes and returns on investment, 12 adequate capital (including through community 13 grants, public banks, and other public financ- 14 ing), technical expertise, supporting policies, 15 and other forms of assistance to communities, 16 organizations, Federal, State, and local govern- 17 ment agencies, and businesses working on the 18 Green New Deal mobilization; 19 (B) ensuring that the Federal Government 20 takes into account the complete environmental 21 and social costs and impacts of emissions 22 through— 23 (i) existing laws; 24 (ii) new policies and programs; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Feb 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SJ8.PCS SJ8 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •SJ 8 PCS (iii) ensuring that frontline and vul- 1 nerable communities shall not be adversely 2 affected; 3 (C) providing resources, training, and 4 high-quality education, including higher edu- 5 cation, to all people of the United States, with 6 a focus on frontline and vulnerable commu- 7 nities, so that all people of the United States 8 may be full and equal participants in the Green 9 New Deal mobilization; 10 (D) making public investments in the re- 11 search and development of new clean and re- 12 newable energy technologies and industries; 13 (E) directing investments to spur economic 14 development, deepen and diversify industry and 15 business in local and regional economies, and 16 build wealth and community ownership, while 17 prioritizing high-quality job creation and eco- 18 nomic, social, and environmental benefits in 19 frontline and vulnerable communities, and 20 deindustrialized communities, that may other- 21 wise struggle with [Text truncated for display. 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