A resolution recognizing the duty of the Federal Government to implement an agenda to Transform, Heal, and Renew by Investing in a Vibrant Economy ("THRIVE").

III 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. RES. 693 Recognizing the duty of the Federal Government to implement an agenda to Transform, Heal, and Renew by Investing in a Vibrant Economy (‘‘THRIVE’’). IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES SEPTEMBER 15, 2020 Mr. MARKEY (for himself, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. SCHUMER, Ms. WARREN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. UDALL, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. MERKLEY, and Mr. HEINRICH) submitted the following res- olution; which was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions RESOLUTION Recognizing the duty of the Federal Government to imple- ment an agenda to Transform, Heal, and Renew by Investing in a Vibrant Economy (‘‘THRIVE’’). Whereas families and communities throughout the United States share similar hopes and dreams of a good life that is free from worry about meeting basic needs, with reli- able and fulfilling work, a dignified and healthy standard of living, and the ability to enjoy time with loved ones; Whereas the United States faces the stress of multiple, over- lapping crises—old and new—that prevent the achieve- ment of these fundamental human rights and needs, in which the COVID–19 pandemic has killed over 180,000 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:03 Sep 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR693.IS SR693 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 2 •SRES 693 IS United States residents; tens of millions of United States workers remain unemployed; rising economic inequality has made working families vulnerable; tens of millions of individuals do not get the health care they need; and in- tensifying climate change increases the threats to our health, economy, and livelihoods; Whereas these health, economic, and climate crises have mag- nified centuries-old injustices, causing high rates of death and hardship among Black, Brown, and Indigenous com- munities due to long-standing systemic racism—a fact spotlighted by an emerging, multiracial movement to end violence against Black people; Whereas these crises are causing the inequitable workloads of women—particularly women of color—to grow, especially as women of color overwhelmingly make up the essential workforce, bearing the weight of the increased care needs of children, the elderly, and the sick; Whereas, even before the COVID–19 crisis, many rural com- munities and independent family farmers suffered from poverty, declining economic opportunity, and alarming rates of farm bankruptcy, including loss of land from Black farmers and the exploitation of Black, Brown, and Indigenous farmers caused by predatory and racist pub- lic, private, and governmental institutions and policies; Whereas the root of our interlocking economic and environ- mental crises is society’s historical willingness to treat some communities and workers as disposable; Whereas it is necessary to counteract systemic injustice and value the dignity of all individuals in order to address un- employment, pandemics, or climate change and ensure the survival of the Nation and the planet; VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:03 Sep 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR693.IS SR693 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 3 •SRES 693 IS Whereas the choices made in response to these crises will shape the United States direction for the 21st century and beyond, offering an opportunity to reshape our soci- ety to provide a good life for each of us and for our chil- dren and grandchildren; and Whereas the United States has the means to support ful- filling livelihoods for millions of people—Black, Indige- nous, Brown, Latinx, Asian/Pacific Islander, White, im- migrant, urban and rural, old and young, of many faiths, genders, abilities, and talents—while working to heal harms, protect communities, and invest in a future that fosters justice, not crisis: Now therefore, be it Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that— 1 (1) it is the duty of the Federal Government to 2 respond to the crises of racial injustice, mass unem- 3 ployment, a pandemic, and climate change with a 4 bold and holistic national mobilization, an Agenda to 5 Transform, Heal, and Renew by Investing in a Vi- 6 brant Economy (‘‘THRIVE’’) (referred to in this re- 7 solving clause as the ‘‘Agenda’’), to build a society 8 that enables— 9 (A) greater racial, economic, and gender 10 justice; 11 (B) dignified work; 12 (C) healthy communities; and 13 (D) a stable climate; and 14 (2) such Agenda shall be assessed upon its abil- 15 ity to uphold its foundational pillars, including— 16 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:03 Sep 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR693.IS SR693 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 4 •SRES 693 IS (A) creating millions of good, safe jobs 1 with access to unions by— 2 (i) investing in projects including— 3 (I) upgrading our broken infra- 4 structure to expand access to clean 5 and affordable energy, transportation, 6 high-speed broadband, and water, par- 7 ticularly for public systems; 8 (II) modernizing and retrofitting 9 millions of homes, schools, offices, and 10 industrial buildings to cut pollution 11 and costs; 12 (III) investing in public health 13 and care work, including by increasing 14 jobs, protections, wages, and benefits 15 for the historically unpaid and under- 16 valued work of caring for children, the 17 elderly, and the sick; 18 (IV) protecting and restoring 19 wetlands, forests, and public lands, 20 and cleaning up pollution in our com- 21 munities; 22 (V) creating opportunities for 23 family farmers and rural communities, 24 including by untangling the hyper- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:03 Sep 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR693.IS SR693 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 5 •SRES 693 IS consolidated food supply chain, bol- 1 stering regenerative agriculture, and 2 investing in local and regional food 3 systems that support farmers, agricul- 4 tural workers, healthy soil, and cli- 5 mate resilience; and 6 (VI) developing and transforming 7 the industrial base of the United 8 States, while creating high-skill, high- 9 wage manufacturing jobs across the 10 country, including by expanding man- 11 ufacturing of clean technologies, re- 12 ducing industrial pollution, and 13 prioritizing clean, domestic manufac- 14 turing for the aforementioned invest- 15 ments; 16 (ii) prioritizing the mobilization of di- 17 rect public investments, while excluding 18 false solutions that— 19 (I) increase inequality; 20 (II) privatize public lands, water, 21 or nature; 22 (III) violate human rights; 23 (IV) expedite the destruction of 24 ecosystems; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:03 Sep 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR693.IS SR693 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 6 •SRES 693 IS (V) decrease union density or 1 membership; 2 (iii) driving investment toward real 3 full employment, where every individual 4 who wishes to work has a viable pathway 5 to a meaningful and dignified job with the 6 right to form a union, including by estab- 7 lishing new public employment programs, 8 as necessary; and 9 (iv) subjecting each job created under 10 this Agenda to high-road labor standards 11 that— 12 (I) require family-sustaining 13 wages and benefits, including child 14 care support; 15 (II) ensure safe workplaces; 16 (III) protect the rights of work- 17 ers to organize; and 18 (IV) prioritize the hiring of local 19 workers to ensure wages stay within 20 communities to stimulate economic ac- 21 tivity; 22 (B) building the power of workers to fight 23 inequality by— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:03 Sep 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR693.IS SR693 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 7 •SRES 693 IS (i) reversing the corporate erosion of 1 workers’ organizing rights and bargaining 2 power so that millions of new clean energy 3 jobs, as well as millions of existing low- 4 wage jobs across the economy, become the 5 family-supporting union jobs that everyone 6 deserves, including by— 7 (I) passing the bipartisan Pro- 8 tecting the Right to Organize Act; 9 (II) repealing the ban on sec- 10 ondary boycotts; 11 (III) requiring employer neu- 12 trality with regard to union orga- 13 nizing; 14 (IV) ensuring that ‘‘franchising’’ 15 and other corporate structures may 16 not be used to hinder collective bar- 17 gaining on a company-wide, regional, 18 or national basis; 19 (V) advancing sectoral bar- 20 gaining in certain economic sectors; 21 and 22 (VI) ensuring that no workers 23 are misclassified as ‘‘independent con- 24 tractors;’’ 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:03 Sep 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR693.IS SR693 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 8 •SRES 693 IS (ii) expanding union representation 1 for all workers; and 2 (iii) creating ladders of opportunity, 3 particularly for women and people of color, 4 to access registered apprenticeship and 5 pre-apprenticeship programs in commu- 6 nities of all sizes across the country; 7 (C) investing in Black, Brown, and Indige- 8 nous communities to build power and counter- 9 act racial and gender injustice by— 10 (i) directing at least 40 percent of in- 11 vestments to communities that have been 12 excluded, oppressed, and harmed by racist 13 and unjust practices, including— 14 (I) communities of color; 15 (II) low-income communities; 16 (III) deindustrialized commu- 17 nities; and 18 (IV) communities facing environ- 19 mental injustice; 20 (ii) ensuring that investments in these 21 communities enable— 22 (I) the creation of good jobs with 23 family-sustaining wages; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:03 Sep 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR693.IS SR693 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 9 •SRES 693 IS (II) economic ownership opportu- 1 nities that close the racial wealth gap; 2 (III) pollution reduction; 3 (IV) climate resilience; 4 (V) small business support; 5 (VI) economic opportunities for 6 independent family farmers and 7 ranchers; and 8 (VII) the expansion of public 9 services; 10 (iii) ensuring that affected commu- 11 nities have the power to democratically 12 plan, implement, and administer these 13 projects; 14 (iv) prioritizing local and equitable 15 hiring and contracting that creates oppor- 16 tunities for— 17 (I) people of color; 18 (II) immigrants, regardless of 19 immigration status; 20 (III) formerly incarcerated indi- 21 viduals; 22 (IV) women; 23 (V) LGBTQIAP+ individuals; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:03 Sep 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR693.IS SR693 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 10 •SRES 693 IS (VI) disabled and chronically ill 1 individuals; and 2 (VII) marginalized communities; 3 and 4 (v) providing access to quality work- 5 force training, including through registered 6 apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships to 7 ensure real pathways to good careers, in- 8 cluding those that have historically been 9 inaccessible; 10 (D) strengthening and healing the nation- 11 to-nation relationship with sovereign Native Na- 12 tions, including by— 13 (i) making systemic changes in Fed- 14 eral policies to honor the environmental 15 and social trust responsibilities to Native 16 Nations and their Peoples, which are es- 17 sential to tackling society’s economic, envi- 18 ronmental, and health crises; 19 (ii) strengthening Tribal sovereignty 20 and enforcing Indian treaty rights by mov- 21 ing towards greater recognition and sup- 22 port of the inherent self-governance and 23 sovereignty of these nations and their 24 members; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:03 Sep 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR693.IS SR693 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 11 •SRES 693 IS (iii) promulgating specific initiatives 1 that reflect the nuanced relationships be- 2 tween the Native Nations, including— 3 (I) the confirmation by Congress 4 that Tribal nations can exercise their 5 full and inherent civil regulatory and 6 adjudicatory authority over their own 7 citizens, lands, and resources, and 8 over activities within their Tribal 9 lands; 10 (II) the codification of Free, 11 Prior, and Informed Consent as it re- 12 lates to Tribal consultation; and 13 (III) the implementation of the 14 United Nations Declaration on the 15 Rights of Indigenous Peoples, without 16 qualification; 17 (E) combating environmental injustice and 18 ensuring healthy lives for all, including by— 19 (i) curtailing air, water, and land pol- 20 lution from all sources; 21 (ii) removing health hazards from 22 communities; 23 (iii) replacing lead pipes to ensure 24 clean water is available to all; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:03 Sep 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR693.IS SR693 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 12 •SRES 693 IS (iv) remediating the cumulative health 1 and environmental impacts of toxic pollu- 2 tion and climate change; 3 (v) ensuring that affected commu- 4 nities have equitable access to public 5 health resources that have been system- 6 ically denied, which includes— 7 (I) upgrading unhealthy and 8 overcrowded homes, public schools, 9 and public hospitals; 10 (II) ensuring access to healthy 11 food, mental health support, and re- 12 storative justice; and 13 (III) investing in universal 14 childcare, care for individuals with 15 disabilities, senior care, and a robust 16 care workforce; and 17 (vi) focusing these initiatives in Black, 18 Brown, and Indigenous communities that 19 have endured disproportionately high death 20 rates from COVID–19 due to higher expo- 21 sure to air pollution and other cumulative 22 health hazards as a result of decades of en- 23 vironmental racism; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:03 Sep 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR693.IS SR693 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 13 •SRES 693 IS (F) averting climate and environmental ca- 1 tastrophe, including by— 2 (i) contributing to a livable climate 3 and environment for today and for future 4 generations, including by— 5 (I) staying below 1.5 degrees Cel- 6 sius of global warming; 7 (II) building climate resilience to 8 keep communities safe; and 9 (III) ensuring sustainable re- 10 source use; 11 (ii) deploying investments and stand- 12 ards in the electricity, transportation, 13 buildings, manufacturing, lands, and agri- 14 cultural sectors to spur the largest expan- 15 sion in history of clean, renewable energy, 16 emissions reductions, climate resilience, 17 and sustainable resource use; 18 (iii) transforming the power sector in 19 order to move the country, by not later 20 than 2035, to carbon pollution-free elec- 21 tricity t [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]