Hill Heat

“Our country’s public schools should be safe, welcoming and sustainable for every child, regardless of geography or demography,” said American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten. “As we navigate the ever-growing climate crisis and school buildings that are ill-equipped to deal with it, we find ourselves with a once-in-a-generation opportunity to meet the moment, and ensure all our students can learn in schools where they can drink clean water, breathe clean air and be free from mold and broken windows. This bill makes the bold investments in America’s K-12 education system we need, from retrofitting school buildings, to investing in school staff and mental health professionals, all while addressing historic inequities so we can build a just future where every kid can access basic opportunities to thrive.”

“The Green New Deal for K-12 Schools is a reflection of multiple movements for educational, environmental, and economic justice,” said Akira Drake Rodriguez, lead author of the Climate + Community Project report and Assistant Professor of City & Regional Planning, Weitzman School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania. “Climate + Community Project was inspired to produce this research because of the activism in cities like Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, and Washington DC, and we are grateful to have received feedback from K-12 educators across the nation who have experienced and provided so much in this last academic year. As many re-enter school facilities in the coming weeks, we remain committed to the core principles in this report and legislation: locally-grounded solutions to environmental, educational, and economic vulnerability supported by robust and transformative federal funding.”

“To ensure a safe and exciting future for our kids and workers, let’s invest in upgrading every public school in the country to the highest standards of health and comfort, while eliminating carbon pollution,” said Daniel Aldana Cohen, co-director of the Climate + Community Project, Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of California, Berkeley. “This would drastically improve learning and teaching conditions, especially in the country’s most vulnerable schools. It would launch new careers for hundreds of thousands of workers. And it would bring green community infrastructure to every neighborhood in the country, especially Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and working class communities. Our research shows that a $1.4 trillion investment over 10 years would create over one million jobs annually, while eliminating 78 million tons of metric carbon dioxide emissions per year—the equivalent of removing 17 million cars off the roads.”

“The pandemic didn’t just start a crisis, but amplified the many crises we face – one being the importance of supporting our public schools. So many young people right now are suffering from underinvested schools, rotting infrastructure, and even a lack of AC units in classrooms. That’s unacceptable,” said Varshini Prakash, Executive Director of Sunrise Movement. “Rep. Bowman’s Green New Deal for Public Schools Act is just the forward thinking and long overdue legislation that would not only protect the health and wellbeing of young people, but transform our school systems, equip future generations to stop climate change and move us one step closer to our vision of a Green New Deal.”

“This is the right investment for our students, our school communities, and our planet. Our students see the effects of climate change and ask why the adults in their lives aren’t getting this done. Now is the time,” said United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew.

“Rep. Bowman’s Green New Deal for Public Schools combines human and physical infrastructure,” said Working Families Party National Director Maurice Mitchell. “As an educator in under-resourced schools, he knows how we can fight the climate crisis, create jobs, and give every student in the country the school buildings they deserve. This is a solution at the scale of the crises we face. WFP is proud to stand with Rep. Bowman in championing this bill.”

“The success of our public schools is the foundation for the success of our future generations, and this legislation helps ensure that all students receive the robust education they deserve, while making significant investments in the sustainable economy,” said Gary LaBarbera, president of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York. “We’re proud to join with Congressman Jamaal Bowman and advocates in support of this important legislation that will serve our students and serve to create thousands of jobs with good labor standards that will pave the way to the middle-class for countless hardworking Americans.”

“As a nation, we must prioritize long term investment for our students and address educational and environmental injustice, starting with the schools in Black and Brown communities that have been underserved for decades,” said Zakiyah Ansari, Advocacy Director, Alliance for Quality Education. “That will mean funding for safe and updated school facilities, promoting equity across school districts and states, protecting the rights of students with disabilities, ensuring that small class sizes are a central pillar of our education system and more. We can and must ensure that our public schools are healthy, safe and supportive environments for all students.”

Original co-sponsors of the legislation are Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Nanette Diaz Barragan (D-CA), Cori Bush (D-MO), Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), Danny K. Davis (D-IL), Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), Jesús G. “Chuy” García (D-IL), Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), Ro Khanna (D-CA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Andy Levin (D-MI), Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Thomas R. Suozzi (D-N.Y.), Mark Takano (D-CA), Bennie Thompson (D-MS), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.), Juan Vargas (D-CA), and Frederica Wilson (D-FL).

Organizations endorsing the Green New Deal for Public Schools include American Federation of Teachers, Sunrise Movement, EduColor, Alliance for Quality Education, Justice Democrats, Climate Justice Alliance, Green New Deal Network, People’s Action, Center for Popular Democracy, Global Grassroots Justice Alliance,Democratic Socialists of America, Working Families Party, Indivisible, Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York, Jobs with Justice, NY Renews, NYC Environmental Justice Alliance, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, Gulf Coast Center for Law and Policy, Green Latinos, Future Coalition, March for Our Lives, Friends of the Earth US, Sierra Club, Greenpeace USA, Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO), Progressive Democrats of America, and 350.org.

Interior :”A visionary Secretary of the Interior has enormous latitude to crack down on giveaways to fossil fuel corporations, like permits to drill for oil on public lands and in public waters. With a progressive leader at the helm, we can make real progress. As the first Native American to hold this position, Rep. Deb Haaland would usher in a new era of Indigenous authority over stolen land. She is a fierce ally of our movement who has fought for renewable energy job creation in the House as Vice Chair of the House Natural Resources Committee and Chair of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands.”

• Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.)
• Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.)
• Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.)

State :”America needs a Secretary of State who will raise the level of ambition for climate action throughout the world. Beyond rejoining the Paris Climate Accords, the next Secretary of State can convene world leaders during the first 100 days to ratchet up the global response to climate change. Rep. Barbara Lee is one of a few brave Congressional Representatives who voted against the Iraq War. Her foresight would end the era of oil wars. She introduced the Women and Climate Change Act to develop coordinated strategies to mitigate the impact of climate change on women and girls around the world.”

• Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.)
• Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.)
• Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.)

Treasury :”A bold Secretary of the Treasury can help transform the country’s spending priorities, even without Congress. By steering federal money to programs that encourage the development of renewable energy job creation, a Treasury Department can make real progress. Senator Warren has been a visionary leader, and one of our staunchest allies in Congress. She’s taken on Wall Street her entire career, and fought for transformative change in her presidential campaign. She’s a Green New Deal champion, and has called for transformative investments to tackle climate change and create millions of good union jobs.”

• Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)
• Sarah Bloom Raskin, former member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and former United States Deputy Secretary of the Treasury
• Robert Reich, former U.S. Secretary of Labor

Attorney General :”A visionary Attorney General can stand up for justice, work to dismantle systemic racism, and hold polluters accountable for their crimes by enforcing clean air and water laws already on the books, and using others to go after fossil fuel corporations who profit off of deception about climate change. Keith Ellison is the Attorney General of Minnesota, and a longtime progressive leader. He has sued Exxon Mobil, Koch Industries, and the American Petroleum Institute over their campaign of deception about climate change, and took George Floyd’s killers to court. As the first-ever Muslim Member of Congress, he co-chaired the Progressive Caucus.”

• Keith Ellison, Minnesota Attorney General
• Larry Krasner, Philadelphia District Attorney
• Dana Nussel, Minnesota Attorney General

Council of Economic Advisors :”The Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) is a key leader who helps guide the nation’s economic strategy. A visionary leader at the helm can help the nation build back better, guarantee every American a good job, expand workers rights, and deliver investment equitably to every community, whether Black, white, brown, Indigenous, urban or rural. Darrick Hamilton is a leading expert on closing the racial wealth gap and a strong advocate for a federal jobs guarantee.”

• Darrick Hamilton, Executive Director of the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at Ohio State University
• Stephanie Kelton, professor of economics and public policy at Stony Brook University
• Heidi Shierholz, Senior Economist and Director of Policy, Economic Policy Institute

• National Economic Council* :”A progressive Director of the National Economic Council will have a pivotal role in helping the president build back better, guarantee every American a good job, expand workers rights, and deliver investment equitably to every community. Joseph Stiglitz is a world-renowned economist who has called for a mobilization to confront climate change on par with mobilizing for a third world war.”
• Joseph Stiglitz, former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers
• Bharat Ramamurti, managing director, Roosevelt Institute
• Manuel Pastor, director, USC Equity Research Institute

Labor :”America needs a Secretary of Labor ready to create green jobs with good pay and good benefits, and who can create a Civilian Climate Corps to employ millions of people to do the urgent work of repairing and strengthening our communities in the face of climate change. Senator Sanders has shifted American politics to focus on solutions at the scale of the crises workers are experiencing. He can bring the power of the federal government to every labor contract negotiation. He can lead the push to create millions of good-paying jobs as we mobilize to stop climate change.”

• Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)
• Mary Kay Henry, SEIU President
• Rep. Andy Levin (D-Mich.)

Environmental Protection Agency :”A visionary EPA Administrator can do a lot to combat the climate crisis without Congress. It’s not just undoing Trump’s rollbacks of clean air and water standards; an EPA Administrator who understands the urgency of the crisis can help electrify the economy by enacting new standards for green vehicles and buildings. Mustafa Ali is a visionary environmental justice leader who began working on social justice issues at the age of 16. He joined the EPA as a student, and is one of the country’s most respected voices on climate and environmental justice issues.”

• Mustafa Santiago Ali, former EPA assistant associate administrator
• Kevin De Léon, former California Senate Senate Leader
• Heather McTeer Toney, Director, Moms Clean Air Force

Housing and Urban Development :”America needs a Secretary of Housing and Urban Development who understands our vision for a Green New Deal for public housing, because ending homelessness and moving our economy to clean energy must go hand in hand. Rep. Rashida Tlaib is a progressive powerhouse, and the author of the People’s Housing Platform—a groundbreaking, progressive housing framework that declares housing as a fundamental human right. She is also a champion of environmental justice and addressing the disparate health impacts of fossil fuel emissions on frontline communities.”

• Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.)
• Jumaane Williams, New York City Public Advocate
• Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.)

Transportation :”America needs a Secretary of Transportation who is ready to combat climate change by building accessible public transit for all. A visionary in charge could redirect federal grants towards electric vehicle charging station, and public transit. Rep. García is one of the first Mexican immigrants to serve as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. He serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and has been a leader in calling for federal transportation and infrastructure policies that address climate change.”

• Rep. Chuy García (D-Ill.)
• Sara Nelson, President, Association of Flight Attendants
• Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.)

Agriculture :”America needs a Secretary of Agriculture who will bring investment and economic opportunity to family farmers and rural communities. By investing in local and regional food systems that support farmers, agricultural workers, healthy soil, and climate resilience, the next Secretary of Agriculture can ensure economic security while advancing our fight against climate change. Rep. Chellie Pingree has been an organic farmer for more than 40 years and recognizes that farmers are allies in the fight against climate change. She is Vice Chair of the House Appropriations Committee on Interior and Environment and serves on the Subcommittee on Agriculture of the House Appropriations Committee.”

• Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine)
• Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio)
• Sen. Cory Bookery (D-N.J.)

Health and Human Services :”All people have a right to quality health care. The COVID pandemic has demonstrated all too tragically the interconnected threads of environmental injustice, lack of access to affordable health care, and mortality from new risks. A visionary Health and Human Services Secretary can work to expand access to health care for all. Rep. Pramila Jayapal is a progressive powerhouse, and the first South Asian American woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. She’s a leading proponent of Medicare for All, and a key champion of the Green New Deal.”

• Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.)
• Dr. Abdul El Sayed, former candidate for governor of Michigan
• Dr. Donald Berwick, former Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

RESOLUTION

Recognizing the duty of the Federal Government to implement 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 reliable 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, overlapping crises—old and new—that prevent the achievement of these fundamental human rights and needs, in which the COVID–19 pandemic has killed over 180,000 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 intensifying climate change increases the threats to our health, economy, and livelihoods;

Whereas these health, economic, and climate crises have magnified centuries-old injustices, causing high rates of death and hardship among Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities 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 communities 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 public, private, and governmental institutions and policies;

Whereas the root of our interlocking economic and environmental 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 unemployment, pandemics, or climate change and ensure the survival of the Nation and the planet;

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 society to provide a good life for each of us and for our children and grandchildren; and

Whereas the United States has the means to support fulfilling livelihoods for millions of people—Black, Indigenous, Brown, Latinx, Asian/Pacific Islander, White, immigrant, 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 House of Representatives that—

1. it is the duty of the Federal Government to respond to the crises of racial injustice, mass unemployment, a pandemic, and climate change with a bold and holistic national mobilization, an Agenda to Transform, Heal, and Renew by Investing in a Vibrant Economy (“THRIVE”) (referred to in this resolving clause as the “Agenda”), to build a society that enables—
   1. greater racial, economic, and gender justice;
   2. dignified work;
   3. healthy communities; and
   4. a stable climate; and
2. such Agenda shall be assessed upon its ability to uphold its foundational pillars, including—
   1. creating millions of good, safe jobs with access to unions by—
      1. investing in projects including—
         1. upgrading our broken infrastructure to expand access to clean and affordable energy, transportation, high-speed broadband, and water, particularly for public systems;
         2. modernizing and retrofitting millions of homes, schools, offices, and industrial buildings to cut pollution and costs;
         3. investing in public health and care work, including by increasing jobs, protections, wages, and benefits for the historically unpaid and undervalued work of caring for children, the elderly, and the sick;
         4. protecting and restoring wetlands, forests, and public lands, and cleaning up pollution in our communities;
         5. creating opportunities for family farmers and rural communities, including by untangling the hyper-consolidated food supply chain, bolstering regenerative agriculture, and investing in local and regional food systems that support farmers, agricultural workers, healthy soil, and climate resilience; and
         6. developing and transforming the industrial base of the United States, while creating high-skill, high-wage manufacturing jobs across the country, including by expanding manufacturing of clean technologies, reducing industrial pollution, and prioritizing clean, domestic manufacturing for the aforementioned investments;
      2. prioritizing the mobilization of direct public investments, while excluding false solutions that—
         1. increase inequality;
         2. privatize public lands, water, or nature;
         3. violate human rights;
         4. expedite the destruction of ecosystems; or
         5. decrease union density or membership;
      3. driving investment toward real full employment, where every individual who wishes to work has a viable pathway to a meaningful and dignified job with the right to form a union, including by establishing new public employment programs, as necessary; and
      4. subjecting each job created under this Agenda to high-road labor standards that—
         1. require family-sustaining wages and benefits, including child care support;
         2. ensure safe workplaces;
         3. protect the rights of workers to organize; and
         4. prioritize the hiring of local workers to ensure wages stay within communities to stimulate economic activity;
   2. building the power of workers to fight inequality by—
      1. reversing the corporate erosion of workers’ organizing rights and bargaining power so that millions of new clean energy jobs, as well as millions of existing low-wage jobs across the economy, become the family-supporting union jobs that everyone deserves, including by—
         1. passing the bipartisan Protecting the Right to Organize Act;
         2. repealing the ban on secondary boycotts;
         3. requiring employer neutrality with regard to union organizing;
         4. ensuring that “franchising” and other corporate structures may not be used to hinder collective bargaining on a company-wide, regional, or national basis;
         5. advancing sectoral bargaining in certain economic sectors; and
         6. ensuring that no workers are misclassified as “independent contractors;”
      2. expanding union representation for all workers; and
      3. creating ladders of opportunity, particularly for women and people of color, to access registered apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs in communities of all sizes across the country;
   3. investing in Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities to build power and counteract racial and gender injustice by—
      1. directing at least 40 percent of investments to communities that have been excluded, oppressed, and harmed by racist and unjust practices, including—
         1. communities of color;
         2. low-income communities;
         3. deindustrialized communities; and
         4. communities facing environmental injustice;
      2. ensuring that investments in these communities enable—
         1. the creation of good jobs with family-sustaining wages;
         2. economic ownership opportunities that close the racial wealth gap;
         3. pollution reduction;
         4. climate resilience;
         5. small business support;
         6. economic opportunities for independent family farmers and ranchers; and
         7. the expansion of public services;
      3. ensuring that affected communities have the power to democratically plan, implement, and administer these projects;
      4. prioritizing local and equitable hiring and contracting that creates opportunities for—
         1. people of color;
         2. immigrants, regardless of immigration status;
         3. formerly incarcerated individuals;
         4. women;
         5. LGBTQIAP+ individuals;
         6. disabled and chronically ill individuals; and
         7. marginalized communities; and
      5. providing access to quality workforce training, including through registered apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships to ensure real pathways to good careers, including those that have historically been inaccessible;
   4. strengthening and healing the nation-to-nation relationship with sovereign Native Nations, including by—
      1. making systemic changes in Federal policies to honor the environmental and social trust responsibilities to Native Nations and their Peoples, which are essential to tackling society’s economic, environmental, and health crises;
      2. strengthening Tribal sovereignty and enforcing Indian treaty rights by moving towards greater recognition and support of the inherent self-governance and sovereignty of these nations and their members; and
      3. promulgating specific initiatives that reflect the nuanced relationships between the Native Nations, including—
         1. the confirmation by Congress that Tribal nations can exercise their full and inherent civil regulatory and adjudicatory authority over their own citizens, lands, and resources, and over activities within their Tribal lands;
         2. the codification of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent as it relates to Tribal consultation; and
         3. the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, without qualification;
   5. combating environmental injustice and ensuring healthy lives for all, including by—
      1. curtailing air, water, and land pollution from all sources;
      2. removing health hazards from communities;
      3. replacing lead pipes to ensure clean water is available to all;
      4. remediating the cumulative health and environmental impacts of toxic pollution and climate change;
      5. ensuring that affected communities have equitable access to public health resources that have been systemically denied, which includes—
         1. upgrading unhealthy and overcrowded homes, public schools, and public hospitals;
         2. ensuring access to healthy food, mental health support, and restorative justice; and
         3. investing in universal childcare, care for individuals with disabilities, senior care, and a robust care workforce; and
      6. focusing these initiatives in Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities that have endured disproportionately high death rates from COVID–19 due to higher exposure to air pollution and other cumulative health hazards as a result of decades of environmental racism;
   6. averting climate and environmental catastrophe, including by—
      1. contributing to a livable climate and environment for today and for future generations, including by—
         1. staying below 1.5 degrees Celsius of global warming;
         2. building climate resilience to keep communities safe; and
         3. ensuring sustainable resource use;
      2. deploying investments and standards in the electricity, transportation, buildings, manufacturing, lands, and agricultural sectors to spur the largest expansion in history of clean, renewable energy, emissions reductions, climate resilience, and sustainable resource use;
      3. transforming the power sector in order to move the country, by not later than 2035, to carbon pollution-free electricity that passes an environmental justice screen to prevent concentrating pollution in Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities;
      4. prioritizing materials and parts that meet high labor, environmental, and human rights standards throughout the supply chain;
      5. supporting sustainable, domestic production of healthy, nutritious food that pays independent farmers and ranchers a fair price for their land stewardship; and
      6. ensuring that funding under this Agenda goes to workers and communities affected by the economic and environmental crises, not to corporate fossil fuel polluters;
   7. ensuring fairness for workers and communities affected by economic transitions by—
      1. guaranteeing that workers and communities in industries and regions in economic transition due to COVID–19, climate change, and other economic shocks receive—
         1. stable wages and benefits, including full pension and health care;
         2. early retirement offerings;
         3. crisis and trauma support; and
         4. equitable job placement; and
      2. investing in transitioning areas to support—
         1. economic diversification;
         2. high quality job creation;
         3. community reinvestment;
         4. retooling and conversion;
         5. reclamation and remediation of closed and abandoned facilities and sites;
         6. child and adult care infrastructure; and
         7. funding to shore up budget shortfalls in local and State governments; and
   8. reinvesting in public sector institutions that enable workers and communities to thrive by—
      1. rebuilding vital public services and strengthening social infrastructure in cities and counties, health care systems, schools, the postal service, and other services;
      2. investing in equitable public education opportunities, including career and technical education pathways that prepare youth—especially girls; Black, Brown, and Indigenous students; students with disabilities; students from low-income families; and other students from marginalized groups—for high-quality jobs of the future, and state of the art technology and schools, so that from the beginning students are prepared to transform society and preserve democracy;
      3. investing in the workers who provide care to children, the elderly, and communities burdened by neglect;
      4. creating new public institutions, inspired by and improving upon New Deal-era institutions, to ensure universal access to critical resources and to strategically and coherently mobilize and channel investments, in line with the above priorities, at the scale and pace that these times require; and
      5. coupling this institutional renewal with democratic governance and accountability to correct the systemic misallocation of resources and representation that prevents families and communities from meeting fundamental human needs and pursuing fulfilling lives.