IV
116TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. RES. 109
Recognizing the duty of the Federal Government to create a Green New
Deal.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 7, 2019
Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ (for herself, Mr. HASTINGS, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. SERRANO,
Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. ESPAILLAT,
Mr. LYNCH, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. BRENDAN F.
BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Ms. CLARKE of New
York, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. TED LIEU of California, Ms.
PRESSLEY, Mr. WELCH, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. NADLER, Mr.
MCGOVERN, Mr. POCAN, Mr. TAKANO, Ms. NORTON, Mr. RASKIN, Mr.
CONNOLLY, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. THOMPSON of California,
Mr. LEVIN of California, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. HUFFMAN,
Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Mr. HIGGINS of New
York, Ms. HAALAND, Ms. MENG, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr.
COHEN, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Ms.
MUCARSEL-POWELL, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. MEEKS, Mr.
SABLAN, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. SEAN PATRICK
MALONEY of New York, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. LEVIN
of Michigan, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. COURTNEY, Mr.
LARSON of Connecticut, Ms. ESCOBAR, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. KEATING, Mr.
DEFAZIO, Ms. ESHOO, Mrs. TRAHAN, Mr. GOMEZ, Mr. KENNEDY, and
Ms. WATERS) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to
the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees
on Science, Space, and Technology, Education and Labor, Transportation
and Infrastructure, Agriculture, Natural Resources, Foreign Affairs,
Financial Services, the Judiciary, Ways and Means, and Oversight
and Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker,
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction
of the committee concerned
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•HRES 109 IH
RESOLUTION
Recognizing the duty of the Federal Government to create
a Green New Deal.
Whereas the October 2018 report entitled ‘‘Special Report on
Global Warming of 1.5 oC’’ by the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change and the November 2018
Fourth National Climate Assessment report found that—
(1) human activity is the dominant cause of observed
climate change over the past century;
(2) a changing climate is causing sea levels to rise
and an increase in wildfires, severe storms, droughts, and
other extreme weather events that threaten human life,
healthy communities, and critical infrastructure;
(3) global warming at or above 2 degrees Celsius beyond
preindustrialized levels will cause—
(A) mass migration from the regions most affected
by climate change;
(B) more than $500,000,000,000 in lost annual
economic output in the United States by the year
2100;
(C) wildfires that, by 2050, will annually burn
at least twice as much forest area in the western
United States than was typically burned by wildfires
in the years preceding 2019;
(D) a loss of more than 99 percent of all coral
reefs on Earth;
(E) more than 350,000,000 more people to be
exposed globally to deadly heat stress by 2050; and
(F) a risk of damage to $1,000,000,000,000 of
public infrastructure and coastal real estate in the
United States; and
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•HRES 109 IH
(4) global temperatures must be kept below 1.5 degrees
Celsius above preindustrialized levels to avoid the
most severe impacts of a changing climate, which will re-
quire—
(A) global reductions in greenhouse gas emissions
from human sources of 40 to 60 percent from
2010 levels by 2030; and
(B) net-zero global emissions by 2050;
Whereas, because the United States has historically been responsible
for a disproportionate amount of greenhouse
gas emissions, having emitted 20 percent of global greenhouse
gas emissions through 2014, and has a high technological
capacity, the United States must take a leading
role in reducing emissions through economic trans-
formation;
Whereas the United States is currently experiencing several
related crises, with—
(1) life expectancy declining while basic needs, such
as clean air, clean water, healthy food, and adequate
health care, housing, transportation, and education, are
inaccessible to a significant portion of the United States
population;
(2) a 4-decade trend of wage stagnation,
deindustrialization, and antilabor policies that has led
to—
(A) hourly wages overall stagnating since the
1970s despite increased worker productivity;
(B) the third-worst level of socioeconomic mobility
in the developed world before the Great Reces-
sion;
(C) the erosion of the earning and bargaining
power of workers in the United States; and
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•HRES 109 IH
(D) inadequate resources for public sector
workers to confront the challenges of climate change
at local, State, and Federal levels; and
(3) the greatest income inequality since the 1920s,
with—
(A) the top 1 percent of earners accruing 91
percent of gains in the first few years of economic
recovery after the Great Recession;
(B) a large racial wealth divide amounting to a
difference of 20 times more wealth between the average
white family and the average black family; and
(C) a gender earnings gap that results in
women earning approximately 80 percent as much
as men, at the median;
Whereas climate change, pollution, and environmental destruction
have exacerbated systemic racial, regional, social,
environmental, and economic injustices (referred to
in this preamble as ‘‘systemic injustices’’) by disproportionately
affecting indigenous peoples, communities of
color, migrant communities, deindustrialized communities,
depopulated rural communities, the poor, low-income
workers, women, the elderly, the unhoused, people
with disabilities, and youth (referred to in this preamble
as ‘‘frontline and vulnerable communities’’);
Whereas, climate change constitutes a direct threat to the national
security of the United States—
(1) by impacting the economic, environmental, and
social stability of countries and communities around the
world; and
(2) by acting as a threat multiplier;
Whereas the Federal Government-led mobilizations during
World War II and the New Deal created the greatest
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•HRES 109 IH
middle class that the United States has ever seen, but
many members of frontline and vulnerable communities
were excluded from many of the economic and societal
benefits of those mobilizations; and
Whereas the House of Representatives recognizes that a new
national, social, industrial, and economic mobilization on
a scale not seen since World War II and the New Deal
era is a historic opportunity—
(1) to create millions of good, high-wage jobs in the
United States;
(2) to provide unprecedented levels of prosperity and
economic security for all people of the United States; and
(3) to counteract systemic injustices: Now, therefore,
be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-1
resentatives that—2
(1) it is the duty of the Federal Government to3
create a Green New Deal—4
(A) to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas5
emissions through a fair and just transition for6
all communities and workers;7
(B) to create millions of good, high-wage8
jobs and ensure prosperity and economic secu-9
rity for all people of the United States;10
(C) to invest in the infrastructure and in-11
dustry of the United States to sustainably meet12
the challenges of the 21st century;13
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•HRES 109 IH
(D) to secure for all people of the United1
States for generations to come—2
(i) clean air and water;3
(ii) climate and community resiliency;4
(iii) healthy food;5
(iv) access to nature; and6
(v) a sustainable environment; and7
(E) to promote justice and equity by stop-8
ping current, preventing future, and repairing9
historic oppression of indigenous peoples, com-10
munities of color, migrant communities,11
deindustrialized communities, depopulated rural12
communities, the poor, low-income workers,13
women, the elderly, the unhoused, people with14
disabilities, and youth (referred to in this reso-15
lution as ‘‘frontline and vulnerable commu-16
nities’’);17
(2) the goals described in subparagraphs (A)18
through (E) of paragraph (1) (referred to in this19
resolution as the ‘‘Green New Deal goals’’) should20
be accomplished through a 10-year national mobili-21
zation (referred to in this resolution as the ‘‘Green22
New Deal mobilization’’) that will require the fol-23
lowing goals and projects—24
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•HRES 109 IH
(A) building resiliency against climate1
change-related disasters, such as extreme2
weather, including by leveraging funding and3
providing investments for community-defined4
projects and strategies;5
(B) repairing and upgrading the infra-6
structure in the United States, including—7
(i) by eliminating pollution and green-8
house gas emissions as much as techno-9
logically feasible;10
(ii) by guaranteeing universal access11
to clean water;12
(iii) by reducing the risks posed by cli-13
mate impacts; and14
(iv) by ensuring that any infrastruc-15
ture bill considered by Congress addresses16
climate change;17
(C) meeting 100 percent of the power de-18
mand in the United States through clean, re-19
newable, and zero-emission energy sources, in-20
cluding—21
(i) by dramatically expanding and up-22
grading renewable power sources; and23
(ii) by deploying new capacity;24
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•HRES 109 IH
(D) building or upgrading to energy-effi-1
cient, distributed, and ‘‘smart’’ power grids,2
and ensuring affordable access to electricity;3
(E) upgrading all existing buildings in the4
United States and building new buildings to5
achieve maximum energy efficiency, water effi-6
ciency, safety, affordability, comfort, and dura-7
bility, including through electrification;8
(F) spurring massive growth in clean man-9
ufacturing in the United States and removing10
pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from11
manufacturing and industry as much as is tech-12
nologically feasible, including by expanding re-13
newable energy manufacturing and investing in14
existing manufacturing and industry;15
(G) working collaboratively with farmers16
and ranchers in the United States to remove17
pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from18
the agricultural sector as much as is techno-19
logically feasible, including—20
(i) by supporting family farming;21
(ii) by investing in sustainable farm-22
ing and land use practices that increase23
soil health; and24
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•HRES 109 IH
(iii) by building a more sustainable1
food system that ensures universal access2
to healthy food;3
(H) overhauling transportation systems in4
the United States to remove pollution and5
greenhouse gas emissions from the transpor-6
tation sector as much as is technologically fea-7
sible, including through investment in—8
(i) zero-emission vehicle infrastructure9
and manufacturing;10
(ii) clean, affordable, and accessible11
public transit; and12
(iii) high-speed rail;13
(I) mitigating and managing the long-term14
adverse health, economic, and other effects of15
pollution and climate change, including by pro-16
viding funding for community-defined projects17
and strategies;18
(J) removing greenhouse gases from the19
atmosphere and reducing pollution by restoring20
natural ecosystems through proven low-tech so-21
lutions that increase soil carbon storage, such22
as land preservation and afforestation;23
(K) restoring and protecting threatened,24
endangered, and fragile ecosystems through lo-25
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•HRES 109 IH
cally appropriate and science-based projects1
that enhance biodiversity and support climate2
resiliency;3
(L) cleaning up existing hazardous waste4
and abandoned sites, ensuring economic devel-5
opment and sustainability on those sites;6
(M) identifying other emission and pollu-7
tion sources and creating solutions to remove8
them; and9
(N) promoting the international exchange10
of technology, expertise, products, funding, and11
services, with the aim of making the United12
States the international leader on climate ac-13
tion, and to help other countries achieve a14
Green New Deal;15
(3) a Green New Deal must be developed16
through transparent and inclusive consultation, col-17
laboration, and partnership with frontline and vul-18
nerable communities, labor unions, worker coopera-19
tives, civil society groups, academia, and businesses;20
and21
(4) to achieve the Green New Deal goals and22
mobilization, a Green New Deal will require the fol-23
lowing goals and projects—24
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•HRES 109 IH
(A) providing and leveraging, in a way that1
ensures that the public receives appropriate2
ownership stakes and returns on investment,3
adequate capital (including through community4
grants, public banks, and other public financ-5
ing), technical expertise, supporting policies,6
and other forms of assistance to communities,7
organizations, Federal, State, and local govern-8
ment agencies, and businesses working on the9
Green New Deal mobilization;10
(B) ensuring that the Federal Government11
takes into account the complete environmental12
and social costs and impacts of emissions13
through—14
(i) existing laws;15
(ii) new policies and programs; and16
(iii) ensuring that frontline and vul-17
nerable communities shall not be adversely18
affected;19
(C) providing resources, training, and20
high-quality education, including higher edu-21
cation, to all people of the United States, with22
a focus on frontline and vulnerable commu-23
nities, so that all people of the United States24
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•HRES 109 IH
may be full and equal participants in the Green1
New Deal mobilization;2
(D) making public investments in the re-3
search and development of new clean and re-4
newable energy technologies and industries;5
(E) directing investments to spur economic6
development, deepen and diversify industry and7
business in local and regional economies, and8
build wealth and community ownership, while9
prioritizing high-quality job creation and eco-10
nomic, social, and environmental benefits in11
frontline and vulnerable communities, and12
deindustrialized communities, that may other-13
wise struggle with the transition away from14
greenhouse gas intensive industries;15
(F) ensuring the use of democratic and16
participatory processes that are inclusive of and17
led by frontline and vulnerable communities and18
workers to plan, implement, and administer the19
Green New Deal mobilization at the local level;20
(G) ensuring that the Green New Deal mo-21
bilization creates high-quality union jobs that22
pay prevailing wages, hires local workers, offers23
training and advancement opportunities, and24
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•HRES 109 IH
guarantees wage and benefit parity for workers1
affected by the transition;2
(H) guaranteeing a job with a family-sus-3
taining wage, adequate family and medical4
leave, paid vacations, and retirement security to5
all people of the United States;6
(I) strengthening and protecting the right7
of all workers to organize, unionize, and collec-8
tively bargain free of coercion, intimidation, and9
harassment;10
(J) strengthening and enforcing labor,11
workplace health and safety, antidiscrimination,12
and wage and hour standards across all employ-13
ers, industries, and sectors;14
(K) enacting and enforcing trade rules,15
procurement standards, and border adjustments16
with strong labor and environmental protec-17
tions—18
(i) to stop the transfer of jobs and19
pollution overseas; and20
(ii) to grow domestic manufacturing21
in the United States;22
(L) ensuring that public lands, waters, and23
oceans are protected and that eminent domain24
is not abused;25
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•HRES 109 IH
(M) obtaining the free, prior, and informed1
consent of indigenous peoples for all decisions2
that affect indigenous peoples and their tradi-3
tional territories, honoring all treaties and4
agreements with indigenous peoples, and pro-5
tecting and enforcing the sovereignty and land6
rights of indigenous peoples;7
(N) ensuring a commercial environment8
where every businessperson is free from unfair9
competition and domination by domestic or10
international monopolies; and11
(O) providing all people of the United12
States with—13
(i) high-quality health care;14
(ii) affordable, safe, and adequate15
housing;16
(iii) economic security; and17
(iv) clean water, clean air, healthy and18
affordable food, and access to nature.19
Æ
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