Democrats Vow ‘Environmental Justice Fund’ in Biden-Sanders ‘Unity’ Platform

Democrats are promising the creation of an “environmental justice fund” as part of the proposals outlined by the radical Biden-Sanders “unity” platform released this week.

The platform, which contains a series of proposals the task force that both Joe Biden (D) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) commissioned, specifically calls for the creation of an “environmental justice fund” designed to address what they say is the disproportionate impact climate change has had on minority communities.

“Every American has the right to breathe clean air, drink clean water, and live without fear of exposure to toxic waste. And all Americans should benefit from the clean energy economy— especially those who have been left out and left behind for generations,” the proposal states, promising that Democrats will “create an environmental justice fund to make historic investments across federal agencies aimed at eliminating legacy pollution”:

Every American has the right to breathe clean air, drink clean water, and live without fear of exposure to toxic waste. And all Americans should benefit from the clean energy economy— especially those who have been left out and left behind for generations. Democrats will create an environmental justice fund to make historic investments across federal agencies aimed at eliminating legacy pollution, which disproportionately causes illness and premature death in communities of color, low-income communities, and indigenous communities, including protecting children’s health by replacing lead service lines and remediating lead paint in homes and schools; remediating Superfund and other contaminated sites; and ensuring housing and schools have adequate plumbing and safe wastewater disposal systems.

Democrats promise to keep environmental justice at “the center of our climate change and energy policies and take steps to remedy the legacy of decades of cumulative pollution impacts on frontline communities” with the creation of the fund. They are also calling for the issuance of an Executive Order “on Climate and Environmental Justice that contains recommendations for specific executive actions to protect and benefit frontline communities.”

Part of the solutions includes broadening “access to capital investment,” “strengthening federal procurement standards for local hiring, utilization of women-, veteran-, and minority-owned businesses,” and ensuring that infrastructure investments dedicate a large proportion of support” to communities pursuing the Democrats’ radical climate agenda, specifically.

“The Unity Task Force supports forging a new social contract with the American people that says that everyone has a right to clean air and water and a livable future, regardless of your race, where you live, your political affiliation, or your income,” the members wrote.

The “unity” proposal includes a host of other radical agenda items, particularly in regards to the climate. The vow to rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement — a “symbolic commitment by the rest of the world to reduce emissions, while most of the burden falls on the United States” — on “day one” is just one of several examples.

“Of course, like in any collaborative effort, there are areas of negotiation and compromise,” said Rep. Alexandria-Ocasio Cortez (D-NY), who served on the panel of progressives crafting the proposals. “But I do believe that the Climate Task Force effort meaningfully & substantively improved Biden’s positions.”