Source: United States Senator for Illinois Tammy Duckworth
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), co-founder of the first-ever U.S. Senate Environmental Justice Caucus and author of the water title in the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, today held a virtual meeting with members of the League of Conservation Voters to discuss the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal, good-paying union jobs, clean energy, environmental justice and the opportunity to make once in a generation progress on climate change.
“To truly ‘Build Back Better’, it’s critical that we prioritize creating climate-resilient infrastructure and climate-friendly jobs,” said Duckworth. “Investing in our nation’s infrastructure is not only a chance to rebuild and repair communities and support the American workforce, it’s also an opportunity to confront the environmental injustice that happens too often in low-income communities and communities of color. It was good to speak with the League of Conservation Voters about these priorities and I will continue to work in Congress to move our country forward in the push against climate change.”
Duckworth is the Chair of the U.S. Senate Environment & Public Works’ (EPW) Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water & Wildlife that has jurisdiction over the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean Water Act and is author of the Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2021 (DWWIA)—which passed the Senate by a vote of 89-2 in April 2021. Currently, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal fully authorizes DWWIA, which would help rebuild our nation’s crumbling and dangerous water infrastructure. Last month, Duckworth discussed the issues adversely impacting environmental justice communities during a EPW Subcommittee on Chemical Safety, Waste Management, Environmental Justice and Regulatory Oversight hearing.
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