IIA 

Calendar No. 27 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. J. RES. 8 

Recognizing the duty of the Federal Government to create a Green New 

Deal. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 13, 2019 

Mr. MCCONNELL introduced the following joint resolution; which was read the 

first time 

FEBRUARY 14, 2019 

Read the second time and placed on the calendar 

JOINT RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the duty of the Federal Government to create 

a Green New Deal. 

1 Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives

2 of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress finds that— 

5 (1) the October 2018 report entitled ‘‘Special 

6 Report on Global Warming of 1.5 C’’ by the Inter7 governmental Panel on Climate Change and the NoVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Feb 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SJ8.PCS SJ8

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1 vember 2018 Fourth National Climate Assessment 

2 report found that— 

3 (A) human activity is the dominant cause 

4 of observed climate change over the past cen5 tury; 

6 (B) a changing climate is causing sea lev7 els to rise and an increase in wildfires, severe 

8 storms, droughts, and other extreme weather 

9 events that threaten human life, healthy com10 munities, and critical infrastructure; 

11 (C) global warming at or above 2 degrees 

12 Celsius beyond pre-industrialized levels will 

13 cause— 

14 (i) mass migration from the regions 

15 most affected by climate change; 

16 (ii) more than $500,000,000,000 in 

17 lost annual economic output in the United 

18 States by the year 2100; 

19 (iii) wildfires that, by 2050, will annu20 ally burn at least twice as much forest 

21 area in the western United States than 

22 was typically burned by wildfires in the 

23 years preceding 2019; 

24 (iv) a loss of more than 99 percent of 

25 all coral reefs on Earth; 


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1 (v) more than 350,000,000 more peo2 ple to be exposed globally to deadly heat 

3 stress by 2050; and 

4 (vi) a risk of damage to 

5 $1,000,000,000,000 of public infrastruc6 ture and coastal real estate in the United 

7 States; and 

8 (D) global temperatures must be kept 

9 below 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industri10 alized levels to avoid the most severe impacts of 

11 a changing climate, which will require— 

12 (i) global reductions in greenhouse gas 

13 emissions from human sources of 40 to 60 

14 percent from 2010 levels by 2030; and 

15 (ii) net-zero global emissions by 2050; 

16 (2) because the United States has historically 

17 been responsible for a disproportionate amount of 

18 greenhouse gas emissions, having emitted 20 percent 

19 of global greenhouse gas emissions through 2014, 

20 and has a high technological capacity, the United 

21 States must take a leading role in reducing emis22 sions through economic transformation; 

23 (3) the United States is currently experiencing 

24 several related crises, with— 


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1 (A) life expectancy declining while basic 

2 needs, such as clean air, clean water, healthy 

3 food, and adequate health care, housing, trans4 portation, and education, are inaccessible to a 

5 significant portion of the United States popu6 lation; 

7 (B) a 4-decade trend of wage stagnation, 

8 deindustrialization, and anti-labor policies that 

9 has led to— 

10 (i) hourly wages overall stagnating 

11 since the 1970s despite increased worker 

12 productivity; 

13 (ii) the third-worst level of socio14 economic mobility in the developed world 

15 before the Great Recession; 

16 (iii) the erosion of the earning and 

17 bargaining power of workers in the United 

18 States; and 

19 (iv) inadequate resources for public 

20 sector workers to confront the challenges 

21 of climate change at local, State, and Fed22 eral levels; and 

23 (C) the greatest income inequality since 

24 the 1920s, with— 


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1 (i) the top 1 percent of earners accru2 ing 91 percent of gains in the first few 

3 years of economic recovery after the Great 

4 Recession; 

5 (ii) a large racial wealth divide 

6 amounting to a difference of 20 times 

7 more wealth between the average White 

8 family and the average Black family; and 

9 (iii) a gender earnings gap that re10 sults in women earning approximately 80 

11 percent as much as men, at the median; 

12 (4) climate change, pollution, and environ13 mental destruction have exacerbated systemic racial, 

14 regional, social, environmental, and economic injus15 tices (referred to in this section as ‘‘systemic injus16 tices’’) by disproportionately affecting indigenous 

17 peoples, communities of color, migrant communities, 

18 deindustrialized communities, depopulated rural 

19 communities, the poor, low-income workers, women, 

20 the elderly, the unhoused, people with disabilities, 

21 and youth (referred to in this section as ‘‘frontline 

22 and vulnerable communities’’); 

23 (5) climate change constitutes a direct threat to 

24 the national security of the United States— 


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1 (A) by impacting the economic, environ2 mental, and social stability of countries and 

3 communities around the world; and 

4 (B) by acting as a threat multiplier; 

5 (6) the Federal Government-led mobilizations 

6 during World War II and the New Deal created the 

7 greatest middle class that the United States has ever 

8 seen, but many members of frontline and vulnerable 

9 communities were excluded from many of the eco10 nomic and societal benefits of those mobilizations; 

11 and 

12 (7) a new national, social, industrial, and eco13 nomic mobilization on a scale not seen since World 

14 War II and the New Deal era is a historic oppor15 tunity— 

16 (A) to create millions of good, high-wage 

17 jobs in the United States; 

18 (B) to provide unprecedented levels of 

19 prosperity and economic security for all people 

20 of the United States; and 

21 (C) to counteract systemic injustices. 

22 SEC. 2. GREEN NEW DEAL POLICY. 

23 It is the policy of the United States that— 

24 (1) it is the duty of the Federal Government to 

25 create a Green New Deal— 


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1 (A) to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas 

2 emissions through a fair and just transition for 

3 all communities and workers; 

4 (B) to create millions of good, high-wage 

5 jobs and ensure prosperity and economic secu6 rity for all people of the United States; 

7 (C) to invest in the infrastructure and in8 dustry of the United States to sustainably meet 

9 the challenges of the 21st century; 

10 (D) to secure for all people of the United 

11 States for generations to come— 

12 (i) clean air and water; 

13 (ii) climate and community resiliency; 

14 (iii) healthy food; 

15 (iv) access to nature; and 

16 (v) a sustainable environment; and 

17 (E) to promote justice and equity by stop18 ping current, preventing future, and repairing 

19 historic oppression of indigenous peoples, com20 munities of color, migrant communities, 

21 deindustrialized communities, depopulated rural 

22 communities, the poor, low-income workers, 

23 women, the elderly, the unhoused, people with 

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1 tion as ‘‘frontline and vulnerable commu2 nities’’); 

3 (2) the goals described in subparagraphs (A) 

4 through (E) of paragraph (1) (referred to in this 

5 section as the ‘‘Green New Deal goals’’) should be 

6 accomplished through a 10-year national mobiliza7 tion (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Green New 

8 Deal mobilization’’) that will require the following 

9 goals and projects— 

10 (A) building resiliency against climate 

11 change-related disasters, such as extreme 

12 weather, including by leveraging funding and 

13 providing investments for community-defined 

14 projects and strategies; 

15 (B) repairing and upgrading the infra16 structure in the United States, including— 

17 (i) by eliminating pollution and green18 house gas emissions as much as techno19 logically feasible; 

20 (ii) by guaranteeing universal access 

21 to clean water; 

22 (iii) by reducing the risks posed by cli23 mate impacts; and 


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1 (iv) by ensuring that any infrastruc2 ture bill considered by Congress addresses 

3 climate change; 

4 (C) meeting 100 percent of the power de5 mand in the United States through clean, re6 newable, and zero-emission energy sources, in7 cluding— 

8 (i) by dramatically expanding and up9 grading renewable power sources; and 

10 (ii) by deploying new capacity; 

11 (D) building or upgrading to energy-effi12 cient, distributed, and ‘‘smart’’ power grids, 

13 and ensuring affordable access to electricity; 

14 (E) upgrading all existing buildings in the 

15 United States and building new buildings to 

16 achieve maximum energy efficiency, water effi17 ciency, safety, affordability, comfort, and dura18 bility, including through electrification; 

19 (F) spurring massive growth in clean man20 ufacturing in the United States and removing 

21 pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from 

22 manufacturing and industry as much as is tech23 nologically feasible, including by expanding re24 newable energy manufacturing and investing in 

25 existing manufacturing and industry; 


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1 (G) working collaboratively with farmers 

2 and ranchers in the United States to remove 

3 pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from 

4 the agricultural sector as much as is techno5 logically feasible, including— 

6 (i) by supporting family farming; 

7 (ii) by investing in sustainable farm8 ing and land use practices that increase 

9 soil health; and 

10 (iii) by building a more sustainable 

11 food system that ensures universal access 

12 to healthy food; 

13 (H) overhauling transportation systems in 

14 the United States to remove pollution and 

15 greenhouse gas emissions from the transpor16 tation sector as much as is technologically fea17 sible, including through investment in— 

18 (i) zero-emission vehicle infrastructure 

19 and manufacturing; 

20 (ii) clean, affordable, and accessible 

21 public transit; and 

22 (iii) high-speed rail; 

23 (I) mitigating and managing the long-term 

24 adverse health, economic, and other effects of 

25 pollution and climate change, including by proVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Feb 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SJ8.PCS SJ8

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1 viding funding for community-defined projects 

2 and strategies; 

3 (J) removing greenhouse gases from the 

4 atmosphere and reducing pollution by restoring 

5 natural ecosystems through proven low-tech so6 lutions that increase soil carbon storage, such 

7 as land preservation and afforestation; 

8 (K) restoring and protecting threatened, 

9 endangered, and fragile ecosystems through lo10 cally appropriate and science-based projects 

11 that enhance biodiversity and support climate 

12 resiliency; 

13 (L) cleaning up existing hazardous waste 

14 and abandoned sites, ensuring economic devel15 opment and sustainability on those sites; 

16 (M) identifying other emission and pollu17 tion sources and creating solutions to remove 

18 them; and 

19 (N) promoting the international exchange 

20 of technology, expertise, products, funding, and 

21 services, with the aim of making the United 

22 States the international leader on climate ac23 tion, and to help other countries achieve a 

24 Green New Deal; 


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1 (3) a Green New Deal must be developed 

2 through transparent and inclusive consultation, col3 laboration, and partnership with frontline and vul4 nerable communities, labor unions, worker coopera5 tives, civil society groups, academia, and businesses; 

6 and 

7 (4) to achieve the Green New Deal goals and 

8 mobilization, a Green New Deal will require the fol9 lowing goals and projects— 

10 (A) providing and leveraging, in a way that 

11 ensures that the public receives appropriate 

12 ownership stakes and returns on investment, 

13 adequate capital (including through community 

14 grants, public banks, and other public financ15 ing), technical expertise, supporting policies, 

16 and other forms of assistance to communities, 

17 organizations, Federal, State, and local govern18 ment agencies, and businesses working on the 

19 Green New Deal mobilization; 

20 (B) ensuring that the Federal Government 

21 takes into account the complete environmental 

22 and social costs and impacts of emissions 

23 through— 

24 (i) existing laws; 

25 (ii) new policies and programs; and 


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1 (iii) ensuring that frontline and vul2 nerable communities shall not be adversely 

3 affected; 

4 (C) providing resources, training, and 

5 high-quality education, including higher edu6 cation, to all people of the United States, with 

7 a focus on frontline and vulnerable commu8 nities, so that all people of the United States 

9 may be full and equal participants in the Green 

10 New Deal mobilization; 

11 (D) making public investments in the re12 search and development of new clean and re13 newable energy technologies and industries; 

14 (E) directing investments to spur economic 

15 development, deepen and diversify industry and 

16 business in local and regional economies, and 

17 build wealth and community ownership, while 

18 prioritizing high-quality job creation and eco19 nomic, social, and environmental benefits in 

20 frontline and vulnerable communities, and 

21 deindustrialized communities, that may other22 wise struggle with the transition away from 

23 greenhouse gas intensive industries; 

24 (F) ensuring the use of democratic and 

25 participatory processes that are inclusive of and 


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1 led by frontline and vulnerable communities and 

2 workers to plan, implement, and administer the 

3 Green New Deal mobilization at the local level; 

4 (G) ensuring that the Green New Deal mo5 bilization creates high-quality union jobs that 

6 pay prevailing wages, hires local workers, offers 

7 training and advancement opportunities, and 

8 guarantees wage and benefit parity for workers 

9 affected by the transition; 

10 (H) guaranteeing a job with a family-sus11 taining wage, adequate family and medical 

12 leave, paid vacations, and retirement security to 

13 all people of the United States; 

14 (I) strengthening and protecting the right 

15 of all workers to organize, unionize, and collec16 tively bargain free of coercion, intimidation, and 

17 harassment; 

18 (J) strengthening and enforcing labor, 

19 workplace health and safety, antidiscrimination, 

20 and wage and hour standards across all employ21 ers, industries, and sectors; 

22 (K) enacting and enforcing trade rules, 

23 procurement standards, and border adjustments 

24 with strong labor and environmental protec25 tions— 


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1 (i) to stop the transfer of jobs and 

2 pollution overseas; and 

3 (ii) to grow domestic manufacturing 

4 in the United States; 

5 (L) ensuring that public lands, waters, and 

6 oceans are protected and that eminent domain 

7 is not abused; 

8 (M) obtaining the free, prior, and informed 

9 consent of indigenous peoples for all decisions 

10 that affect indigenous peoples and their tradi11 tional territories, honoring all treaties and 

12 agreements with indigenous peoples, and pro13 tecting and enforcing the sovereignty and land 

14 rights of indigenous peoples; 

15 (N) ensuring a commercial environment 

16 where every businessperson is free from unfair 

17 competition and domination by domestic or 

18 international monopolies; and 

19 (O) providing all people of the United 

20 States with— 

21 (i) high-quality health care; 

22 (ii) affordable, safe, and adequate 

23 housing; 

24 (iii) economic security; and 


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1 (iv) clean water, clean air, healthy and 

2 affordable food, and access to nature. 


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Calendar No. 27 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. J. RES. 8 

JOINT RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the duty of the Federal Government to 

create a Green New Deal. 

FEBRUARY 14, 2019 

Read the second time and placed on the calendar 


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