III 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 59 

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

Deal. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 7, 2019 

Mr. MARKEY (for himself, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. SANDERS, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, 

Ms. HARRIS, Ms. WARREN, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. 

BLUMENTHAL, Mr. BOOKER, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, and Mr. MURPHY) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 

Environment and Public Works 

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 C’’ 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; 


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(3) global warming at or above 2 degrees Celsius beyond pre-industrialized 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 

(4) global temperatures must be kept below 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrialized levels to avoid the 

most severe impacts of a changing climate, which will require— 

(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 transformation; 


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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 anti-labor 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 Recession; 

(C) the erosion of the earning and bargaining 

power of workers in the United States; and 

(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, soVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:59 Feb 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR59.IS SR59

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cial, 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 

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 Senate 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 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that— 


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

2 create a Green New Deal— 

3 (A) to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas 

4 emissions through a fair and just transition for 

5 all communities and workers; 

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

7 jobs and ensure prosperity and economic secu8 rity for all people of the United States; 

9 (C) to invest in the infrastructure and in10 dustry of the United States to sustainably meet 

11 the challenges of the 21st century; 

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

13 States for generations to come— 

14 (i) clean air and water; 

15 (ii) climate and community resiliency; 

16 (iii) healthy food; 

17 (iv) access to nature; and 

18 (v) a sustainable environment; and 

19 (E) to promote justice and equity by stop20 ping current, preventing future, and repairing 

21 historic oppression of indigenous peoples, com22 munities of color, migrant communities, 

23 deindustrialized communities, depopulated rural 

24 communities, the poor, low-income workers, 

25 women, the elderly, the unhoused, people with 


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1 disabilities, and youth (referred to in this reso2 lution as ‘‘frontline and vulnerable commu3 nities’’); 

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

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

6 resolution as the ‘‘Green New Deal goals’’) should 

7 be accomplished through a 10-year national mobili8 zation (referred to in this resolution as the ‘‘Green 

9 New Deal mobilization’’) that will require the fol10 lowing goals and projects— 

11 (A) building resiliency against climate 

12 change-related disasters, such as extreme 

13 weather, including by leveraging funding and 

14 providing investments for community-defined 

15 projects and strategies; 

16 (B) repairing and upgrading the infra17 structure in the United States, including— 

18 (i) by eliminating pollution and green19 house gas emissions as much as techno20 logically feasible; 

21 (ii) by guaranteeing universal access 

22 to clean water; 

23 (iii) by reducing the risks posed by cli24 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 

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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. 

Æ 


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