IV 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 479 

Recognizing the 20th anniversary of the Executive Order 12898, Federal 

Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and 

Low-Income Populations. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 11, 2014 

Mr. ELLISON (for himself, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. HAHN, Ms. LEE of California, 

Mr. MORAN, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. HOLT, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Ms. 

CHU, Mr. HONDA, Mr. LEWIS, Mr. NADLER, Ms. CLARKE of New York, 

Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. QUIGLEY, Ms. NORTON, and 

Mr. CLEAVER) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 

the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Natural Resources, 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 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the 20th anniversary of the Executive Order 

12898, Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations. 

Whereas February 11, 2014, marks the 20th anniversary of 

Executive Order 12898, Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations; 

Whereas environmental justice is defined as the ‘‘fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless 


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of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to 

the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies’’; 

Whereas environmental justice means that all citizens should 

have the right and opportunity to participate in decisions 

and policymaking that affects their health; 

Whereas environmental justice is characterized by the promotion of unprejudiced treatment of all cultures, socioeconomic statuses, and races, with respect to the advancement of environmental policies, regulations, and 

law; 

Whereas the environmental justice movement is an extension 

of the civil rights movement, and draws particular attention to the environmental health dangers affecting communities, families, and individuals; 

Whereas environmental justice groups work to create public 

policy that is ethical, secure the strict enforcement of 

laws for environmental protection, and guarantee the 

right of all workers to a safe and healthy work environment; 

Whereas environmental justice communities fight to ensure 

the right to participate as equal partners at every level 

of decisionmaking, and promote the education of present 

and future generations to ensure the health of the natural world; 

Whereas community-based organizations and grassroots advocates have distinguished themselves in the endeavor for 

civil rights, sometimes risking their health and sacrificing 

their lives to seek justice; 

Whereas the protest against the siting of a chemical landfill 

in Warren County, North Carolina, led by local commuVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:09 Feb 12, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR479.IH HR479

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nity leaders and national civil rights groups, birthed the 

term ‘‘environmental racism’’ and brought national attention to the environmental justice movement; 

Whereas the First National People of Color Environmental 

Leadership Summit in 1991 drafted and adopted 17 environmental justice principles, which served as a defining 

document for the grassroots environmental justice movement; 

Whereas the Congressional Black Caucus promoted the formation of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 

Environmental Equity Workgroup in 1992 to investigate 

concerns that minority and low-income populations were 

inadequately protected by the Nation’s environmental 

laws, leading to the creation of the EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice in 1992; 

Whereas on February 11, 1994, President William J. Clinton 

declared that each Federal agency shall make achieving 

environmental justice part of its mission; 

Whereas the Executive order instructs each Federal agency 

to determine the injurious effects of its actions on minority and low-income communities, and devote attention to 

resolving these issues; 

Whereas the aim of the environmental justice Executive order 

is to increase access to public information and participation for minority and low-income populations, and encourage nondiscrimination in Federal programs that impact the environment and human health; 

Whereas responsible environmental health policies and practices are critical to improving the lives of those who live 

in low-income communities and communities of color 

throughout the United States and the world; 


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Whereas inequities in environmental protection based on race 

and income status are recognized across the United 

States; 

Whereas research has shown that income and race are directly correlated to greater exposure to pollution, closer 

proximity to toxic pollution sources, and greater health 

impacts from particulate matter air pollution; 

Whereas African-Americans, Hispanics, and Asians are exposed to greater air toxics concentrations than Whites in 

every metropolitan city in the United States; 

Whereas communities with a higher percentage of low-income 

citizens bear a disproportionate level of society’s environmental burdens; 

Whereas race, independent of poverty, is a predictor of greater exposure to environmental toxics; 

Whereas minority, low-income, and tribal communities are 

more exposed to air pollution from highways, power 

plants, incinerators, landfills, waste sites, and vehicle depots in these communities; 

Whereas 68 percent of African-Americans and 39 percent of 

Latinos live within 30 miles of a coal plant; 

Whereas tribal communities are disproportionately exposed to 

pollution and health burdens across the United States 

due to siting of pollution sources, cultural activities, and 

legal gaps in the regulatory framework; 

Whereas environmental mitigation in tribal communities is 

behind that of nontribal communities in the United 

States; 

Whereas inner-city, low-income, and minority children have 

the highest asthma rates and subsequent asthma-related 


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death rates resulting from greater exposure to indoor and 

outdoor air pollutants; 

Whereas cumulative effects such as substandard housing and 

inadequate health care can increase vulnerability to pollution; 

Whereas climate change is one of the biggest public health 

threats of this century, disproportionately impacting communities less able to recover from extreme weather events 

that are caused and exacerbated by climate change; 

Whereas low-income communities, tribal communities, and 

communities of color have greater climate vulnerability 

due in part to lack of health care, dependence on public 

transportation and other public services, higher energy 

costs, less-than-adequate protection from severe weather, 

and higher insurance costs; 

Whereas risk factors for heat-related deaths are higher for 

people with low incomes and people of color, and climate 

change will lead to an increase in frequency and intensity 

of heat waves, and a stronger heat island effect; and 

Whereas reducing greenhouse gas emissions and building climate resiliency in low-income, minority, and tribal communities can create economic stability through good jobs 

in clean energy, energy efficiency, and green infrastructure industries: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) commemorates the achievements of the en3 vironmental justice movement over the last 20 years, 

4 including— 


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1 (A) the institution of an environmental jus2 tice law, Executive order, or policy by the 50 

3 States and the District of Columbia; 

4 (B) the reinstatement of the Federal Inter5 agency Working Group, Federal agency stra6 tegic plans, and Plan EJ 2014; 

7 (C) the growth in the number of publica8 tions, research, and university-based environ9 mental justice centers, legal clinics, and aca10 demic programs; and 

11 (D) the over 3,000 groups and a dozen 

12 networks of community-based organizations 

13 that have formed; 

14 (2) affirms that Congress should uphold the 

15 principles of environmental and climate justice by— 

16 (A) recognizing that legislation passed by 

17 Congress has foreseeable and unforeseeable ef18 fects on the existing disparities between com19 munities of differing socioeconomic statuses and 

20 racial composition; 

21 (B) committing to policies and practices 

22 that protect the health, economic vitality, and 

23 human and civil rights of low-income, tribal, 

24 and minority communities; and 


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1 (C) creating policies that proactively ad2 dress climate vulnerabilities and promote resil3 iency in low-income, tribal, and minority com4 munities; and 

5 (3) urges the President to— 

6 (A) explicitly address environmental justice 

7 issues in his climate change initiatives; 

8 (B) commit to focusing on greater over9 sight and supporting Federal agency advance10 ment of environmental justice; and 

11 (C) work with tribal leaders and commu12 nities to address their unique environmental 

13 justice concerns. 

Æ 


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