III 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 173 

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

Deal. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 25, 2023 

Mr. MARKEY (for himself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. BOOKER, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. 

MERKLEY, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. PADILLA, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Ms. WARREN, Mr. WELCH, and Mr. WYDEN) 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 oC’’ 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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•SRES 173 IS 

(3) global warming at or greater than 2 degrees Celsius beyond preindustrialized 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 less than 1.5 

degrees Celsius above preindustrialized 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 antilabor 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 the Federal, State, and local level; 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 00:40 Apr 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR173.IS SR173

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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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•SRES 173 IS 

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

2 create a Green New Deal— 

3 (A) to achieve the greenhouse gas and 

4 toxic emissions reductions needed to stay under 

5 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming, through a fair 

6 and just transition for all communities and 

7 workers; 

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

9 union jobs and encourage collective bargaining 

10 agreements to ensure prosperity and economic 

11 security for all people of the United States; 

12 (C) to invest in the infrastructure and in13 dustry of the United States to sustainably meet 

14 the challenges of the 21st century; 

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

16 States for generations to come— 

17 (i) clean air and water; 

18 (ii) climate and community resiliency; 

19 (iii) healthy food; 

20 (iv) access to nature; and 

21 (v) a sustainable environment; and 

22 (E) to promote justice and equity by stop23 ping current, preventing future, and repairing 

24 historic oppression of indigenous peoples, com25 munities of color, migrant communities, 


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•SRES 173 IS 

1 deindustrialized communities, depopulated rural 

2 communities, the poor, low-income workers, 

3 women, the elderly, the unhoused, people with 

4 disabilities, and youth (referred to in this reso5 lution as ‘‘frontline and vulnerable commu6 nities’’); 

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

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

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

10 be accomplished through a 10-year national mobili11 zation (referred to in this resolution as the ‘‘Green 

12 New Deal mobilization’’) that will require— 

13 (A) building resiliency against climate 

14 change-related disasters, such as extreme 

15 weather, including by leveraging funding and 

16 providing investments for community-defined 

17 projects and strategies; 

18 (B) repairing and upgrading the infra19 structure in the United States, including— 

20 (i) by eliminating pollution and green21 house gas emissions as much as techno22 logically feasible; 

23 (ii) by guaranteeing universal access 

24 to clean water; 


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•SRES 173 IS 

1 (iii) by reducing the risks posed by cli2 mate impacts; and 

3 (iv) by ensuring that any infrastruc4 ture bill considered by Congress addresses 

5 climate change; 

6 (C) meeting 100 percent of the power de7 mand in the United States through clean, re8 newable, and zero-emission energy sources, in9 cluding— 

10 (i) by dramatically expanding and up11 grading renewable power sources; and 

12 (ii) by deploying new capacity; 

13 (D) building or upgrading to energy-effi14 cient, distributed, and ‘‘smart’’ power grids and 

15 ensuring affordable access to electricity; 

16 (E) upgrading all existing buildings in the 

17 United States and building new buildings to 

18 achieve maximum energy efficiency, water effi19 ciency, safety, affordability, comfort, and dura20 bility, including through electrification; 

21 (F) spurring massive growth in clean man22 ufacturing in the United States and removing 

23 pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from 

24 manufacturing and industry as much as is tech25 nologically feasible, including by expanding reVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 Apr 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR173.IS SR173

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1 newable energy manufacturing and investing in 

2 existing manufacturing and industry; 

3 (G) working collaboratively with farmers 

4 and ranchers in the United States to remove 

5 pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from 

6 the agricultural sector as much as is techno7 logically feasible, including— 

8 (i) by supporting family farming; 

9 (ii) by investing in sustainable farm10 ing and land use practices that increase 

11 soil health; and 

12 (iii) by building a more sustainable 

13 food system that ensures universal access 

14 to healthy food; 

15 (H) overhauling transportation systems in 

16 the United States to remove pollution and 

17 greenhouse gas emissions from the transpor18 tation sector as much as is technologically fea19 sible, including through investment in— 

20 (i) zero-emission vehicle and non-mo21 torized alternative modes of transportation 

22 infrastructure and manufacturing; 

23 (ii) clean, affordable, and accessible 

24 public transit; and 

25 (iii) high-speed rail; 


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•SRES 173 IS 

1 (I) mitigating and managing the long-term 

2 adverse health, economic, and other effects of 

3 pollution and climate change, including by pro4 viding funding for community-defined projects 

5 and strategies; 

6 (J) removing greenhouse gases from the 

7 atmosphere and reducing pollution by restoring 

8 natural ecosystems through proven low-tech so9 lutions that increase soil carbon storage, such 

10 as land preservation and afforestation; 

11 (K) restoring and protecting threatened, 

12 endangered, and fragile ecosystems through lo13 cally appropriate and science-based projects 

14 that enhance biodiversity and support climate 

15 resiliency; 

16 (L) cleaning up existing hazardous waste 

17 sites and abandoned sites and ensuring eco18 nomic development and sustainability on those 

19 sites; 

20 (M) identifying other emission and pollu21 tion sources and creating solutions to remove 

22 them; and 

23 (N) promoting the international exchange 

24 of technology, expertise, products, funding, and 

25 services, with the aim of making the United 


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1 States the international leader on climate action 

2 and to help other countries achieve a Green 

3 New Deal; 

4 (3) a Green New Deal must be developed 

5 through transparent and inclusive consultation, col6 laboration, and partnership with frontline and vul7 nerable communities, labor organizations, worker co8 operatives, civil society groups, academia, and busi9 nesses; and 

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

11 mobilization, a Green New Deal will require— 

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

13 ensures that the public receives appropriate 

14 ownership stakes and returns on investment, 

15 adequate capital (including through community 

16 grants, public banks, and other public financ17 ing), technical expertise, supporting policies, 

18 and other forms of assistance to communities, 

19 organizations, Federal, State, and local govern20 ment agencies, and businesses working on the 

21 Green New Deal mobilization; 

22 (B) ensuring that the Federal Government 

23 takes into account the complete environmental 

24 and social costs and impacts of emissions 

25 through— 


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•SRES 173 IS 

1 (i) existing laws; 

2 (ii) new policies and programs; and 

3 (iii) ensuring that frontline and vul4 nerable communities shall not be adversely 

5 affected; 

6 (C) providing resources, training, and 

7 high-quality education, including higher edu8 cation, to all people of the United States, with 

9 a focus on frontline and vulnerable commu10 nities, so that all people of the United States 

11 may be full and equal participants in the Green 

12 New Deal mobilization; 

13 (D) making public investments in the re14 search and development of new clean and re15 newable energy technologies and industries; 

16 (E) directing investments to spur economic 

17 development, deepen and diversify industry and 

18 business in local and regional economies, and 

19 build wealth and community ownership, while 

20 prioritizing high-quality job creation and eco21 nomic, social, and environmental benefits in 

22 frontline and vulnerable communities, and 

23 deindustrialized communities, that may other24 wise struggle with the transition away from 

25 greenhouse gas intensive industries; 


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•SRES 173 IS 

1 (F) ensuring the use of democratic and 

2 participatory processes that are inclusive of and 

3 led by frontline and vulnerable communities and 

4 workers to plan, implement, and administer the 

5 Green New Deal mobilization at the local level; 

6 (G) ensuring that the Green New Deal mo7 bilization creates high-quality union jobs that 

8 pay prevailing wages, hires local workers, offers 

9 training and advancement opportunities, and 

10 guarantees direct replacement of lost wages, 

11 health care, retirement, and other benefits for 

12 workers affected by the transition; 

13 (H) guaranteeing a job with a family-sus14 taining wage, adequate family and medical 

15 leave, paid vacations, and retirement security to 

16 all people of the United States; 

17 (I) strengthening and protecting the right 

18 of all workers to organize, unionize, and collec19 tively bargain free of coercion, intimidation, and 

20 harassment; 

21 (J) strengthening and enforcing labor, 

22 workplace health and safety, antidiscrimination, 

23 and wage and hour standards across all employ24 ers, industries, and sectors; 


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1 (K) enacting and enforcing trade rules, 

2 procurement standards, and border adjustments 

3 with strong labor and environmental protec4 tions— 

5 (i) to stop the transfer of jobs and 

6 pollution overseas; and 

7 (ii) to grow domestic manufacturing 

8 in the United States; 

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

10 oceans are protected and that eminent domain 

11 is not abused; 

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

13 consent of indigenous peoples for all decisions 

14 that affect indigenous peoples and their tradi15 tional territories, honoring all treaties and 

16 agreements with indigenous peoples, and pro17 tecting and enforcing the sovereignty and land 

18 rights of indigenous peoples; 

19 (N) ensuring a commercial environment 

20 where every businessperson is free from unfair 

21 competition and domination by domestic or 

22 international monopolies; and 

23 (O) providing all people of the United 

24 States with— 

25 (i) high-quality health care; 


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1 (ii) affordable, safe, and adequate 

2 housing; 

3 (iii) economic security; and 

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

5 affordable food, and access to nature. 

Æ 


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