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Republicans erase ‘environmental justice’ from documents

Summary

The phrase "environmental justice," which Democrats use to define the solution to the disproportionate vulnerability of poor and disadvantaged populations to damage from hazardous waste, resource exploitation, and harsh weather, has been removed from new House Energy and Commerce Committee materials. Despite modifications to subcommittee names and descriptions, Full Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) said that the purview of the various committees has not changed from the previous Congress. During an interview, Rodgers claimed that the committee plans to concentrate on the effect of energy development on minority and low-income neighborhoods. Republicans highlighted witness Donna Jackson, the membership director for Project 21, a National Center for Public Policy Research campaign to showcase conservative views among African Americans. Jackson remarked throughout her testimony on how policies pushing a green energy transition have increased costs and placed tremendous financial strain on low-income neighborhoods.

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