Raúl Grijalva: “The National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, is a 45-year-old law which stands, basically, for two things: that the…”

“The National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, is a 45-year-old law which stands, basically, for two things: that the Federal Government should consider alternatives before taking action that can impact people's lives and that the public should have the opportunity to comment on those alternatives before a final decision is made. House Republicans oppose both of these simple principles and so they attack NEPA time after time, year after year. The bill before us today is just a rerun of those attacks. My amendment, unfortunately, cannot fix this bill. In fact, my amendment is really just proof of what is so dangerous about the RAPID Act. Among the critical issues that can be addressed through our existing NEPA process is ensuring environmental justice. Bills like the one we are considering today seek to short-circuit that process; so, they seek to short-circuit environmental justice concerns. My amendment would put environmental justice considerations back in the process created by this legislation; but we would not even need this amendment if Republicans would just leave NEPA alone. Twenty-one years ago President Bill Clinton issued his executive order on environmental justice. After decades of hard work, struggle, some victories along the way, the promise of environmental justice for all communities remains unfulfilled.…”