Donald M. Payne: “Let me first thank the gentleman from the Commonwealth of Virginia (Mr. McEachin). It is the birthplace of my mother…”

“Let me first thank the gentleman from the Commonwealth of Virginia (Mr. McEachin). It is the birthplace of my mother: Dinwiddie County, Virginia. My grandfather was a small-time tobacco farmer, and I learned to cut tobacco at 8 years old. I am from Newark, New Jersey, the Garden State. We didn't raise much tobacco there in the Garden State, but my friends used think I was going on vacation when I would leave. I said I wasn't going on vacation; I was going to work. That is what we did for the summer. It was a great experience, and I always have great, great memories of the Commonwealth of Virginia. {time} 2030 Mr. Speaker, last month, as part of a partnership with the National Newspaper Publishers Association, I wrote an op-ed on environmental justice issues. I will repeat what I wrote then, which is that environmental justice should be a national priority, not a problem confined to minority communities. African-American communities are disproportionately burdened with pollutants. Across the Nation, communities of color suffer from higher rates of exposure to air pollution, higher rates of lead poisoning, and higher rates of water pollution. Every single day, children in my home city of Newark, New Jersey, are exposed to harmful levels of pollution from the port and other sources that rob them of their health, just because of where they live. One in four Newark children has asthma.…”