On the recordMay 1, 2019
My amendment today lays before this House a very simple fact, an undeniable fact: Communities of color across this great Nation and, in fact, across the world are least responsible for climate change. They contribute far less to the carbon footprint of the world; they don't drive as many cars; in fact, they most often take public transportation. So they contribute less to climate change, and yet they suffer the most harm from its impact. The most vulnerable among us, from my home in Washington Heights, in Harlem and the northwest Bronx communities and around the world, are all experiencing greater impacts and stand to suffer even more. At home, I see it in the worsening of asthma rates among African American and Latinx children when parents come to my office looking for help for ballooning healthcare costs that they cannot afford. I see it with seniors who have an array of respiratory diseases, in many cases contributing to long illnesses, if not death. I see it in Central America, where extreme drought endangers livelihoods and has led to violence and outward migration. I see it in the Caribbean and even here in the United States, where climate change has increased the magnitude and frequency of hurricanes, affecting millions who do not have the capacity to prepare for worsening storms and have barely recovered from one before the next one hits.…
