Sheila Jackson Lee: “You know the ordinary people that this legislation helps in my district are young African-American men unemployed, young…”

“You know the ordinary people that this legislation helps in my district are young African-American men unemployed, young African-American women unemployed, LatinX men and women, young African-American men, young LatinX men and women, and as well high school graduates and beyond. That is the ordinary Americans in H.R. 4447, the Clean Economy Jobs and Innovation Act. So I thank Mr. Pallone and Ms. Johnson for their leadership. Let me tell you, Madam Speaker, the journey that I have taken. I have been an energy lawyer. I have worked in the arena where we have had fossil fuel. But do you know what, Madam Speaker? The Greater Houston Partnership, our chamber, has just designated a clean energy director to work on low carbon in our community. The transition to a low-carbon society by investing in clean energy this bill provides, distributing energy resources, an energy storage system, and a microgrid, all of which builds resiliency and are crucial to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. I introduced legislation dealing with wetlands to be able to ensure that the wetlands would be recaptured when they are being utilized for energy production, and we use that for the environment and for jobs. But here we have a response to the issue of low carbon. My district was devastated by Hurricane Harvey. That is climate change. So it is important to recognize that climate change disproportionately impacts low-income communities of color. H.R.…”