American Samoa voluntarily ceded these islands in exchange for the promise of protection of just these very cultural traditions and ways of life called our Fa'a Samoa.

Now, that is disinformation and misinformation that can prove fatal.

It is a problem when some of my colleagues who are incredibly smart are susceptible to the spread of dangerous disinformation.

The spread of misinformation and disinformation strikes at the heart of our democracy.

For God's sake, my father, who put food on the table for 13 people every single day with a first-grade education, who worked sometimes two and three jobs to do so, was a proud, hardworking person.

I want to take a moment just to applaud the Biden administration for its swift and bold action in the area of the climate crisis.

We must recognize that investing in climate action not only reduces emissions but is critical to economic recovery and can directly and meaningfully improve people's lives.

The ambitious climate commitments that the Biden administration has initiated through Executive order in his first weeks in office are excellent.

The first and most significant congressional action needed to tackle climate change is the enactment of a major, long-term investment program.

For far too long, communities of color, indigenous communities, and poor communities have been on the front line of bearing the burden of the climate crisis.

I have been very pleased to see that the early actions of President Biden emphasize the importance of environmental justice.

The centerpieces of the President's environmental justice effort is the Justice 40 initiative, which states that 40 percent of the benefits of Federal investments should go to disadvantaged communities.

I look forward to working with you and Chairman Pallone to finally pass legislation that will deal with the climate crisis.

The Open Back Better Act invests in retrofits to public buildings, such as our hospitals, libraries, and community centers, making them more energy efficient and more resilient.

President Biden ran on a platform to Build Back Better, and I can't agree more, which is why I introduced the Open Back Better Act last year and why I plan to reintroduce it in the upcoming weeks.

This keeps me up at night, because we have got to make sure that this 40 percent lands on the target, that we have defined things correctly.

Investing in climate action will also promote equity and help dismantle systemic racism and economic inequality.

As Congress turns their attention from near-term relief to investing in a sustainable economic recovery, investments in the kinds of programs outlined in the Grijalva-McEachin letter can both make a meaningful contribution to national job…

the Federal Government has a critical role to play in this fight, and it is essential that we advance carefully constructed policies that address these longstanding injustices and meet the challenge of our climate crisis.

I would recommend that we all focus our energies on equitable and just outcomes in these policies.

equity and racial justice does not happen by coincidence. It has to be an intentional thing that we build into all of our national climate and energy policies.

For too long, Black and brown and underserved communities have suffered the devastating impacts of environmental justice living on the front lines of our climate crisis and fence lines of polluting industries.

The fact that Black Americans disproportionately die of COVID-19 exposes the deadly consequences of this truth.

As people across our country come together to pray for peace and demand action, I am proud to serve with you on a committee that recognizes its role and its responsibility to fight injustice.

The pain and anger brought about by the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and too many other Black Americans has forced our Nation to have a real and urgent discussion about systematic racism and inequality.