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Environmental Justice
Congresswoman Solis is a nationally-recognized leader on environmental justice. As a State Senator, she Solis authored the first environmental justice law in the nation (SB 115). In 2000, she became the first woman to receive the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for her groundbreaking work on this issue. In Congress, Congresswoman Solis continues to advocate for policies which ensure that low income and underserved communities are protected from harmful pollutants. Fighting for Environmental Justice For decades, minority and underserved communities have been forced to live in close proximity to industrial zones, power plants, and toxic waste sites. In Southern California, Latinos are nearly twice as likely to be living in neighborhoods plagued by some of the most dangerous pollutants. As a State Senator, Solis authored the first state law in the nation to codify environmental justice as part of the responsibility of state agencies. Congresswoman Solis has introduced H.R. 1103 – Environmental Justice Act of 2007, legislation to codify the Executive Order on Environmental Justice (E.O. 12898), require implementation of recommendations made by the Office of Inspector General and the Government Accountability Office, and implement reporting requirements. Improving Air Quality More than four million Californians live with lung diseases, like asthma, that are related to poor air quality. Residents of Los Angeles are at greater risk of health impacts from dirty air, and more are hospitalized because of asthma than residents of nearly any other county in California. Each year, Los Angeles averages 72 days with unhealthy ozone levels and is the nation's ozone capital. Congresswoman Solis is fighting for measures to reduce emissions from highways, trains, gravel operations, refineries, and other harmful sources to protect our public health. She believes such measures can meet the needs of both businesses and our communities. Protecting Water Supplies and Fighting Toxic Waste Sites Our nation's water infrastructure is crumbling and needs more than $280 billion to maintain current water services, and many of its worst toxic waste sites (superfund) are not being addressed. In the 32nd Congressional District more than 100 underground storage tanks are leaking, 136 drinking water wells have been taken off-line because of rocket-fuel (perchlorate) contamination, and there are three superfund sites. As Ranking Democrat on the Environment and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee on the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee, Congresswoman Solis will continue to fight for more funding to secure our water supplies and ensure toxic waste sites get cleaned up. Ensuring Green Space for Safe, Healthy Neighborhoods Studies have shown that communities with neighborhood parks and green spaces have lower asthma rates, fewer cancer risks, and are less obese than communities without green space. Unfortunately, the San Gabriel Valley has less than one-half an acre per 1,000 people - eight times less than the amount needed to positively impact health. Congresswoman Solis continues to work on legislation, like the San Gabriel River Watershed Study Act, to bring green space and other opportunities to neighborhoods where they are needed and wanted. She has also introduced H.R. 398, Healthy Places Act of 2007, legislation which establishes a process to incorporate all levels of government in community planning with the goal of designing communities which promote healthier living. Protecting Public Health from Toxic Chemicals and Pesticides Existing regulations fail to protect our health and the health of our most vulnerable populations – pregnant women, infants and children - from these chemicals and fail to include safe and ethical regulations for the practice of testing pesticides on humans. Approximately 80,000 chemicals are used by U.S. industries in everyday products but the Environmental Protection Agency only has health data on 15 percent of these chemicals, and fails to routinely assess existing chemicals. Congresswoman Solis believes families deserve to know that federal regulations will protect them from the risks of these chemicals and pesticides and will continue to fight for stronger regulations to protect public health. She is a lead sponsor of H.R. 1055 – Toxic Right to Know Protection Act, legislation which reverses an Administration decision to weaken toxic reporting requirements, and H.R. 1747, the Safe Drinking Water for Healthly Communities Act of 2007 , a bill to require the EPA to establish a national standard for drinking water for perchlorate. |
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