Environment
Related Issues on Environment
Since coming to Congress, I have been an outspoken supporter of policies that protect our environment. As a nation, we must combat global warming and maintain clean air and clean water. We must also protect our national parks, forests, and wilderness areas and ensure that drilling for oil and gas doesn’t harm our most pristine lands, like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).
Global Warming and Clean Energy
As a nation, we need to revolutionize American energy policy, combat climate change, and create millions of clean energy jobs.
As a member of the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Caucus, I know that investing in energy efficiency and renewable energy initiatives is key to combating global warming. For many years, I have been fighting to increase support for the Department of Energy's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy budget, the Energy Star program, and Energy Weatherization Assistance Program.
Public Lands & the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act
Since my first session in Congress, I have fought to ensure that public lands are conserved for the public good and preserved for our children. I am the sponsor of the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act, which will protect the beautiful and fragile bioregion known as the Wild Rockies. Considered radical when first introduced because it was based on science rather than political boundaries, this visionary legislation has long been supported by environmentalists and business interests from the Northern Rockies region who recognize the value of preserving the area's natural beauty.
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
I strongly believe that every effort must be made to preserve the fragile Alaskan wilderness and to prohibit oil exploration in this area. That’s why I am an original cosponsor of the “Udall-Eisenhower Arctic Wilderness Act,” which would designate specified lands within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as wilderness and components of the National Wilderness Preservation System.
Green Space & Sobriety Garden
New Yorkers know how important green space is to quality of life in the city. So, when I heard that Bellevue Hospital had plans to turn their Chemical Dependency Program's Sobriety Garden into a parking lot, I leapt to action. Once a vacant lot, the Sobriety Garden was transformed by patients into a therapeutic green space for those with drug and alcohol problems. Since the surrounding area has very little green space, the Garden has also become a popular spot for those who live and work nearby. I am proud to report that, amid strong protest from me and other state and local officials, Bellevue Hospital has abandoned their plan to pave over the Sobriety Garden.
This recent accomplishment exemplifies my ongoing belief that open spaces and community parks are a critical part of urban infrastructure. That’s why I am the author of the Revitalizing Cities through Parks Enhancement (RECIPE) Act, which would establish a $10 million grant program which assists non-profit community groups obtain leases for vacant lots and transform them into small community gardens and parks.
Fighting for Clean Water, Protecting New York’s Watershed Marking a win for protecting the beauty of New York, the Fiscal Year 2002 Interior Appropriations Act (H.R. 2217, 107th Congress) provided $65,000,000 for the Forest Legacy Program. Along with Congressman Jack Quinn (R-NY), I worked to include full funding for the Adirondacks Lake project and the New York Watershed project. The $2 million designated for the Adirondack Lakes region of upstate New York helps protect these lands from development through sustainable management guidelines. These guidelines help to ensure that the region will continue to provide much needed raw materials for today’s marketplace and into the future. With the threat of bioterrorism on the rise, the $500,000 dollars designated in the Forest Legacy Program for the New York City watershed project is one important component in the effort to protect New York City’s drinking water.
Legislation
02/11/09 - H.R.980, Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act (NREPA) [111th Congress]
12/16/09 - H.R.4382, Revitalizing Cities Through Parks Enhancement (RECIPE) Act [111th Congress]
09/28/08 - H.R. 7209, the Revitalizing Cities Through Parks Enhancement (RECIPE) Act [110th Congress]
04/24/07 - H.R. 1975, the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act (NREPA) [110th Congress]
04/19/05 - H.R.1694, Revitalizing Cities Through Parks Enhancement Act
06/05/03 - H.R.2373, Revitalizing Cities Through Parks Enhancement Act [108th Congress]
03/13/01 - H.R.994, Revitalizing Cities Through Parks Enhancement Act [107th Congress]
06/22/99 - H.R.2305, Revitalizing Cities Through Parks Enhancement Act [106th Congress]
02/12/97 - H.R.726, Revitalizing Cities Through Parks Enhancement Act [105th Congress]
02/14/95 - H.R.936, Revitalizing Cities Through Parks Enhancement Act [104th Congress]
02/07/95 - H.R.852, Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act of 1995 [104th Congress]
03/24/94 - H.R.4143, Revitalizing Cities through Parks Enhancement Act [103rd Congress]
07/14/93 - H.R.2638, Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act of 1993 [103rd Congress]
More on Environment
Statement of Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney in opposition to the Transparency in Regulatory Analysis of Impacts on the Nation Act (TRAIN Act), H.R. 2401.
WASHINGTON, DC – Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), and Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) today sent letters requesting hearings to assess potential concerns with hydraulic fracturing of natural gas before relevant House Committees. They issued the following joint statement about the letters:
“We hope that both Committees will hold hearings to determine whether our drinking water is safe. If federal and state regulations have not kept pace with this growing industry, we need to know before it creates a public health concern. As Representatives from New York, we are especially concerned given that some of the wastewater from hydrofracking is being transported to public sewage plants in our state. By holding hearings, Congress, the industry, and the public would have a better understanding of wastewater treatment and what further Congressional action is needed.”
WASHINGTON, DC – An amendment sponsored by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) to require a study to improve the measurement of oil and natural gas extracted from leased federal and Tribal lands was attached to the Consolidated Land, Energy, and Aquatic Resources (CLEAR) Act, H.R. 3534, comprehensive legislation that will provide greater efficiency and accountability to the management and regulation of energy resources to be considered by the full House today.
Madam Speaker,
I rise in strong support of HR 5481, granting Subpoena Power to the Commission Investigating the BP Oil Spill. Last month, President Obama established the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, a panel that will be vital to investigating the disaster and assuring this does not happen again. However, this Commission does not have subpoena power, something critical to ensuring the full disclosure of evidence and witnesses.