White House Issues Justice 40 Initiative

The White House recently issued guidelines for its Justice40 initiative. It seeks to direct at least 40% of all benefits from federal energy and environmental spending to disadvantaged communities. At the same time, the White House also named 21 pilot programs to launch this effort. Agencies covered by Justice40 include the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, the Department of the Interior, Appalachian Regional Commission, the Corps of Engineers, and NASA. These agencies will identify the benefits of their programs, determine how to distribute benefits, and calculate how to reach the environmental justice goals of the initiative.

White House, Senators Reach Infrastructure Accord

After protracted negotiations, President Joe Biden and a bipartisan group of 10 senators reached agreement on funding for much needed upgrades to U.S. infrastructure. If passed by Congress, the 5-year, $1 trillion package would lead to historically large investments in public transit, clean drinking water, energy transmission, and electric vehicles. The bill is now being considered by the Senate with the goal of voting to approve the bill and send it to the President to be signed into law by mid-August.

Advocacy Corps Focus on Environmental Justice

The 2021-2022 FCNL Advocacy Corps cohort has officially begun! For the next 10 months, Advocacy Corps organizers will lobby and raise awareness about environmental justice legislation. During their training, July 31-Aug. 6 they received briefings on environmental justice from staff of the House Natural Resources Committee; heard from an Interior Department official about the Biden Administration’s approach to environmental justice; and connected with advocates who have been on the frontlines of this work. Meet the 18 Advocacy Corps organizers!