“It’s time for Democrats in Congress to pass transformational investments in environmental justice,” says Representative Gilda Cobb-Hunter.
In an op-ed penned alongside Former State Representative Harold Mitchell, Cobb-Hunter expressed the urgency of investing in environmental justice efforts on a national level.
The Orangeburg representative emphasized the need for Congress to work to protect communities that are particularly vulnerable to environmental and climate crises, including communities of color. Across the country, communities of color and low-income neighborhoods are disproportionately impacted by environmental hazards such as pollution and natural disasters as a result of inadequate infrastructure and environmental racism.
To combat this reality on the state level, Cobb-Hunter has introduced legislation that would establish the “Justice Forty Oversight Committee.” This committee would be responsible for studying environmental justice opportunities in South Carolina and would ensure that federal benefits reach the communities that need them the most.
But according to Cobb-Hunter, state action alone isn’t enough. She argues that “we need action at all levels of government” to adequately address the climate crisis. This means urgent action by Congress to pass environmental justice investments, including affordable housing construction, clean water infrastructure, expansion of broadband access, Superfund cleanup and Brownfields redevelopment.
As a Democrat in a red state, Representative Cobb-Hunter recognizes the importance of federal action in helping South Carolinians prepare for and recover from environmental disaster. While the Justice Forty Oversight Committee is a step in the right direction, the legislation faces an uphill battle in the Republican-controlled General Assembly. Immediate action by Congress is necessary to ensure the success of the environmental justice movement across the country and here in South Carolina.
Congress cannot continue to delay environmental justice investments and states like South Carolina cannot afford to be left behind because of Republican governance. The climate crisis is already here — now is the time to act.
Read Representative Cobb-Hunter’s full op-ed here.