Statement from the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice on President Biden’s 2024 Budget Proposal
Mar 15, 2023
Statement from the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice on President Biden’s 2024 Budget Proposal
New Orleans, LA -- In response to President Biden’s budget proposal, Dr. Beverly Wright, Executive Director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, released the following statement:
“All communities deserve to live and thrive in an environment free from deadly air and resilient to climate change and extreme weather. For too long, generations of Black and Brown communities have been forced to live next door to deadly chemical plants, breathe polluted air, and drink unhealthy water. The President’s budget is serious about tackling these issues and aligning policies across the federal government to create new and environmentally healthy ones to improve the lives of communities disproportionately impacted by historic environmental injustice.
“The proposed budget makes significant investments in workforce development and reducing global warming by cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2030. Funding these priorities will not only reverse decades of harmful environmental policies, but strengthen communities, making them healthier and safer with good job opportunities for generations to come.
“We are especially pleased to see continued funding for Justice40 priorities, which will give us additional opportunities to engage, enlighten and empower communities directly affected by deadly pollution and severe weather events and continue fighting for formative change. This additional funding will strengthen our efforts to link the most overburdened communities to resources that exist for years to come.
“Today the President reiterated his administration’s commitment to environmentally just policies and we look forward to working with Congress and the administration to turn this funding request into a funding reality.”
###
About the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice
Families in the Gulf Coast deserve to live in communities that are free from deadly air and are more resilient to climate change and extreme weather. The Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (DSCEJ) works to empower and engage communities to put environmental justice and equity at the center of all climate action. Led by environmental justice scholar and advocate, author, civic leader and professor of Sociology Dr. Beverly L. Wright, the DSCEJ uses research, education, and community and student engagement to advocate for policy change, lead health and safety training for environmental careers, develop social and emotional community wellness programs, and create new and environmentally healthy opportunities for the residents of communities disproportionately impacted by historic environmental injustice.