Connecticut’s Fifth District is home to many environmental treasures. From the Farmington River Valley and Salmon Brook to the Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area to the New England Scenic Trail, the natural beauty of Northwest and Central Connecticut exemplifies the urgent need to protect our environment from deterioration. Climate change is both an environmental issue and a civil rights, economic, and public health issue. Stopping and reversing climate change, protecting public lands and waters, reducing air pollution, transitioning to green energy supplies, and investing in sustainable agriculture is a top priority of mine as your representative.

• Inflation Reduction Act: I voted for the Inflation Reduction Act – the single largest climate investment in the history of our nation, putting America on track to reduce U.S. carbon emissions by 40% by the year 2030. The bill invests in deploying zero-emissions technology in all sectors of our economy, provides tax credits for clean vehicles, and focuses investments in communities most impacted by climate change.

• Electric School Buses: In the 116th Congress, I introduced the Clean School Bus Act with then-Senator Kamala Harris, which would provide $1 billion in grants to school districts over 5 years to replace diesel school buses with electric buses. In the 117th Congress, I reintroduced this bill and the Clean Commute for Kids Act, which would allocate $25 billion over 5 years for a national transition to electric school buses. I worked across the aisle and with the White House and Senate to ultimately secure $5 billion for clean school bus grants, and $7.5 billion for a national electric grid, in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Plan.

• Public Lands: I introduced legislation to designate 41 miles of the Housatonic River as wild and scenic. This designation would protect the river and give the area access to federal funds. Previously, I voted for legislation subsequently signed into law that secured a wild and scenic designation for Lower Farmington River and Salmon Brook and permanently funded the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

• Climate Smart Agriculture: There is no one who knows the land better than the farmers of the Fifth. Our small, family farmers lead the nation in their adoption and support of climate smart agricultural practices. As one of the only members representing exclusively small to medium sized farms on the House Agriculture Committee, I have fought ardently to increase investment in programs that reward environmentally friendly practices.

• Green New Deal: I am a cosponsor of the Green New Deal, which commits to reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2030.