Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-03) released the following statement following passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA):

“Passage of the Inflation Reduction Act is a positive step forward for our nation, but leaves much to be desired. The IRA will lower the deficit, lower the cost of health care, lower energy costs all while enforcing the law against wealthy tax cheats who for too long have skirted the law in paying their fair share. Medicare will finally be able to negotiate the price of prescription drugs, prevent excessive price hikes, and cap out-of-pocket costs.

“This bill will begin our journey to renewable energy by extending renewable energy tax credits, providing incentives for energy storage, advanced technology, domestic manufacturing and modernizing our infrastructure. It will green our transportation sector and help make clean vehicles affordable. It will help reduce climate hazards for frontline communities that continue to bear the brunt of climate change.”

“While there’s much to be celebrated in this bill, I am disappointed that corporations making record profits at the expense of the American people will only pay a fraction of what they should. Most concerning, while this is the most historic climate bill in U.S. history, it is only a drop in the bucket of what we need to save our planet from calamity.”

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Source: Yuma Daily News – August 16, 2022
This is an excerpt. The full article can be found by clicking here.

Representative Grijalva voted to pass the Asuncion Valdivia Heat Illness and Fatality Prevention Act that would establish a federal standard for heat stress protections for workers exposed to excessive heat.

This bill was named after a farmworker, Asuncion Valdivia who died of a heat stroke after picking grapes for ten hours in 105-degree temperatures at the age of 53.

The act will serve to protect workers in non-climate-controlled conditions to be able to work safely and comfortably.

“Passage of the Asunción Valdivia Heat Illness and Fatality Prevention Act through the Education and Labor Committee is a vital step forward for labor protections to safeguard indoor and outdoor workers from heat stress and extreme temperatures,” said Rep. Raúl Grijalva.

“This summer, we’ve witnessed workers collapsing and fatalities associated with extreme heat in Arizona and across the country amidst record breaking temperatures.

“Climate change is going to make scorching temperatures more frequent and work conditions more strenuous.

“It’s critical that we establish a federal OSHA standard for heat stress to protect our workers. We need to put this legislation on the House floor for a vote without delay.”
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Source: KYMA/CBS 13/KECY – July 27, 2022
This is an excerpt. The full article can be found by clicking here.

Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) voted to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act and the Ensuring Women’s Right to Reproductive Freedom Act to protect women’s rights in Arizona on July 15.

“The extremist Supreme Court lied about adhering to settled judicial precedent and stripped away a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion and bodily autonomy.

“Republican state lawmakers in states like Arizona are in the midst of an all-out assault, ​already implementing or try​ing to implement oppressive and draconian laws to control women’s bodies,” said Rep. Grijalva.

“While women already have the constitutional right to travel freely in this country, we must now ensure the far-right does not try to undermine that right and that ​those who are seeking abortions outside of the states they reside are protected.

“We know these cruel, inhumane policies will disproportionately impact working women and women of color.

“Congressional ​Republicans have shown they will stop at nothing to turn back time and undermine the will of the people – including proposing a nationwide ban on abortion.

“The Senate needs to stop playing politics with women’s bodies and pass this legislation that protects the fundamental right to an abortion.”

The Women’s Health Protection Act protects the right to have an abortion throughout the U.S. and blocks the state bans and restrictions on abortion that would deny access.

This bill would protect a person’s right to make decisions based on their own reproductive heath care and a health care provider’s ability to provide such services like abortion.

The Ensuring Women’s Right to Reproductive Freedom Act prohibits anyone to restrict or impede a person’s constitutional right to travel for obtaining an abortion.

The Ensuring Women’s Right to Reproductive Freedom Act prohibits any attempt under the state law to:

prevent a person from traveling to another state to obtain a legal abortion
interfere a healthcare provider’s ability to offer legal reproductive care
restrict people from helping others to find a legal abortion
obstruct transportation of FDA-approved abortion medication.

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Source: KYMA/CBS 13/KECY – July 15, 2022
This is an excerpt. The full article can be found by clicking here.

Pacoima is one of the hottest neighborhoods in Los Angeles. Wilmington has some of the city’s highest concentrations of oil wells. And Boyle Heights is surrounded by three major freeways.

These areas have something in common: they’re primarily home to Latino, Asian and Black families and they have some of the worst pollution and least green space in L.A.

That’s no accident. The legacies of segregation and racist housing and zoning policies during the 1930s, continue to impact communities today— and make them even more susceptible to the worst impacts of the climate crisis:

– Extreme heat
– Pollution
– Poor air quality
– Contaminated water

A federal bill authored by U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva, a Democrat who represents southern Arizona, aims to help rectify the issue.

The Environmental Justice for All Act, Grijalva said, would — for the first time — require the consideration of the cumulative and disproportionate impacts of environmental pollution and historic disinvestment on communities of color.

Grijalva spent the last few days in L.A., meeting with community members and advocates from Maywood to Long Beach about the bill.

“It’s a bridge,” Grijalva said. “It’s a bridge that accepts the reality of the root cause of why we need this legislation, which is racism and a system of dumping on the poor and the disenfranchised politically.”

What Would Change Under This Proposed Law
Currently, federal law doesn’t require that the cumulative impacts of pollution or disinvestment in a neighborhood be taken into account when a new refinery or power plant in proposed for that community.

This bill would change that. And Angelo Logan, a Long Beach resident and long-time environmental justice advocate, said that change is critical.

“This is one of the commonalities of environmental justice communities— the constant assault of multiple facilities, multiple impacts,” said Logan, who co-founded grassroots group East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice.

Stronger Legal Tools For Residents

Grijalva said the legislation is designed to give communities stronger legal tools to combat pollution in their backyards. He said that’s especially important since the Supreme Court recently undercut the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate pollution and greenhouse gases.

“For a lot of important social and justice issues in this country, the last point of redress has been the judicial process,” Grijalva said. “And I see that door closed. So now I think it shifts to local communities to really make the situation more democratic at a local level. And nationally, to codify protections because this court won’t.”

A previous version of the bill failed in 2015, but with Democrats now in control of the House, Grijalva said he has higher hopes. After a year of traveling the country to listen to communities on the front line of pollution and environmental degradation, Grijalva reintroduced the bill in 2020, incorporating that feedback. His latest tour that brought him to L.A. was to get further feedback on the final text of the bill.

Logan, who has been involved with crafting the bill for the past three years, said that the ground-up rather than top-down approach was a departure. He said typically feedback from residents of communities most impacted by environmental injustices is ignored — they’re not even invited to the table.

“It’s important as we move forward that we make sure that civil rights, environmental justice — that these kinds of protections are codified in law,” Logan said. “That they’re the law of the land, so that we don’t hear in our communities yet again: ‘Isn’t that illegal?’”

The bill is likely to face challenges, but Grijalva said he doesn’t plan to compromise.

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Source: LAist, Southern California Public Radio – July 11, 2022
This is an excerpt. The full article can be found by clicking here.

The U.S. House of Representatives Thursday evening passed legislation to standardize data collection of sexual orientation and gender identity, sending the measure to the Senate for consideration.

Under the LGBTQI+ Data Inclusion Act, introduced last June by Arizona Democrat Rep. Raúl Grijalva, more than 100 federal agencies that collect demographic data would be required to “assess needed changes in survey methods related to asking questions on sexual orientation and gender identity.”

Currently, few federal surveys collect data on sexual orientation and gender identity, and none measure intersex populations, according to the bill. Agency heads under the measure would be tasked with changing that by developing methods to include questions on sexual orientation and gender identity in nationally representative surveys while preserving the privacy and confidentiality of respondents.

Should Grijalva’s measure make its way through the Senate and ultimately become law, federal agencies will have three years to incorporate information on sexual orientation, gender identity and other “variations in sex characteristics” into their published reports.

“Full equality and sound policy can only be achieved when we count all members of our community,” Grijalva said Thursday in a statement. “Lawmakers and ​agencies are one step closer to finally ​having comprehensive data to craft better policies to remedy ​and address the disparities faced by LGBTQI+ individuals—particularly people of color – to ensure their needs are met.”

In a statement released by the Congressional LGBTQI+ Equality Caucus, the group’s chair, Rep. David N. Cicilline (D-RI), said the Houses’ passage of the bill “brings us one step closer to obtaining a comprehensive and accurate picture of LGBTQI+ people and their experiences.”
“Good policy is informed by good data,” he said. “By ensuring the LGBTQI+ community is represented in federal studies and surveys, the LGBTQI+ Data Inclusion Act will help us craft better, more inclusive policies and better address the most pressing issues facing LGBTQI+ Americans.”

Earlier this year, the White House announced that its proposed Fiscal Year 2023 budget would include $10 million in funding for the U.S. Census Bureau to investigate how to best ask Americans about their sexual orientation and gender identity without compromising their safety.

The Biden administration has taken several other steps this year to advance LGBTQ+ equality, among them making gender-neutral passports available to Americans identifying as neither male nor female. President Biden has also pledged to protect LGBTQ+ youth — particularly transgender youth — from a tidal wave of legislation in mostly conservative states that jeopardizes their ability to learn, play sports and receive adequate health care.

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Source: The Hill – Jun 24, 2022
This is an excerpt. The full article can be found by clicking here.

TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) – Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalva was in Nogales to drop off a $750,000 check to the Nogales Community Development, an organization which is trying to jump start business development and innovation in its downtown.

Nogales has been hit hard economically in recent years by hostile border policy followed by the pandemic.

A once vibrant downtown, supported by cross border trade, has essentially dried up and business along a formerly bustling Morley Avenue has slowed to a trickle.

“I was seeing that the stores, some them now only were they closed, but they had everything taken out of them, all the merchandise,” said Nogales Mayor Art Garino. “Those are the ones that I worried wouldn’t come back.”

Downtown Nogales is one of the poorest areas in the state which relies on customers in Sonora to cross the border to shop.

But now, rather than totally rely on cross border trade, the town is looking to become more independent.

“Investing in the lives, the businesses, the culture, the art, the history of this unique, special place,” Grijalva said. “The borderlands, of which Nogales is an intimate part.”

The money will go the an organization which has been working for years to try to attract business and industry downtown without much success, Nogales Community Development.

“So I think it’s taking a turn, a community that is reinventing itself,” said the former NCD Executive Director Yvonne Delgadillo. “So its great to be part of that.”

The organization will use the dollars to built out a section of a formerly abandoned warehouse for a business development and economic incubator, where people can present and work on ideas for downtown revitalization.

“We’ve been sending letters out of my office to attract business to Nogales.” Mayor Garino said. “We haven’t caught anybody with a hook yet but I hope we can.”

The hope is the town can revitalize its downtown to the point where it can better absorb the unexpected issues created by Washington politicians or things like the pandemic and not rely solely on cross border trade.

“This place will never be as secure as we yell about unless you have a vibrant economy where families are secure and the economy is doing well and people are working” said Grijalva. “And this is a drop, a drop in that direction.”

But for the folks here, the $750,000 is a pretty big drop.

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Source: KOLD News 13 – Jun 1, 2022
This is an excerpt. The full article can be found by clicking here.

The following is the opinion and analysis of the writers:

JobPath is a workforce development and advocacy organization that helps adults succeed in two-year or less education and job-training programs that lead to in-demand, high-wage careers. JobPath partners with community colleges and job-training centers and provides students with case management and financial support to help them succeed in their programs of study — programs such as nursing and aviation technology.

Founded in 1998 by Pima County Interfaith Council and invested community members, JobPath has served as a great program and opportunity for Tucsonans to get ahead in the competitive workforce, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, employment opportunities in Tucson and Pima County have been significantly impacted.

The McKinsey Global Institute stated that millions of jobs have been permanently changed or wiped out, and these shifts mean fewer hospitality and retail jobs in addition to ongoing automation of office and factory jobs. Before the pandemic, hospitality, retail and tourism were significant sources of jobs that were disproportionately held by people of color, particularly women. Parents with young children were further impacted due to limited child care options and virtual learning responsibilities that forced some parents to stay home and leave the workforce.

Consequently, due to changes in the labor market, many of these adults won’t be returning to their previous employers and will need job-training educational program opportunities in order to reenter the workforce.

The U.S. is experiencing the fastest economic growth since 1984, adding 8.3 million jobs since President Biden took office. We are now on track to return to pre-pandemic employment levels this year. With a tight labor market, and a record number of job openings, it is essential that workers have the skills necessary to enter high-quality jobs that can provide for their families.

Thanks to the passage of the fiscal year 2022 omnibus appropriations budget bill, with the vote of Rep. Grijalva, JobPath secured $500,000 in Community Project Funding from the Department of Education’s Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education.

This funding will support the enrollment of 200 recently displaced workers, with a focus on underrepresented women and parents, in short-term post-secondary degree or certificate programs. It will better support women and parents throughout Pima County who are either enrolled, or looking to enroll, in education and job training programs that lead to family sustaining wages.

It’s more than funding for a program. It’s a further investment in Pima County, the city of Tucson and Southern Arizona. JobPath will support the economic recovery of Southern Arizona, and its results are tested and proven. According to Applied Economics, a third-party evaluator, supporting JobPath has a total return on investment of 3:1, the $500,000 investment will generate $1.5 million in increased wages, tax revenue, and decreased public assistance costs.

We know that JobPath students play important roles in our community and contribute to our economic well-being here in Southern Arizona which is why it’s critical to continue to see this program’s success. Students from JobPath have a 90 percent graduation rate and 85 percent find a job in their field of study within six months of graduation.

With $500,000, JobPath will be able to reinvest in our community and improve the economic status of underserved families by removing barriers to educational achievement, so that they can lead healthier and more prosperous lives. Nearly 50% of JobPath students are raising young children, meaning this funding can help provide additional workforce training leading to salary increases, critical benefits, and establish a multigenerational game changer for families that can stop the cycle of poverty.

The JobPath project is a priority because it presents a unique opportunity for displaced workers in Southern Arizona to pursue job-training educational programs that are in-demand and provide economic opportunities. This program will give working people and families access to better housing, support the elimination of food insecurity, and help them afford quality early childhood education for their children.

When we give back and reinvest in our community through projects like these and give working folks equal access to economic opportunity, a thriving community follows.

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Source: Arizona Daily Star – June 1, 2022
This is an excerpt. The full article can be found by clicking here.

A federal judge recently halted construction on a mine because of its potential effects on Indigenous lands. The Hualapai Tribe is suing to stop a lithium mine that threatens a water source. An environmental organization is suing the EPA for failing to enforce air pollution laws. And a Black community in Randolph pushed back on a proposed natural gas generating station that residents say will worsen already toxic air.

What those incidents have in common, activists say, are historically disenfranchised communities negatively affected by pollution and climate change seeking environmental justice.

The concept has been gaining momentum for years in Arizona, where industrial and mining operations have left polluted legacies in lower-income urban neighborhoods and on tribal lands around the state.

It has recently gained the attention of local and national leaders, who last month wooed communities whose support they’ll need in the face of opposition from industry groups and elected officials skeptical of more regulation. Those leaders want to enact new laws that could put in place some of the most sweeping environmental laws in a generation.

Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., who chairs the House Committee on Natural Resources, toured the country to tout the benefits of a piece of legislation he hopes will help communities get a seat at the table for projects that impact their communities. So far, he’s taken his message to numerous states, including New York, New Mexico and now Arizona.

Some lawmakers and environmental advocates hope the legislation will fill some of the gaps left by the now-stalled Build Back Better Act. While not a complete replacement, the Environmental Justice for All Act would make the process of starting federal projects a more equitable, holistic endeavor, supporters say. The bill would require federal agencies to increase inclusiveness and seek input from communities affected by environmental projects before they even begin.

Meanwhile, protesters rallied at the Arizona capitol on Earth Day to call on leaders to act on climate change. State Rep. Morgan Abraham, former Sen. Kirsten Engel, and health advocates also called on President Biden to enact stronger air protections to reduce pollution from power plants.

Activists say such actions are critical now. According to a recent report by the National Lung Association, over 6 million Arizonans live in areas with poor air quality, dangerous levels of particulate matter and ozone pollution.

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Source: Arizona Republic – May 16, 2022
This is an excerpt. The full article can be found by clicking here.

Local leaders in Southern Arizona came together Wednesday to throw their support behind the Environmental Justice for All Act, a congressional bill that aims to treat pollution in communities of color as a civil rights violation and create local funding for environmental cleanup.

U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva, the Tucson Democrat who chairs the House Committee on Natural Resources, introduced the bill last March, but said he’s spent his political career undoing damage in Tucson’s low-income and Latino communities caused by water contaminants like ​​trichloroethylene and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also called TCE and PFAS.

Water pollution has threatened area residents for years and cleaning it up has been a priority for local, state and federal representatives of Southern Arizona. High levels of PFAS, a long-lasting chemical used in plastics, coating and firefighting foams, polluted a regional groundwater aquifer near Davis-Monthan Air Force Base several years ago that was the main source of drinking water for more than 65,000 people. Similar incidents have affected Tucson’s mostly Latino South Side in the past.

The Environmental Justice for All bill, which Grijalva and other members of Congress are touting on a national tour of cities like New York and Detroit, is aimed at funding remediation and cleanup efforts across the countryu, and creating more government accountability. It would also create a protected class for “frontline communities,” or those most impacted by environmental hazards because of their economic and geographic vulnerabilities.

“The TCE contamination that many of us ignored for generations on the South Side of town was a prevalent part of my political upbringing in this community,” Grijalva said. “At the time, we didn’t have a definition for environmental justice, but all we knew was the impacted communities were predominantly working class and poor and predominantly communities of color.”

Grijalva said that he doesn’t want to see communities of color to continue to be treated “a dumping ground.” Instead, the measure would invest in equity at the local level, create community engagement and make sure federal agencies hear public redresses and petitions against government injustices or inactions. “Environmental issues need components of equity and justice,” he said.

Local government leaders from Pima County, Tucson and the Pascua Yaqui Tribe showed up to support Grijalva at a press conference on Wednesday. Several spoke about the impact that the bill would have on the South Side in repairing damage from water, air and land contamination, including from PFAS and TCE.

They included Tucson Mayor Regina Romero and Councilwoman Lane Santa Cruz; Dr. Francisco Garcia, the chief medical officer for Pima County; Supervisor Adelita Grijalva, a member of the county board and the congressman’s daughter; as well as Pascua Yaqui Chairman Peter Yucupicio and Herminia Frias, a Yaqui councilwoman.

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Source: Tucson Sentinel – April 20, 2022
This is an excerpt. The full article can be found by clicking here.

Clinica Amistad, a nonprofit healthcare provider for low-income patients on Tucson’s South Side, will upgrade their services and facility with a federal grant. U.S. Rep Raúl Grijalva discussed the impact that a $6.8 million funding package will have on Southern Arizona nonprofits and local government agencies, as they from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Grijalva included $185,000 for Clinica Amistad in a House appropriations bill last summer, a “small investment,” the congressman said, “because they do so much with so little.” The earmarked money will go towards new equipment like exam beds, new ultrasound machines and a new vehicle.

Other federal funding coming to Southern Arizona includes $1.1 million for the city of Tucson to improve the Dunbar Pavilion and its school of arts, $750,000 for the Tohono O’odham Nation to build a children’s home and $900,000 for the Pascua Yaqui Tribe to renovate the San Ignacio Health Center.

The 12-year-old Clinica Amistad is a health clinic located next to Grijalva’s Tucson congressional office that serves low-income and mostly Hispanic patients. It has a staff of four though it’s supported by 121 licensed or community volunteers. They also rely heavily on donations to pay for insulin, X-rays and medical supplies.

“The funding means the world to the clinic,” Nicole Glasner, its executive director of development, said. “It’ll help us run more efficiently and streamline services.”

The federal funds will help donations go further, Glasner said. It will also help Clinica Amistad improve the quality of training for medical students, who need community service hours but don’t have time to work, Glasner said. That will make Clinica Amistad a better career pipeline for health professionals.

Many of the medical students who do volunteer with Clinica Amistad “are inspired to continue treating patients in the same kind of (low-income) setting,” Glasner said.

Staff at the bilingual clinic also want to begin an outreach effort to tell the community that they offer affordable access to healthcare. Getting people to the clinic sooner prevents the long-term costs when conditions are left untreated, Glasner said, especially if people have to go to an emergency room.

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Source: Tucson Sentinel – April 14, 2022
This is an excerpt. The full article can be found by clicking here.