New congressional EJ caucus
A People’s Environmental Justice Caucus launched in the U.S. House, led by Reps. Summer Lee, Adelita Grijalva and Rashida Tlaib, signaling renewed federal focus on pollution, clean air and affordable communities. Organizers see the caucus as an opening to push for federal resources that could support frontline work in New England. (aurn.com)
Congresswomen Summer Lee (PA-12), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12) and Adelita Grijalva (AZ-07) formally launched the People’s Environmental Justice Caucus on March 26, 2026. (summerlee.house.gov) Founders framed the caucus as a vehicle to center frontline community leadership and to help develop a new version of the Environmental Justice For All Act in the House. (aurn.com) National grassroots coalitions including the Climate Justice Alliance and the Environmental Justice Leadership Forum publicly celebrated the launch and participated in the caucus briefing and panel on March 26. (weact.org) New England already hosts federally funded technical assistance relevant to the caucus agenda: the University of Connecticut’s Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center received a $10 million EPA award on Oct. 30, 2024 to serve communities across New England. (epa.gov) Regional grantmaking tied to environmental justice is underway in New England, where the Environmental Justice for New England (EJforNE) program expects to distribute $48 million to community-based organizations across the six states, with funds to be spent through spring 2027. (massacd.org) Vermont officials have already acted on federal EJ funding issues: Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark joined 19 other attorneys general in an amicus brief on July 8, 2025 opposing the EPA’s termination of the Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grant program. (ago.vermont.gov) Vermont passed its first statewide environmental justice law (S.148) in 2022, establishing a state program and legal framework that federal caucus work and federal grant streams could intersect with for project funding and policy alignment. (vpirg.org)
