Nancy Pelosi, the 52nd Speaker of the House of Representatives also represents the 12th district in California, including San Francisco. As the Speaker of the House, she is 2nd in the line of succession for the presidency after the vice president. Speaker Pelosi’s role is so important because she directs the agenda and priorities of the house. This includes bringing up bills for various topics including the climate crisis plaguing the world.
Holding such a high position, it is crucial voters and citizens are aware of her stance on one of the most important issues ever. As a democrat representing a ley part of the Bay Area (San Francisco), she has many liberal perspectives, supporting the fight against climate change. In 2019, after Former President Trump withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement, she, along with democrats of Congress heavily criticized his choice. During a press conference she stated, “This is a mission, this is a passion, this is a scientifically-based approach, to all. We are here to say to all of you, on behalf of the House of Representatives and the Congress of the United States, 'we're still in it.'" This means she supports and refuses to give up on, or let other members of congress give up on our future.
Throughout her time in congress, she has introduced and endorsed a number of bills for the environment including the Green New Deal, the Moving Forward Act, the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, the Great American Outdoors Act, and the Climate Action Now Act; all of which deal with pressing issues of expanding [public] transportation routes, decreasing the country's carbon emissions, modifications in vehicle manufacture policy, lowering the cost of health care, expanding funding for hazardous waste cleanups, and many more. More locally, in her district, she advocated for the implementation of the San Francisco Bay Restoration Act to preserve species within the estuary and provide funding for projects to upkeep the area. You can read the plan for the acts in full detail by clicking on the embedded links.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi and fellow democrats have several different goals in the near future to meet the harrowing demands for climate change, and for environmental issues to be put near the top of list of congressional priorities. The Green New Deal focuses a lot on infrastructure change to promote an energy efficient America and develop technology to promote sustainability. Another thing Speaker Pelosi believes in is the importance of unionization and increasing minimum wage, seeing this is connected to the climate crisis, her perspective on the work force, and the work force's role is significant. The infrastructure developments and increased research will need manpower with good working conditions and rights for it to succeed. The fight against climate change will not move forwards in the strides we want without the support from large corporations, politicians, and the general public.
As a progressive democrat, it is not surprising Speaker Pelosi would actively work to fight climate change. She recognizes the patterns in natural disasters and changing weather, and actively pursues solutions to this pressing issue. Unfortunately, many of the bills did not make it past the house due to the filibuster and extremely slim Senate democrat majority or even minority. Despite these, it is important to recognize her position on climate and how it benefits certain communities of the United States while uplifting future generations.
Image: Nancy Pelosi introduces the Moving Forward Act on the House Floor (2019)
More information can be found at her website: https://pelosi.house.gov/issues/energy-and-environment
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