Reps. Dwight Evans (D-PA) and Nikema Williams (D-GA) have introduced legislation they said seeks to advance environmental justice via tax credits for research and other academic programs.
The lawmakers indicated the $1 billion tax credit bill would offer a capped, competitive credit for university programs focused on climate change impacts on low-income communities and communities of color while also prioritizing projects including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and other Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs).
“We know that environmental justice is a longstanding problem in this country, which has been accelerated by climate change, and our bill would leverage more than $1 billion per year to drive positive change,” Evans, a House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee member, said. “I was proud to co-lead this bill in the last session with the late Congressman John Lewis, a true civil rights hero, and I’m pleased to welcome his successor, Congresswoman Williams, as lead co-sponsor.”
Officials noted the Ways and Means Committee oversees taxes and tax credits, in addition to trade, Medicare and Social Security.
“Environmental justice for Black, brown and indigenous communities is long overdue in the country,” Williams said. “I am proud to work with Congressman Evans on this bill to create tax breaks for HBCUs to study how to improve environmental outcomes for marginalized communities. HBCUs particularly have a history of uplifting those most marginalized and this bill will continue that tradition.”