Poder Latinx Commends President Biden’s Executive Order on Environmental Justice
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 21, 2023
Jackie Smith | 989-576-1996 jsmith@poderlatinx.org
Poder Latinx Commends President Biden’s Executive Order on Environmental Justice
NATIONWIDE - Today President Biden delivered remarks and signed an executive order establishing the White House Office of Environmental Justice in order to ensure that race, ethnicity, or income status do not determine the environmental impact faced by Americans. The order directs cabinet agencies to utilize data & research to learn about how pollution impacts communities, and would require agencies to inform of harmful substances being released by federal facilities.
The following statement is attributed to Yadira Sanchez, Executive Director of Poder Latinx:
“Nearly 10 percent of Latinx children suffer from asthma and they are 40 percent more likely to die from asthma than non-Latino whites. Our communities are being exposed to horrific amounts of pollution and living with the impacts for the rest of their lives. President Biden’s executive order will direct federal agencies to study the environmental impacts that the Latinx community is facing every day, such as the development of respiratory illnesses such as asthma due to pollution and exposure to other toxic materials. This research will aid the administration in creating policies that keep our families safe from pollution and toxic waste and help guide resources to communities in need. As a child, I experienced lead contamination through my community’s water reserve and continue to feel the impacts of that exposure to this day. I can say firsthand that Latinx communities across this country will benefit from this effort. Poder Latinx commends President Biden’s efforts toward building the most ambitious environmental justice agenda in our nation’s history.”
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Poder Latinx is dedicated to building a sustained progressive voting bloc of Latinx voters in key states across the country.