The Department of Health and Human Services has announced 13 programs for inclusion in President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, which was launched as part of the administration’s commitment to environmental justice.
The Justice40 Initiative calls for federal agencies to deliver 40 percent of benefits of clean energy, sustainable and affordable housing, clean water and other climate-related investments to disadvantaged communities, HHS said Friday.
“Ranging from worker training programs to assistance for energy and water costs, these programs aim to ensure no one is left behind as we work to advance health equity for all people living in the United States,” said Adm. Rachel Levine, assistant secretary for health at HHS.
The HHS programs are:
- Climate-Ready States & Cities Initiative, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Community Economic Development, Administration for Children and Families
- Community Services Block Grant, ACF
- Environmental Career Worker Training Program, National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
- Federal Real Property Assistance Program, Assistant Secretary for Administration
- Flint Lead Exposure Registry, CDC
- Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, ACF
- Low Income Household Water Assistance Program, ACF
- Office of Community Health and Hazard Assessment, CDC’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
- Partnership to Promote Local Efforts to Reduce Environmental Exposure or APPLETREE Cooperative Agreement Program, CDC’s ATSDR
- Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units, CDC’s ATSDR
- Rural Community Development Program, CDC
- Sanitation Facilities Construction Program, Indian Health Service
Join the Potomac Officers Club’s Prioritizing Environmental Justice in a Changing Climate Forum on July 20 to hear experts as they discuss the federal government’s Justice40 Initiative and environmental justice challenges with respect to public health, natural resources, energy and finance, community involvement and infrastructure.
