April 22, 2021

Wyden, Merkley Join Colleagues to Reintroduce Green New Deal Resolution

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said today they joined colleagues to reintroduce the Green New Deal Resolution (GND), legislation that would address the existential challenge of climate change and create millions of good, high-wage jobs in the process.

“Oregonians enduring longer wildfire seasons along with prolonged droughts know full well how the climate crisis is already ravaging  communities throughout our state,” Wyden said. “The need to act is now, and the Green New Deal recognizes that urgency by sending a powerful message that it’s time to kick America’s carbon habit before it destroys our families, our economy, and the future of our planet.”

“The climate crisis is not a hypothetical scenario. Oregonians in every corner of our state felt its effects firsthand last year, as catastrophic wildfires burned houses, stole lives, and leveled entire communities,” said Merkley, who serves on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and is a member of the Senate Environmental Justice Caucus. “Climate chaos is the biggest crisis of our generation. Unless we put in place a bold strategy quickly, we’re going to keep paying the price. This resolution helps to provide a blueprint for the kind of climate action we need—one that would not only protect lives, but also create millions of good-paying jobs and a more just and more prosperous nation.”

The reintroduction of the Green New Deal resolution was announced this week by U.S. Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) with the support of leaders from the labor, environmental justice and climate movements.

The Green New Deal resolution envisions a 10-year national mobilization, akin to FDR’s New Deal, that would put millions to work in good-paying, union jobs repairing the nation’s infrastructure, reducing air and water pollution, and fighting the intertwined economic, social, racial and climate crises crippling the country. 

A copy of the resolution is here.

The Green New Deal Resolution is endorsed by the following groups: Association of Flight Attendants - CWA, Service Employees International Union, People's Action, Corazon Latino, CENTER FOR POPULAR DEMOCRACY, Indivisible, The Green New Deal Network, Working Families Party, Greenpeace USA, Sunrise Movement, Justice Democrats, Organic Consumers Association, Climate Justice Alliance, Future Coalition, Labor Network for Sustainability,  National Domestic Workers Alliance, Common Defense, NDN Collective, United for Respect, Sierra Club, League of Conservation Voters, United We Dream, 350.org, Grassroots Global Justice Alliance, Indigenous Environmental Network, Chiron Communications, Blue America, Sisters Health & Wellness Collective, Rachel Carson Council, US High Speed Rail Association, Marked By COVID, Courage California, FracTracker Alliance and more.