Washington, DC — In response to the release of President Joe Biden’s FY 2023 Budget, Chispa National issued the following statement from National Campaigns Manager Alejandra Ramirez-Zarate:

“We are pleased to see the Biden-Harris Administration’s continued support for climate and economic justice for American families reflected in the FY 2023 budget proposal released today. People throughout the country, especially low-income communities of color, need urgent relief to alleviate the strains exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s war in Ukraine, and ongoing economic instability throughout the world. President Biden’s commitment to equity, environmental justice, economic recovery, jobs creation, and infrastructure improvements are clearly laid out in the proposed investments. We especially commend the following:

• The $11.881 billion request for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will bring the agency much closer to having the adequate funding needed to be able to carry out its critical work of addressing pollution in communities bearing the brunt of the climate burden. 
• The budget’s $1.45 billion at EPA for environmental justice funding and elevating the office with sole focus on environmental justice to be on equal footing with the air, water and other media offices will be critical to more rapidly advancing environmental justice.
• The $20 million request for the Department of Transportation’s equity and inclusion efforts will ensure that communities of color most impacted by economic inequities have access to workforce development, assistance measures, and public participation opportunities. 
• The Budget also includes $470 million in Health and Human Services to address disproportionately high maternal mortality and morbidity rates among women of color, particularly Black and indigenous women, which are linked to the ongoing systemic racism and disproportionate pollution burdens that these mothers are exposed to. 
• The $6.3 billion to the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) would support the work of the refugee resettlement infrastructure and support the resettling of up to 125,000 refugees in 2023. With so much instability throughout the world due to climate change, violence, and poverty, the United States must contribute to global resettlement efforts and accept refugees from Ukraine as well as from predominantly Black and Latinx countries including Haiti and Central America, among others. 

We thank the Biden/Harris administration’s commitment to equity and justice investments in their proposed FY 2023 budget and urge Congress to work expeditiously to pass it.

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