| (Washington, DC) - For the fourth consecutive year, Congressman James E. Clyburn (SC-6) will chair the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Environmental Justice Braintrust at the CBC Foundation's Annual Legislative Conference. The public is invited to address Members of Congress and members of the National Environmental Policy Commission (NEPC) present during the last hour of the Braintrust scheduled for Friday, September 13, 2002, from 9:00 a.m.-12:00 noon in Room 27 of the Washington Convention Center.
The National Environmental Policy Commission (NEPC) is an outgrowth of recommendations from a CBC Environmental Justice Braintrust under the leadership of Congressman Clyburn.
"This Commission was created out of the need to develop a comprehensive national environmental policy that fosters the protection of human health and the environment, and ensures environmental justice while promoting economic development," explains Congressman Clyburn. "The leadership of this Commission will be at the Braintrust to provide an update on its progress."
The goal of the Commission is to identify environmental issues and to articulate a range of policy alternatives for consideration by policy makers. In its first initiative toward achieving this goal, the Commission deliberated and prepared a report released at last year's CBCF Annual Legislative Conference that contained a collection of recommendations and comments gleaned from a series of national Listening Sessions.
The Commission, comprised of representatives from business and industry, health organizations, academia, environmental justice communities, and tribal, state and local governments, conducts these Listening Sessions in affected communities, the most recent just last month in the U.S. Virgin Islands. In addition, this summer the CBC Environmental Justice Braintrust held a joint Listening Session with the CBC Health Braintrust in Charleston, SC to explore the relationship between a poor environment and poor health indices.
"The environmental factors that exist in greater concentration around low-income and minority communities remain a source of concern without simple answers," Congressman Clyburn said. "How these environmental factors impact our health and what can be done to minimize those impacts warrants the development of comprehensive policies that address both concerns."
Coordinating partners for this initiative include the Medical University of South Carolina Department of Library Science and Informatics, South Carolina State University Transportation Center, and the University of South Carolina School of Public Health.
For more information, contact Lindy Birch in Congressman Clyburn's office at 202-225-3315.
# # #
|
U.S. Congressman 
