Nydia Velazquez

ON THE ISSUES

• Introduced the Community Environmental Equity Act which would protect families from the disproportionate environmental impact that polluters have on low-income communities
• Voted for the Inflation Reduction Act, the most significant action Congress has ever taken to address climate change
• Earned a 95% lifetime score on LCV’s National Environmental Scorecard

WHY THIS RACE MATTERS

• Holding this seat in New York will help win a pro-environmental majority in the House, making it easier to pass climate legislation at the federal level
• Re-electing Velázquez will maintain Latinx representation in Congress
• Member of the House Committee on Natural Resources and Subcommittees on Energy and Mineral Resources and Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs

CANDIDATE BACKGROUND

Representative Nydia Velázquez is running for a 17th term to represent New York’s 7th Congressional District. Velázquez previously served on the New York City Council. She has been a champion for environmental justice, climate action and clean energy, and cleaning up Superfund sites. Velázquez introduced the Community Environmental Equity Act which would protect families from the disproportionate environmental impact that polluters have on low-income communities. She has been a proponent of decreasing harmful pollutants, voting to limit carbon pollution and to uphold the EPA’s authority to limit that pollution, and the Clean Power Plan. 

As the top Democrat on the Small Business Committee, Velázquez has supported policies that position entrepreneurs as leaders in the green energy revolution, enabling the development and adoption of cleaner energy sources to help slow climate change. The Congresswoman has also endorsed the "Green New Deal", a forward thinking plan to strengthen our economy, address climate change and tackle income inequality through public investments in renewable energy. Locally,  she continues working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to see progress made on Superfund sites in New York like the Gowanus Canal, Newtown Creek and the Wolff-Alport Chemical Company. She remains committed to seeing these sites remediated, while protecting the needs of the local community and area businesses. In Congress, Velázquez will continue to be a defender of clean air and an advocate for low-income communities. Representative Velázquez has earned a 95% lifetime score on LCV’s National Environmental Scorecard. Representative Velázquez is endorsed by LCV Action Fund.