we have to adopt a ceiling the natural gas cannot survive. we have to phase out the ground. one of the ways we do this is by banning fracking. what is happening in america right now is enormous grassroots movement is motivated for political change. if we pursue an agenda where we incentivize the creation of renewable energy and do that in what i believe is an incredible grassroots force, some may call it a political revolution, on the ground, and we give people the incentive to go out and educate their neighbors and create incentives for renewable energy, i think we can both phase out coal and natural gas on the way to hundred percent renewable energy. elijah cummings: thank you, mr. south. south: thank you for your testimony. it was very moving.

you were talking in your testimony about hundreds of peer-reviewed studies that have documented the harms of fracking. i went to add one more, one of the major reasons why new york band fracking -- banned fracking, is because of its report from the environmental conservation that no amount of regulation, none, can safely -- guard against the dangers of land, water, natural resources, and public health. josh fox: the question that i wanted to ask you is, -- unnels: the question that i wanted to ask you is, do you believe fracking can be regulated, do we put more regulations on it to make it safer, or is that just an impossible task? an impossible is

task, and that is according to the industry. natural gas oil and gas know they are in a lease. from the standpoint of water contamination, there is no way to ensure with any degree of reliability you are going to preserve underground drinking water. there is no way to do that according to the industry's own science. i would be happy to give evidence that shows 8% of all oil and gas leaked upon drilling, and over a 30 year period, 60% begin to leak. the well casings themselves, the drill pipe, is surrounded by cement. an inch of cement. brittle over time. nothing with fans temperature changes down there, and it is creating steel around this. so the position of water contamination, it is not

possible to regulate. the other problem with respect to climate is that so much of the natural gas infrastructure is leaking right now. you have cities leaking in huge percentage rates. you have 2% in new york city, 5% washington, d.c., 4% boston. the front gas process -- frack gas process leaks a lot of methane in the delivery and down stream phases, downstream and delivery phases. was $22the estimate billion to replace every natural gas by plane in new york city. that is half the price of a smart fridge for the entire united states. we will be preparing a system that we -- we would be preparing just repairing a system that is not good for climate anyway. if you are going to push natural gas from the standpoint of water contamination, these two things are unsolvable problems. in addition, you are creating

gallons of toxic waste. no one would know what to do with it. we are putting it back in the ground. the epa says that is a bad idea, american sitting on top of a wall of toxic waste -- pool that will go into the water supply. there is no way to make this work. we are already at one degree of warming for the environment. we have enough carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases to bring us to 1.5 degrees even if we shut off everything right now. our goals and paris are well below two degrees. we have to move to renewable energy as vigorously and as quickly as possible. mobilizationr-like on renewable energy. that is what real leadership on the climate would be an absolutely number one on the list, stop fracking. elijah cummings: thank you very much. we are going to go to ms. browner from the panel. we have panelists that need to

catch a plane, so we are going to try to be as brief as we can. carol browner: josh, thank you very much for your thoughtful testimony. you mentioned, as you are closing, that we should transition away from natural gas. we have seen other countries make very important steps in reducing carbon, but in making those steps, do them in a timeframe that reduced -- resulted in an increase in carbon emissions. that is that what we want, we want a decrease. if you can speak a little bit too what you think is a responsible transition, and secondly, i assume as part of the position, you would support reinstating the environmental reduction agency's authority, which was stripped and what is referred to as the haliburton-cheney. josh fox: the haliburton loopholeas the exception to the safety water act.

toxic chemicals in the ground and not report them to the epa or have a permit, which is fairly outrageous. [speaking simultaneously] right away. we are not actually phasing out fossil fuels with the power plants. we are trading them out. we are trading coal for gas. that is very clear the way the power plant is created. we do not replace all the old coal plants with new fracking gas plants which will last for 40 years, we have to replace -- retire coal plants, retire natural gas, and replace them with renewable energy. i have been across the country in the last three months, toured for the by new film and 60 different cities. gas are fighting mega frack plants, which will create toxic pollution in their neighborhoods. they are fighting pipelines,

power plants, fracking lines, that is a huge fight, and the democratic party does not want to be on the wrong side of. when it comes to what is happening on the ground in america right now, people are outraged. we are going out of the firebrand and into the -- frying pan and into the fire. we need to create safe gas and vigorously to renewable energy. it is already happening. we just need to take out the transition from coal to gas and move it from coal to renewable energy. elijah cummings: thank you, very much. we will next have very nichols, nichols, who is chair of the california resources board. -- sinceshe was voted 2007, she has devoted her entire career advocating for the environment and public health. in addition to her work at the

airport, she has served as assistant administrator for the u.s. environmental protection agency's air radiation program under president clinton and director of the institute of the environment at the university of california. thank you very much being with us. mary nichols: thank you very much. it is a pleasure to be here. one of the challenges of coming at this point in the program is that pretty much everything that is in my testimony or prepared has been covered by other speakers. you could just say thank you, but what i would like to do is make a couple of points that are not really covered or have not yet encountered this morning. let me start by saying i have been the chair of the research board -- actually, i am on my fourth term doing this under jerry brown. for several years also under arnold schwarzenegger when the state of california passed the

--st apprehensive comprehensive climate legislation. it was passed by a democratic legislature with no republican votes, but it also was signed by the republican governor. the feature of it that i want to stress is that california set a goal, a target, of bringing its emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, which at the time was the accord,oal of the kyoto and give the task of meeting that to my agency. it was given that task frankly because we have had the experience in california of reducing air pollution levels not asm what were once bad as we see in beijing or new delhi today. but really ugly and colorful -- horrible levels to a point where

we still violate air-quality standards in particularly , in the california valley, and all too many times in low income communities, disadvantaged communities, committees of color. at the same time, we have flashed emissions by over 90% twice. todayeffect, missions from any facility are about 1% of what they were when they -- when i first heard it doing this work. and that is a situation with a population has grown, the vehicle population has grown even faster. our economy has grown even faster than that. push know that you can technology, that you can set very strong pollution goals. you can change your energy system, and you can do it in a way that actually benefits the economy. that is what we think should be the policy of the democratic party.

now, a lot has already been done over the last seven years under the leadership of president obama, and frankly in partnership and building on the work of many states and mayors. state governors and mayors, progressive jurisdictions around the country, we have seen goals set, and we have seen very innovative solutions to changing our energy system away from one that is dependent on petroleum. there was a lot of talk, there had been a lot of talk about transition, but the way to make a transition happen is not just to sit back and wait for something to happen. you have to tell the market were you wanted to go, and you have to be giving them incentives to encourage them in the right direction. you have heard some examples of that here today. one that you haven't heard very much about though is recitation sector, which actually is --

transportation sector, which i believe nationally now from more of the greenhouse gas emissions than the electricity system. so i think it is important that we have a shared understanding, reaching the kind of ambitions, i'm a target, that the paris agreement would call for, does call for. as we look at it, also trying to meet air-quality standards and protect human health, is going to require by 2050 to live in a world where we are basically not burning anything in order to power our economy and move ourselves around. the long-term goal here is really 100% renewability across the board. we are not going to get there immediately, but if we don't start putting the policies in place now, we can consequently predict we will not get there. what we have found so far in our

work is that you need a combination of measures, that there is no one magic simple bullet -- silver bullet that will get you. you need a mix of both sectors, regulations like the renewable polio standards that require electrical utilities to deliver 50% of all of the electricity as , orwable energy by 2030 like the low carbon fuel standard, which we adopted and requires companies to supply trepidation fuel, meaning gasoline and -- transportation fuel, meaning gasoline, to reduce the carbon content of their overall fuel by 10% by 2020. what that has meant is investments in not only cleaner sources of liquid fuels, such as renewable diesel, primarily, renewable biodiesel, but oil

companies literally buying companies -- credits from electrical companies who are installing electric trading stations to make it possible -- charging stations to make it more possible to drive electric vehicles. we see a future in which we need to be using all of our ingenuity to try to spread cleaner energies and connect technologies around the states. the issue of environmental justice is, as ian spoke about earlier, one that is a part of the overall climate strategy from the very beginning. just because it is the right thing to do, although that is the fact. it is there because you cannot make the targets without dealing with the fact that the consumers, the young people who are coming into the world, need to have access to the clean technology, and they can get

their by a trickle down program. there has to be direct investment made in communities so that people will have the ability to take advantage of solar power, take advantage of advanced technologies and metering there electricity, or find ways to move around in vehicles that don't, aren't gas guzzlers, which is where we find the places where we can really turn over the fleece, which is through targets that go for after that dirtiest cars that people are flunking their smog check tests to turn them in, not just get them slightly cleaner, but a car that actually could be zero emitting vehicle. a better investment of the funds that the state requires. we also have a cap on emissions that enables us to know we are getting to the target that we set. and we created a market program of allowances, a concentrated

program, which gives away to the largest stationary sources in the state about 90% of the allowance that they need to operate based on their level of efficiency, to reward people for being more efficient in terms of how much they produce with their amount of emissions. but, 10% of the allowances are being auctioned. it is the auctioned revenue that ian was referring to, that was then reinvested in the program that was designed to help reduce emissions and also to benefit directly the disadvantaged communities. as that program was adopted a means of putting a price on carbon because it was something you could do weekly, relatively quickly, by administered of action rather than waiting for the legislature to be able to x. pt attacks -- a ta

we would not have that today if we had to wait for the tax. i see a gavel being raised that i should stop, and i want to say that we are eager to work with the national party, and to continue to work with the administration as we have for the last seven years, to be able to build on some of the leadership that we have seen for his states and locals. think you very much. elijah cummings: thank you, ms. browner. carol browner: it is nice to have mary here, a real leader in this field. you noted there is no silver bullet, you have had to embrace a whole array of policies, not just stationary sources but also global sources. a lot of sources that need to be addressed, and you need a lot of tools with it. did you guys consider a ban on fracking as you look at all the various tools and kind of decisions that you could take?

mary nichols: this has been a very active issue in california as everywhere else. california is in a fully different position from the northeast in a sense that we have had a lot of experience with oil and gas development in california over many decades. and so, fracking turns out to be a name for a suite of different kinds of technologies used to produce oil and gas, and it was actually going on in many situations where people did not even know it was happening. the first step then is to get a handle on what was really going on out there, and then to develop regulatory program to deal with the water and air and other implications of that activity. i think that the attitude of the governor and the legislature that prevailed after this discussion about should there be a ban come up because california, but should've done this on its own, is that we

needed to take a look at how we were using petroleum. it is a little bit like banning the manufacture of drugs and not doing anything about the demand side. as long as we continue to be , not justge producing producing, but consuming state, it did not seem like it was right to focus only on one aspect of the production side. but it clearly needed and is now finally, i think, beginning to get much greater degree of attention than it had before. thel browner: call up for committee members, california really is the lead on reducing carbon pollution. it is amazing that the state has done. it is a testament to the governor's leadership but also to mary's lifelong commitment, and we thank you for what you are done. -- have done.

i thank you very much for your testimony. really appreciate what you have to say. one of the concerns of course is fracking again. i wanted to point out a report by the american geophysical union, talking about how fracking can cause earthquakes several miles away, not only in the short term, but months or even years as the process takes place. so my question to you, california knows a thing or two about earthquakes, how concerned are you about fracking in california leading to more earthquakes? mary nichols: first of all, quite a bit of the fracking we found that was going on actually was happening in areas off the in thend not actually most seismically active areas of the state. the places in the future were there might be consideration are

areas where it is very expensive to get at the petroleum that is already there. the water that is produced by the oil development process has to be cleaned out under our requirements, and is used for other purposes. it is not just reinjected. i am going to defer that question to my colleague, who is right up after me, felicia marcus. she has got the assignment of actually dealing with the water side of the fracking process, where my agency has focused on the air side. our concern was we get full disclosure of the chemicals that are used in the industry, that we not hide behind those ideas, these are proprietary. they could not possibly be disposed were repetitive reasons. -- competitives

reasons. we think that is unacceptable. we work with local air agencies to come up with regulations that deal with that. elijah cummings: thank you very much, thank you. nicole menendez? she works to address the impacts on latinos in southeastern states and nationally, a guatemalan immigrant with human heritage, today ms. gimenez works to mobilize the latino andunity to better address understand climate change is -- climate change's disproportionate effects on hispanics. >> good afternoon. thank you chairman cummings and committee to talk about this

disproportionate climate change that is already affecting communities and latino families. i was born in guatemala and i grew up as it proud immigrant in south florida. i have seen firsthand how quickly a thriving city can turn into a disaster zone. andrew lou mycane home away. we were not evacuated. was one of the reasons why i was drawn to the natural sciences. i became particularly interested in how sea level rise affects latino communities. i began to look at information and paired it with sea level rise maps. the places most at risk at sea level rise in the u.s. including florida and new york, california and texas, are also the places that have the largest or the fastest-growing latino populations. the same can be said for [indiscernible]

the extreme heat that phoenix was experiencing this weekend will become more common and more severe in the future. -- heatea level rise and sea level rise are impacts we cannot completely avoid. these represent increases in temperature in the impacts of sunny day events. this is flooding caused by a combination of the hottest times of the year and the sea level rise over the last 100 years. using u.s. army corps of engineers sea level rise projections, we participate in -- project in miami that we will go to more than 380 events of significant tidal flooding in miami-dade county in the next 30 years. we are taking similar increase in other parts of the country, including washington dc. i use elevation maps to identify low-lying locations, then i

overlay information with income data to identify places that are both low-lying and low income. noaa'snow what -- information to see high-level eed days -- sea days, information dispersal. like miami,no areas they are taking impacts to reduce flight -- flooding impacts, but in low communities, there is little action. i spoke to people in miami just this fall. some people cannot get out during the high tide because the roads were flooded. kids connected to their school bus stop. one resident had to walk in and hadated floodwaters a leg infection as a result. research indicated there is an

extreme high level of human feces in these types of floodwaters. maria escobar, told me in order to take the trash out, she had to cover her legs and trash bags and walked down to blocks because trucks were not coming down the road due to flooding. all these happened on days when there is not a single drop of rain. my colleagues and i analyzed the flooding and concluded these events were caused by sea level rise, which is a result of human cause climate change. to find equitable and efficient solutions in these communities, and amending these be carbon neutral. -- demanding these be carbon neutral. as a fast as an immigrant, i know we are especially resilient . that is why we are here. we need to present our children better options of arrival. -- survival. as you develop plans for the future, may climate change litigation and adaptation a top priority. sound,ties need

actionable science, policymakers really listen to them, and more resources to impact this. the good news is we have the solution to cut emissions, and as we transfer away from coal and finds renewable sources of electricity, the benefits must improve especially to communities of color and low income communities. the renewable energy revolution must be committed in fairness and justice. my partners and community will be there to support you and remind you. thank you. [applause] elijah cummings: questions. thank you very much. ms. rai sue? thebecame the president of national effects council on july 2015, with nearly 500 policy

experts that make up the and rbc one of the most effective action organizations. before joining the nrbc, miss sues served as the director of management policy, and she led several cost-cutting initiatives with federal land conservation, climate adaptation, international affairs, and other programs, thank you. sue: thank you, thank you mr. chairman, and thanks to all the members of the panel for the opportunity to be here today. as is evidenced by all of the testimony you have been hearing today, there is no greater threat to the planet or to all of its inhabitants that climate change. this fact has been established by scientists for decades. they should not be any equity location about the threat --

equivocation about the threats for thection required next administration. it has been said we are the first to experience the impacts of climate change, withering drought, catastrophic wildfires, unprecedented flooding, and now we all to regular superstorm's ravaging the country and the orld. but we are not the first generation to experience the impacts of our dependency on fossil fuels. the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the lands that sustain us have all been compromised by the pollution created by oil and gas extraction and production. while we all play a price for climate, we must also be clear that some communities have long a greater burden. some communities, some americans, usually low income people of color, some families

and children are literally burying the toxicity of our dependence on false of fuels in their bodies. >> we have a responsibility to act quickly to end our use of dirty fossil fuels and build new ways to power our future. we must fully implement the president's clean power plan cutting dangerous carbon pollution from dirty power plants. we must do it in a way that protects frontline communities providing for a just transition to clean energy. we must ring for energy efficiency standards and feel economy standards for cars and trucks. we must end the fossil fuel subsidies that cost taxpayers $4 billion a year. none of us should ever again be

taxed one dime to subsidize the profits of the richest and most destructive industries in the history of the world. we must end releasing of fossil fuel production on federal lands. it is time to get out of the fossil fuel business and into the business of new jobs and clean energy production from wind, solar, and geothermal. must create the positions to be the leader at supplying clean energy technology, for the world. building a clean energy economy is the greatest economic opportunity in our lifetime and we must push to ensure these new jobs are good middle-class jobs on our soil for our families. the future health of our country and of our families is not only dependent on this bold action, it is dependent on bolstering the framework of environmental

laws and regulations designed to keep us safe and protect us with the most basic and fundamental of environmental rights, the right to breathe clean air and the right to drink safe water. as we have witnessed in the city of flint in these last months it is a calamity this nation must address. is anas happened as injustice. communities where people are treated as though their voices don't matter because they are people of color, because they live in lower income neighborhoods, because the people they elected and the government they pay have betrayed them. bold action is required to fix the aging pipes and punks -- pumps to enforce the standards designed to protect us all. we must strengthen the safe drinking water act and the lead

and copper rule to make more effective in protecting public health. we must enact standards that produce solutions. these protections are common sense but also common decency. bold action is required to confront the devastating reality that even in the greatest country in the world we are failing our fellow citizens in the most basic of environment standards. as people committed to progress in america we cannot stand to see a child unable to drink water from their kitchen tap in flint or anywhere else. we cannot see pollution in waters, and devastating at communities and coasts. we cannot stand to see the most vulnerable among us, our children, our seniors, those in failing house -- failing health confined to inform and to hazards because of their income, heritage, ethnic background, or color.

that is not what justice looks like. it is not what america looks like. we have the opportunity to renew our commitment to each other, to our children, to our country, to renewal and strengthening of the kinds of environment to laws and regulations that are needed to been the arc of history on environmental and human degradation towards a just and sustainable future. thank you very much. [applause] elijah cummings: ambassador chairman. >> i will be brief. all of the testimony today has been compelling and eloquence. we were sitting here talking draft, access to water, access to energy, sanitation, it fuels much of the conflict around the world. it is critical free vpn it states to show leadership

because we have used most of the resources of the world and we have to be the leaders to show how to do this in a just and fair way to workers, to our homes, to our environment. it is important for our discussion of the environment and climate change in the democratic platform that we underscore in terms of conflict around the world and economic justice around the world climate is a fundamental issue. elijah cummings: well stated. any other questions? >> thank you for your powerful testimony. we have so much work to do. it shows today, it showed us yesterday how much work we have to do. what is the single most important step we can take today?

we have a long list of action items that we need to take to protect mother earth, to protect our earth. what would you recommend? >> the single most important step today. of governmentrms actions, we have seen this historic establishment of the first comprehensive framework to it.ess it serves as the bedrock of the leadership we have seen in other nations pretty continuing to ensure that we can keep those standers in place -- standards in place is going to be critical. elijah cummings: thank you very much. thank you. marcus. she was appointed by governor

jerry brown to the california state water resources control board in 2012, designated by the governor in april 2013. the board implemented both federal and state laws regarding drinking water and water quality , it implements the state's water right laws. thank you for being with us. s. marcus. it's an honor to be with you today. i was asked to talk about the extreme drought california is experiencing and offer suggestions for the federal government could do to be of assistance. the short answer is move from 20th century thinking and infrastructure to investment and tools appropriate to the 21st century. all with prioritizing efficiency

and equity. help invest in the transition to more efficient and integrated water management including green infrastructure. take an integrated approach. work with states, local governments to use water in a more sophisticated way to benefit ecosystems, agriculture and domestic use. 1st century tools, develop and disseminate tools for efficiency and treatment using more up-to-date and transparent data and analysis. the california drought is the worst in modern times. we've had for rough years including one with the least snowpack and 500 years. we've had agricultural land fallowed, fish and wildlife decimated. many communities have run out of water and we have been dell offering water to them in

tankards and running pipes. we have seen escalating tensions and we have seen drought angels who have risen to the occasion. in addition to these direct impacts, this drought is the godzilla of a wake-up call for what climate change has in store for us. climate change will bring us years like these more frequently in the decades to come. at a minimum, more precipitation we do get will fall as rain rather than snow. this is a huge deal in the west. in california we rely on our snowpack for one third of our storage in an average year. this is similar to other areas. we depend on snowpack and infrastructure to store and move water to where it is most use and when it is most use, which is not where and when it falls. today's conflicts between ecosystem, agricultural and urban needs will seem like a picnic compared to what is to

come if we do not adapt now. some want us to write off one of their three uses -- those three uses. we rely and need them all. i hope the platform embraces that concept. the natural world sustains us. we are a part of it and i hope the platform declares we can and must have a healthy and vibrant environment, healthy environment economy, and healthy and vibrant people. water is key to all of that. fortunately there is a lot we can do to prepare. efficiency is first and foremost. using less water to meet the same needs is quite doable. , itg water multiple times is very doable. changing what we use it for is definitely doable.

water and more integrated way to make every drop make multiple needs is starting to happen. you will see it in philadelphia. the federal government can be a critical assistant to making this transition. the federal government helps local agencies make enormous .trides those facilities are now outdated including being darn leakey. 10 to 30% of large urban systems were in rural areas. water recycling can yield the next big wave of benefits. it is expensive.

local and state governments are up for it but need the help. the federal loan program needs a boost but we keep hearing it is at risk. it needs flexibility to foster green infrastructure and put a greater focus on disadvantaged communities. 21st century approaches and attitude. green infrastructure has potential as cities moved to a .ne model capturing water and green spaces to move water where it carries a concoction of urban pollutants and where it can percolate into groundwater and be tomorrow supplied. we can get flood control. livablet communities.

one location can be water for a father after it does work for wildlife or after habitat restoration can bring back the biodiversity we lost and depend on. these are complex efforts and require government to come together and deal with complexity, uncertainty and trial and error. there is a key role for the federal government here. partners.lled up 21st century tools -- our research and technology, promote and accelerate innovation. water managers can keep more water in storage versus managing by date and dumping water to avoid flooding that may never come. it can mean remote-sensing, destroying flow gauging to manage our waterways for fish and wildlife farmers in real

time. better systems to access big data for transparency for all. treatment technologies for all ints, particularly disadvantaged communities are essential. more and more contaminants discovered to go beyond what smoke amenities will ever afford. toally, an overlay prioritize disadvantaged communities is essential. california enacted the nation's first human right to water law, director state government to prioritize the issue, and has led to important funding and other actions with more yet to be done.

allowing me to join you. i'm happy to join you as you complete your task. elijah cummings: thank you. questions? how -- how much efficiency were you all able to achieve during the most severe time of the drought? written is more in my testimony. in urban california, they cut back 25%, which is enormous when you think about it. it is by water agencies. 400 that serve over 3000 people. 90% of the water agency volume in california.

we have thousands of water agencies. many of them are very small. they were able to cut back largely by reducing outdoor landscape. ,here was a community communities rose up to save water because they knew it was the right thing to do particularly at a time where they were hearing about rural communities who were without water. took a while to get going and we did have to use top-down regulations to get it going. the public, once we put that data out transparency dustpan transparently, they rose to the -- transparently, they rose to the occasion. we have got to get off our butts and do more about it. >> i want to applaud the city of california and your efforts for

the innovative things california is doing to conserve water. at,uestion, we have looked we have had a lot of testimony on fracking. it takestanding is 160,000 gallons of clean water to frack a single well. in california, doing the positive things to conserve water on the one hand, why would toallow big gas companies consume so much clean water on the other hand in terms of fracking? the second thing, i nt to reiterate the question on earthquakes. oklahoma, for example. we have seen a massive spike in earthquakes in oklahoma. i was wondering how concerned

california is for a spark -- bike in earthquakes in your state by the continued use of hydraulic fracturing. think the amount of water, especially clean water varies from place to place. of thes water but a lot fracking that occurs in california occurs over saline, not using fresh, clean water. i could not say those numbers are correct for much of california. did, we have not picked and chose and exactly what people use water they have a right to. some people wanted us to ban bottled water. it takes more water to make a beer than to make bottled water. i'm not going to ban beer.

circumstances,he the location. in california it is a small percentage. that doesn't mean all water shouldn't be used as wisely as possible and recycled as often as possible but it is less a drought issue then is the larger issue of making sure a regulatory scheme is tight enough and we are in the process of tightening up our management scheme as every other state should be. continuum. it depends on the circumstances. i think mary's answer was largely correct at the moment. we have a large-scale oil and areactivity in a general of many years. i think part of why we came up with such stringent regulations

is known as sb four. .e have tight regulations we are going to have real data ahead of time. they are strict regulatory largely in geothermal with much more engagement from the waterboards than had been the case in the past. especially as it moves into other areas where there may well be seismic risk. that should be something that is expected. we got these regulations because of a threatened mass expansion where it had been, which tends is.e where the mass of that we got this regulatory scheme in advance as we argued people would have wanted a tougher -- we havedvance of been trying to be as tight as we

can on all kinds of regulation including agriculture. elijah cummings: thank you very much. ms. marcus: happy to work with you. elijah cummings: one last question. myi would like to draw --ention of my colleagues you have heard testimony from the public servants. top quality public servants for testimony who are grassroots movement leaders. i would like to remind the committee both of those groups are necessary for solutions we are trying to define here. both of those public servants and grassroots movements are abused by the other political party.

when we write our platform and we talk about our goals, but the means to get there, we should be affirmative about how the intensity of the movements that have brought some people here and the dedication of public servants like these witnesses are both essential to getting those solutions. elijah cummings: i could not agree more. you are absolutely right. thank you very much. [applause] elijah cummings: for the members of the committee, we have two more witnesses. then we will break for lunch. friends of the earth president is a nationally recognized energy subsidies for more than a decade. he has worked to reform u.s. tax and budget policy to reduce

pollution and spark a transition to clean energy. he served as the organization's director of domestic programs. he designed and launched many friends of the earth's campaigns including efforts to bring emerging technologies such as nanotechnology and synthetic biology under greater public and regulatory control. and to reform how the federal government manages and invests in our transportation system. welcome. >> i want to express my deep appreciation for inviting me to be here today to express some of your thoughts on the democratic platform. for those who don't know, we -- we haveanization 750,000 members and activists.

we are part of the world's largest environmental organization with member groups and 75 countries around the world. our mission is to transfer -- champion a just world. since the drafting of the 2012 platform which contained the all the above energy plan, much has changed in the climate movement. a vast movement of grassroots leaders and activists are a poising -- opposing the also fuel industry. this movement success includes plants, down 150 coal

pressuring president obama to stop the keystone xl pipeline, mobilizing 450,000 people at the climate march in new york, fossilg two keep fuels in the ground, and forcing public institutions around the country to divest from. fuel companies. underneath this context of the climate movement i offer the following platform positions to facilitate alignment with the democratic party with these movements. the party platform needs the plan, needs a plan steeped in climate justice and justice for workers and communities in transition from the community. we have to proactively deal with it. the platform must support the repeal of $150 billion in fossil fuel subsidies and end public

financing of fossil fuel exports and implement a carbon tax. is an inferior policy. the platform must support a moratorium on all new federal leasing. keeping fossil fuels in the ground. 450 single step would take billion tons of carbon out of play. we need the moratorium on fracking. it must support significant agricultural reforms to embrace ecological possibles that sequester carbon, create healthier soils, healthier foods and healthier habitats. the platform must make clear the democratic party will not take money from the fossil fuel industry and it supports the efforts of state attorney general's and the department of

justice to investigate exxon for past and ongoing climate fraud. the round of what is possible and necessary is changing at an accelerated pace. it's time for the democratic party to embrace bold solutions and pathways forward that are commensurate with the time it crisis -- climate crisis we face. the instinct of political moderation is inconsistent with atmospheric chemistry, recognizing the climate crisis and offering less than what is necessary. thank you. [applause] thank you very: much. any questions? thank you very much. we have a question? thank you.

witness for the moment batista. she is director of the pediatric residency program, a michigan native. degreened her master's in public health. in addition to educating the next generation of physicians she directs the michigan state advocacy health initiative to research my monitor and mitigate the effects of lead on drinking water. octor.e, d

>> good to see you as well. i would like to begin by thanking the platform committee for inviting me to talk about the flood water crisis. i am pleased you have taught but the crisis in the urgent and ongoing need of the citizens of flint. i appreciate the ability to talk the of video. the flood water crisis touches on some of the issues that are vital to the future of this country including water quality, public health, poverty, justice, and the loss of democracy. prioritiesabout our and how as a nation we have prioritize the future of our children. today in flint we are on our third year of water that is not safe to drink even though many cameras are gone we are in a state of emergency. i was in clinic this morning.

they cannot go to their kitchen without drink tap water a blood filter. despite their efforts i have youressional leadership as have failed to take any action in regards to flint. the origins of the flood water crisis have roots in politics but today issued not be a political issue. in 2011, flint was almost bankrupt. flintost-saving move changed its water source to the local flint river without doing some thing that was necessary, adding corrosion control. that created a perfect storm for led to leak go into our drinking

water and going to the bodies of our children. lead is a potent neurotoxin. lead.is no safe level of we are moving forward. we will not be defined by this crisis. we are hoping to build a model health program, to wrap our whatever willd promote their development. we still need the help of the federal government. the michigan legislature passed a budget that will bring the services. we need long-term commitment and congressional bipartisan support. but we hope to learn we hope to share with the rest of the nation. there are other communities facing led crises and facing issues of extreme poverty.

private --that with rapid cycle initiatives, we can help kids recover and thrive. reinvesting in public health, especially in environmental health, ending childhood ,overty, which is a disease investing in early education. what we do in the first five years of life will mitigate the impact of lead and help promote their development. flint has currently no grocery stores, we need great nutrition to promote children's development and to mitigate the ongoing exposure to lead. and revitalizing the economy. people ask me what is the one thing you would do to help your kid? that is jobs. to boost them out of poverty and

provide support for their family. the crisis is a failure of government and so many levels. only a creative government commitment will rebuild flint and restore the shaken trust. we are committed to not being defined by this crisis but our response to this crisis. -- the wordworld flint will be synonymous with hope and recovery. smart, strongr and beautifully resilient children will continue to thrive. thank you for the opportunity to testify today. elijah cummings: thank you very much. >> i want to tell you how proud i am of you and the work you are doing in flint, for the nation.

it's an economic crisis and now an environmental disaster. ira member when flint was a thriving community. on top of this we have this crisis. i want you to think down the , 20 years, a minute if we don't do something. what happens to the children of of flintow who have -- now who are living this nightmare? where do they go? what becomes of flint if we don't, and are there things we can be doing for these children now? are the things we can do that would help in some cases remediate the damage that has been done to their young lives? >> that is a great question. not always mean

disaster. it used to have the highest per capita income in the nation. because of the investment which poverty, he created this crisis. this is a buildup of so many economic issues. if we do nothing we will see the concert once is of lead poisoning. it decreases children's iq. it decreases the economic potential and causes lifelong trajectory altering consequences. that is if we do nothing. we have the potential to do something. science has taught us brain can be related in the early years. if we throw every intervention at these children now, nutrition, health care, we can

mitigate the impact of this exposure. .t is irreversible we can definitely mitigate it and limit the impact. that is what we need to do. these kids did nothing wrong besides live in a poor city that did not treat its water properly. we go with to them to mitigate this. we are going to be sharing our experiences. >> i wanted to thank you for all you have done and continue to do. --aid that when it down was when i was in flint. some folks in our country don't mind other americans being collateral damage. that is a strong phrase but it is real. we're going to continue to fight . thank you very much. thank you.

[applause] we are going to break for lunch. we will come back and exactly one hour. that is about five after. thank you. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2016]

>> of this hearing on the it continues in about an hour.

a lunch break now in phoenix. members should be back at 6:05 eastern time. we will continue our live coverage, live with the hearing as it continues tomorrow at noon. the democrats are holding a series of that for meetings across the country. this is focused on health and safety, energy and the environment, and campaign finance reform and voter for dissipation. frackingwriting that and the environment are said to be one of the most contentious that'll grounds for hillary clinton and bernie sanders as they seek to craft the democratic party platform. the story says the candidates have clashed over hydraulic fracturing and fossil fuel production during the campaign. both have appointed officials to the platform committee who share their views. appointed bill

350.org.who cofounded hillary clinton's appointee is carol browner. she has said the federal government should regulate fracking. you will get to hear the debate and tenure as we continue the hearing. 6:05coverage resuming at here on c-span today. during the break we will take a look at an online video from senator bernie sanders from last night. >> good evening and thank you very much for joining me. the election day has come and gone. social revolution that attempt to transform our society never end. they continue every day, every week and every month in the fight to create a nation and world of social and economic

justice. that is what the civil rights movement is about. that is what the women's movement is about. that is what the environmental movement is about. that is what this campaign has been about over the past year. that is what the political revolution is about. that is why the political revolution must continue into the future. real chain never -- will change never takes place from the top down or in the living rooms of wealthy campaign contributors. it happens from the bottom-up up when tens of millions of people say loudly and clearly enough is enough, and they become engaged in the fight for justice. that is what the political revolution we have started is about. that is why the political

revolution must continue. when we began this campaign a little over a year ago we had no political organization, no money and little name recognition. the media determined we were a french campaign. nobody thought we were going anywhere. a lot has changed over a year. during this campaign we won more than 12 million votes. andant 22 state primaries caucuses. we can close in five states. -- we came close in five states. it is not some kind of french idea. it is not a radical idea. it is mainstream. it is what millions of americans believe in and want to seeing happened. something else important happened in this campaign that

makes me optimistic about the future of our country, something that frankly i had not anticipated. wevirtually every state contested we won the overwhelming majority of the votes of people 45 years of age or younger. by huges, may i say, numbers. these are the people determined to shape the future of our country. these are the people who are the future of our country. campaign 1.5his million people came out to our rallies in almost every state in the country. hundreds of thousands of volunteers made 75 million phone calls, 75 million phone calls urging fellow citizens into action.

together our canvases -- canvassers knocked on 5 million doors, we hosted 74,000 meetings in every state and territory in this country. peopler, 2.5 million made over 8 million individual campaign contributions, more contributions at this point that any campaign in american history. amazingly, the bulk of those contributions came from low income and working people whose donations average $27 apiece. we showed the world we could run forrong national campaign -- without big money

interests. from seniors and disabled that's on social security, from workers earning starvation wages, and even people who were unemployed. in every single state that we contested we took on virtually the entire political establishment. u.s. senator, members of congress, governors, mayors, state legislators and local party leaders. to those relatively few elected officials who had the courage to stand with us i say thank you. thank you, and we must continue working together into the future. this campaign has never been about any single candidate. it has always been about transforming america. it is about ending a

campaign-finance system which is corrupt and allows billionaires to buy elections. it is about ending the grotesque level of wealth and income inequality that we are experiencing where almost all new wealth and income goes to the people on top, the 20 wealth these people own more wealth than the bottom hundred 50 million people. it is about creating an economy that works for all of us, not just the 1%. it is about ending the disgrace of native americans who live on the pine ridge, south dakota reservation having a life expectancy lower than many third world countries. it is about ending the incredible despair that exists in many parts of this country where as a result of unemployment and low wages suicide, drugs and alcohol, millions of americans are now way. in a historic

at a younger age than their parents. people today by the millions dying at a lower age than their parents. it is about ending the disgrace of having the highest level of childhood poverty of almost any major country honors -- on earth and having public schools that are totally failing our children , where kids now stand a greater thane of ending up in jail ending up with a college degree. the disgracending that millions of undocumented people in this country continue to live in fear and are exploited every day on their jobs because they have no legal rights. disgraceut ending the of tens of thousands of yearcans dying every

from preventable deaths because they either lack health insurance, have high deductibles or cannot afford the outrageously high cost of the prescription drugs they need. tens of thousands of americans dying needlessly. it is about ending the disgrace of hundreds of houses of bright, young people unable to go to college because their families are poor or working class. while millions struggle with suffocating levels of student debt. ofis about ending the pain the young single mother in nevada in tears telling me she doesn't know how she and her daughter can make it on the $10, $.45 an hour -- $10.45 an hour she earns. millions of our fellow americans are working wages that are much, much too low.

it is about ending t disgrace of a mother in flint, michigan telling me what has happened to the intellectual development of her child as a result of excessive lead in the water in that city. of many thousands of homes in california and other communities where people are unable to drink the polluted water that comes out of their faucets. in america, in the year 2016, in a nation whose infrastructure is crumbling before our eyes. it is about ending the disgrace that too many veterans still sleep out on the streets, that homelessness is increasing, that tens of millions of americans, because of a lack of affordable housing are now paying 40, 50% or more of their limited incomes to put a roof over their heads. it is about ending the disgrace

,hat in a given year corporations making billions of dollars in profit avoid paying a nickel and federal taxes because they stash their money in the cayman islands and other tax havens. aboutampaign is also defeating donald trump. the republican candidate for president. after centuries of racism, sexism, and discrimination of all forms in our country we do not need a major party candidate who makes bigotry the cornerstone of his campaign. we cannot have a president who insults mexicans, latinos, muslims, women, african-americans. we cannot have a president to in the midst of so much income and wealth inequality wants to give hundreds of billions of dollars in tax breaks to the very very

rich. we cannot have a president who despite all of the scientific evidence believes climate change is a hoax. the major political task of that together we face in the next five months is to make certain donald trump is defeated and defeated badly. i personally intend to begin my role in that process in a short time. defeating donald trump cannot be our only goal. we must continue our grassroots effort to create the america that we know we can become. energy into that the democratic national convention on july 25 in philadelphia where we will have more than 1900 delegates. i recently had the opportunity to meet with secretary clinton

and discuss some of the important issues facing our country and the democratic party. it is no secret secretary clinton and i have strong disagreements on some very, very important issues. it is also true our views are quite close on others. i look forward in the coming discussion tonued make sure your voices are heard and the democratic party passes the most progressive platform in its history, and democrats actually fight for that agenda. i also look forward to working with secretary clinton to transform the democratic party so that it becomes a party of working people and young people, and not just wealthy campaign contributors. a party that has the guts to take on wall street, the

pharmaceutical industry, the fossil fuel industry, and the other powerful special interests that dominate so much of our political and economic life. as i have said throughout this campaign the democratic party must support raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour and increase -- create millions of jobs rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure. we must ensure women will no longer make $.79 on the dollar compared to men and that we fight for pay equity. we must fight to make certain women throughout this country have the right to control their own bodies. we must protect the right of our gay brothers and sisters to marriage equality in every state in america. tragedy in orlando has made crystal-clear, we must

ban the sale and distribution of assault weapons and the gun show -- in the gun show loophole, and expand background checks. we must defeat the transpacific partnership. and make certain bad trade deals lame-duck a vote in a session of congress. the tpp must not come to the floor. efforts toist all cut social security and expand benefits for our senior citizens and disabled veterans. greed andderstand the illegal behavior on wall street has to end. we need to pass a glass-steagall legislation and break up the biggest financial institutions in this country who not only remain too big to fail, but who

prevent the vigorous competition that a healthy financial system requires. we must aggressively combat climate change and transform our energy system, move energy efficiency and sustainable tax on and impose a carbon. , we mustthat further protect our water supply by banning fracking. effectively in a global economy by making public colleges and universities tuition free and substantially reduce student debt. we must join in the rest of the industrialized world and guarantee health care to all of our people as a right, not a privilege. we must end the disgrace of having more people in jail than

any other country on earth, and move to real criminal justice reform that -- at the federal, state and local levels. comprehensive immigration reform. we must take a hard look at the waist, cost overruns and inefficiencies in every branch of government, including the department of defense and we must make certain our brave young men and women in the military are not thrown into perpetual warfare in the middle east or other wars that we should not be fighting. the political revolution means much more than fighting for our ideals at the dnc and defeating donald trump. every level we continue

the fight to make our society a , social, andnomic environmental justice, that we can no longer ignore the fact that sadly the current democratic party leadership has turned its back on dozens of states and has allowed right-wing politicians to win elections in some states with virtually no opposition, including some of the poorer states in our country. the democratic party needs a 50 state strategy. we may not win in every state tomorrow but we will never win unless we recruit good candidates and develop organizations that compete effectively in the future. we must provide resources to those states which have been ignored. the democratic party needs

leadership, which is prepared to open its doors and welcome into its ranks working people and young people. that is the energy we need to transform the democratic party, take on the special interests and transform our country. here is a cold hard fact that must be addressed. 2009, 900 legislative seats have been lost to republicans in state after state throughout this country. the republican party controls 31 state legislatures and controls the governors mansions and statehouses in 23 states. that is unacceptable. we need to start engaging at the local and state level in an unprecedented way. hundreds of thousands of volunteers helped us make

political history during this last year. these are people deeply concerned about the future of our country and about their own communities. now we need many of them to start running for school boards, city councils, county commissions, state legislatures and governorships. state and local governments make important decisions and we cannot allow right-wing republicans to increasingly control them. i hope very much many of you watching tonight are prepared to engage at that level. go to my website, berniesanders.com/win to learn more about how you can effectively run for office or get involved in politics at the local or state level. i have no doubt with the energy and enthusiasm, our campaign has

shown we can win significant numbers of local and state elections if people are prepared to become involved. people will give serious look to running for statewide offices and the united states congress. we need new we need new blood in the political process, and you are that new blood. and when we talk about transforming america, it is not just about elections. many of our republican colleagues believe that government is the enemy, that we need to eviscerate and privatize virtually all aspects of government, whether it is social security, medicare, the veterans administration, the environmental protection agency, the postal service, or public education. i strongly disagree. in a democratic civilized society, government must play an enormously important role in protecting us.

for government to work efficiently, we need to attract great and dedicated people from all walks of life. we need people who are dedicated to public service, and to provide the services we need in a high quality and efficient way. when we talk about a medicare for all health care program, and the need to make sure all of our people have quality health care, it means that we need tens of thousands of new doctors, and nurses, and dentists, and psychologists, and medical personnel were prepared to -- who are prepared to practice in areas where people lack access to the care. we need hundreds of thousands of people to become childcare workers and teachers, so that our young people get the best education available in the world. it means that as we combat climate change and transform our energy system away from fossil

fuels, we need scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs who will help us make energy efficiency, solar energy, wind energy, geothermal, and other developing technologies as efficient and cost-effective as possible. it means that as we rebuild our crumbling infrastructure, we need millions of skilled and well-trained construction workers of all kinds. it means that when we talk about growing our economy and creating jobs, we need great business people who can produce and distribute the products and services that we need, in a way that respects their employees and the environment. in other words, we need a new generation of people, actively involved in public service, who are prepared to provide for quality of life the american people deserve. let me conclude by once again

thanking everyone was helped in this campaign, in one way or another. we have begun the long and arduous process of transforming america. a fight that will continue tomorrow, next week, next year, and into the future. my hope is that when future historians look back and describe how our our country move forward into reversing the drift towards oligarchy, and how we move forward crating a government represents all of the people and not just a few, that they will note that to a significant degree, that effort began with a political revolution of 2016. thank you all, very much. good night. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2016] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its

caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] announcer: with the political primary season over, c-span's road to the white house takes you to the conventions. july 18, live coverage from cleveland. mr. trump: we are going to the convention will matter what happens, and i think we are going to go in so strong. announcer: and coverage from philadelphia. go in, let'slet's win the nomination. mr. sanders: and then we take our fight for the social, economic, racial, and environmental justice to philadelphia. announcer: every minute of the republican and democratic party convention on c-span, c-span radio, and that c-span.org.

all roads to the democratic convention start here at the hearings where the democratic party puts together its platform. in phoenix is in a break now. it's lunchtime in phoenix. more live coverage is coming up about half an hour from now at 6:05 p.m. eastern on c-span. some of the witnesses still to donna crane from naral pro-choice america, georgetown public policy professor judy feder, and daniel martinez, the arizona president for aarp while we wait for live coverage to continue, here is some of the platform hearing from earlier today. >> good morning. and well to the democratic national committee southwest for 2016 platform.

i am congressman elijah cummings of marilyn. it is an honor to chair this panel, participate in this and i welcome all of you to these very important proceedings. i would like to call this forum of the 2016 drafting committee to order. would everyone now please stand to pledge allegiance to the flag. >> i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, with liberty and justice for all. >> on behalf of my colleagues on ,he platform drafting committee

i welcome you as we continue the series of regional events designed to hear from democrats on key issues affecting their families, their communities, our nation, and indeed the world. will continue this open and transparent process and allow ample opportunity for every raised and to be heard. before proceeding with today's events, we must take a moment to recognize the senseless tragedy that took place in orlando last weekend. americansinnocent lost their lives in an act of hatred. we grieve for those who were killed and the families and loved ones left behind. moment of silence

to honor those 49 victims, please. thank you very much. before asking the democratic national convention committee ceow toe bring welcome remarks on behalf of the partylcome ceo to bring welcome remarks in behalf of the party, i want forhank her again publicly her leadership on the convention and its many components. it is my pleasure to welcome my colleagues on the committee, other democrats who join us today, and members of the public as we begin these discussions about the future of the democratic party and the future of this great nation. leah.

>> good morning. thank you, chairman cummings, for your warm welcome, and for your leadership that you have provided over so many decades to this nation and now to our drafting committee. we appreciate you and thank you for your service. last weekend, our nation stood still as news of yet another horrific act of violence, hatred, and terrorism flashed across our screens. all of our hearts break for the victims of this horrendous attack in orlando and the families who now must daily grapple with the reality that their loved ones has been snatched from them sensitively and too soon -- senselessly and too soon. since last weekend, we have heard many offer good thoughts and prayers and well wishes for

the families who are navigating their way through this tragedy. and this is good and heartfelt, and appreciated, i'm sure. but i would suggest the good thoughts, while well-intentioned, and the prayers, while well-meaning, are not enough. faith without works is dead. and just as thoughts without action is meaningless. it is unconscionable, that in this, the greatest country in the world, deadly weapons can be more easily obtained in the plane tickets we got to get here. but i am a prisoner of hope, so i believe, if we stand together, in one voice, with one intention, we can make our communities safe again. and we must respond to this tragedy by showing those who

seek to defy us who we truly are, and inclusive nation that -- divide us who we truly are, and inclusive nation that embraces all americans, not in spite of, but because of who they are. in many ways, that is why we are here today, to assure that when democrats gather in philadelphia 38 days from now, we are able to present a national platform that is representative of our party's commitment to that of american's most enduring value, that of we the people. when we say, we the people, when we profess a commitment to we the people, we mean all the people. as the party that embraces and celebrate our differences, we are committed to addressing the needs of all of our people. that commitment means we are

intently focused on protecting the needs of all americans and expanding their access to the democratic process. this is not without its challenges but it is a fundamental element of who we are. a vital component of protecting and expanding access is ensuring that no american is denied the most basic promise of our constitutional democracy, the right to vote. after all, the right to vote is the foundation of our arm of -- form of government, and defending that right is part of our never ending effort to create a more perfect union. men and women have fought, marched, bled, and died to gain and protect the right to vote. as democrats, we stand firmly against all attempts to prevent americans from exercising their right. every american should be able to vote for the candidates that represent them.

every american, the least, the last, the lost, the lockdown, the left behind, the young and the old, the formerly incarcerated, the business owner in a day laborer, every american deserves to have their voice heard. as a person of faith, i believe every person has a divine purpose and defined value. every single person is important and we have no one to waste. we have a responsibility to treat our sisters and brothers equally and to do everything within our power's to help everyone achieve their god-given potential. i am proud to join with the members of the drafting committee and members of this community to ensure our national platform, our party statement of principles and values, is forged with consideration of every voice in our party.

today, we will continue the substantive exchange of ideas that we began last week in washington, d.c., and i look forward to hearing the voices today, and more importantly, the heart from democrats, about our policy and party, and how we can adopt issue that will build on the success we have experienced over the last eight years. as republicans focus on what divides us, we will focus on how we can bring americans together and expand access and strengthen letters of opportunity for all americans. thank you. rep. cummings: thank you very much, leah. i would like to thank the individuals you will hear from today, for making time to share their perspectives and recommendations on the issues confronting americans. we appreciate you sharing your expertise and look forward to hearing from you throughout the forum. i'm also delighted to thank the more than 1000 individuals from 43 states and the district of

columbia, who have taken the time to share your comments, post written and video testimony, on the dnc see website, in addition to welcoming those of you here to phoenix, arizona. i am delighted to acknowledge those of you joining us today to the dnc see live stream on demconvention.com. as democrats, we are committed to addressing the concerns of people's lives, the challenges they face every day, the problems their children face, education and well-being, health and safety of seniors, the opportunities available in our communities in our nation's future. among others, we began last week by hearing testimony and recommendations on leveling the playing field, moving america forward. america's role in the world over

the next two days, we will hear from policy experts, community leaders, advocates on energy and the environment, health, safety. protecting the expanding our democracy. the democratic party platform is not about any one of us sitting around this table. it is so much bigger than all of us. it is about the people, and with the platform being a covenant of our shared and elected values, it's important the process captures the energy and the birth of the party -- breadth of the party. this will allow us to bring together our best inking with a focus on solutions. so it gives me great pleasure. we are really, very pleased to have a special guest with us today. that is the mayor of phoenix,

mayor greg stanton. mayor stanton, since taking office in 2012 has worked tirelessly to build a modern economy that works for every phoenix family by boosting trade with mexico, investing in biosciences and lifting of local small businesses. mayor stanton is leading the way to create an innovation-based export economy built to last. mayor stanton is committed to making our community a more welcoming and open place. under his leadership, phoenix became the first u.s. city to end chronic homelessness among veterans. phoenix also earned national recognition as a leader on lgbt issues, and became the first arizona city to earn a perfect score's on the human rights campaign municipal quality

index. thank you, mayor. mayor stanton: thank you for the kind introduction. welcome to the greatest city in the united states of america, phoenix, arizona. [applause] we do not give up easy. we finished second in the competition for the 2016 democratic convention. i want to be the first to welcome you to the home of the 2020 democratic convention here in phoenix. also, welcome to the fastest-growing big city post-world war ii in the united states of america. the future of phoenix, arizona is the future of the united states of america in so many ways. people are voting with their feet to move to the southwestern united states. we are so blessed to have incredible diversity here in our city. i'm confident with the intellectual and policy firepower that this committee will provide to our party, we will be successful in the most important election in our

lifetime. congressman, you mentioned a couple of issues that are so important to the people of this party, and therefore the people of this country, and certainly important to the people of the city. i want to thank you in advance for your support of the veterans across the united states of america which i know will be an important part of our platform. in phoenix, we were proud to accept president obama's challenge. he challenged every city to end chronic homelessness among veterans, which is such a sad issue. i'm proud to say phoenix was the first in the united dates of america to end chronic homelessness among our veteran population. i want to think this committee who showed support for people. you understand that supporting people is great for the economy of the united states of america.

we understand that in cities. that is why i became mayor, support for lgbt communities was so important. phoenix, arizona the last three years has gotten a perfect score from the human rights campaign quality index. the same as san francisco, los angeles, new york. phoenix, arizona, we accomplish that. i want to thank you for doing so much to support the issue of climate change. we think of climate change in the context of how it affects cities in the coastal areas because of rising ocean lines. in phoenix, arizona, with the heat you will experience over your few days here, earlier than we normally get, rising temperatures, drought is a huge issue in this community directly as a result of climate change. the policies that you adopt here, the policies of our party, are directly going to benefit us here in the desert southwest, on the issue of climate change and climate resiliency. i want to thank you in advance in that regard. phoenix did win the award from the u.s. conference of mayors or having the strongest climate change policies in the united states of america as a city.

congressman cummings, gutierrez, thank you for your leadership on comprehensive immigration reform. as i told you privately, when that is successful, and it will be successful, no city in the united dates will benefit more economically from comprehensive immigration reform than phoenix, because of the wonderful diversity we are so blessed to have, including a city that is soon to be a majority latino city. finally, i want to think this committee in advance for what you would do to support infrastructure investment across the united states of america. in phoenix, we just passed the largest transportation infrastructure investment in the united states of america. a 35-year $32 billion transportation infrastructure investment. we want to pull the amount of

light rail, increase the amount of bus service, 1000 miles of bike lanes, make the city more walkable, provide services for our citizens that happen to have disabilities. we are going big on transportation because we know how important it is to connect people to education and jobs. those in a position to afford a car or want to utilize transportation, i want to think the committee for that. the policy recommendations you will make will be great for cities across america and therefore great for our country. welcome to phoenix. have a great view days of meetings. you will hear from some of the most talented people in our community that i have the benefit to work with here in the city. we have a thriving and passionate democratic here in the state of arizona. welcome to phoenix.

rep. cummings: as i was listening to you, i often think of washington, what cannot be done, so thank you for doing things and create models for the entire nation. we really do appreciate the hospitality. before i get started, i want to have them introduce themselves, the members of this very distinguished drafting committee. they are putting in tremendous amounts of time, taking time away from their families, from their normal jobs, because they want to make sure that we as a party create a meaningful platform, not just with regard to the next four years, but are the next generation and beyond. so it gives me tremendous honor to have them introduce themselves, the members of the drafting committee of the platform committee.

>> thank you, mr. chairman. i am the policy director for senator bernie sanders. it's a pleasure to be here in phoenix, thank you. >> i am state of ohio. it is great to be here, thank you for welcoming us. >> deborah parker, member of the tribe. i want to thank the southwest indigenous tribes for honoring us and allowing us on to their traditional territory today. thank you. from two schaefer, battleground states, florida and north carolina. happy to be here, thank you. >> congressman luis gutierrez from chicago. happy to be here with all of you. >> irene and clifton's son.

teacher and citizen. >> president of the center for american progress. great to be here. >> wendy sherman, former undersecretary of state for political affairs. delighted to be here today. >> president of the american arab institute. thank you for the very warm welcome. [laughter] >> american federation of state county, and municipal employees of phoenix. i am glad to be here, too. >> barbara lee, members of congress. i represent the progressive 13th district of california. happy to be here in phoenix. my late mother lived in sun city many years ago, so i have visited many times. thank you for your hospitality. >> bill mckibben from the cool and verdant mountains of vermont.

>> my harris, senior policy advisor for hillary clinton. honor to be here. rep. cummings: thank you very much. howard berman could not be with us here today. keith ellison and carol browner will be joining us later in the proceedings. again, i want to thank all of the committee members for being a part of this very important committee. also seated with us are two of the many individuals giving our staff support throughout this weekend. andrew grossman and patrice taylor. andrew is a national platform director. patrice is the director of the dnc office of party affairs and delegate selection. the staff has been absolutely wonderful, done a tremendous job. let me take a moment also to thank debbie wasserman schultz for her tremendous leadership.

she and i have been talking almost every day trying to make sure these proceedings are transparent, open, and fair. i want to thank her for her tremendous leadership. finally, i'm pleased to introduce our parliamentarian. hopefully, she will not have too much work to do. helen mcfadden is the dnc's parliamentarian and has served in this role for many years and can help us navigate any parliamentary issues that may arise. today and tomorrow, helen will serve as our timekeeper and i remind the audience and members that we have -- today, we will be hearing from 41 witnesses. so we are going to be moving rapidly because we want to hear from everyone.

let me just take a moment to remind us that what we do is so important. the idea that a year ago today, in south carolina, at immanuel church, nine people were slain while sitting in a church basement. so we have to really look at our nation and try to figure out how we address these issues. we cannot just continue to turn our heads away from them. the purpose of the hearing today, the same as last week, is to solicit testimony from individuals and organizations regarding the content of the party's 2016 national platform. each speaker has been given

three minutes for a formal statement. following each presentation, or at the conclusion of the final speaker, time will be allowed for questions from the committee members. i want to remind the speakers that we have your written testimony, so you don't have to read your testimony. you can just come and give us a summary. i think most of the members have questions, we will not be able to get to all the questions, but we would do the best we can. we have a busy and compact hearing schedule today. each presentation will be timed and each speaker should adjust accordingly. once again, this undertaking is serious business. as democrats, we need to keep in mind, the differences we may have our relatively small.

while we may be passionate in our opinions and beliefs, let us conduct is process with a quorum with respect for each other and for those who are taking time to speak to us. so we will begin today with session four. today we begin the energy and environment part of the presentation. a theme that touches each and every one of us, whether we live in city, suburbs, communities, all americans want to know energy sources -- that energy sources are available and cost-effective. the environment is respected and preserved for our children and children's children . notone once said that we do inherit our environment from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. group of speakers will share with us some of the approach is and vehicles needed to make that happen. our first witness will be madeleine foot of the ue