Opening Statement by Chitra Kumar, Assistant Director of the Office of Environmental Justice at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, at the U.S. Presentation to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination concerning the U.S. Report on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD Report)
As Submitted for the Record
Madame Chair, Chairperson, Members of the Committee I am Chitra Kumar, Assistant Director of the Office of Environmental Justice at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Environmental justice issues are complex and are rooted in generations of inequities and injustice.
To address them, the United States is refocusing its efforts to bring justice to communities experiencing the worst impacts of environmental pollution and public health crises.
The EPA is committed to protecting human health and the environment for all persons in the United States – regardless of race, color, national origin, disability, sex, or age.
We are doing this by:
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Funding capacity building of underserved communities;
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Investing in resilient, equitable infrastructure;
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Addressing disproportionate impacts;
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Supporting efforts of states and tribes;
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Strengthening our civil rights program; and
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Enforcing civil rights laws.
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It is now my pleasure to introduce my colleague, Jessica Marcella, of the Department of Health and Human Services.
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