November 19, 2019 9:30 a.m. 
Congressman Peter DeFazio announced on Monday that he is an original cosponsor of The Green New Deal for Public Housing Act.
A release from the Fourth District Democrat said that the legislation aims to retrofit, rehabilitate, and decarbonize the nation’s public housing stock.
DeFazio said “climate change is an existential threat to humanity”. He said “we need to look for opportunities in every sector of our government and economy to make dramatic changes to reduce carbon emissions and improve sustainability and resiliency”. DeFazio said the benefit of the Green New Deal for Public Housing is that it also creates thousands of good paying jobs and invests in “our vulnerable communities”.
The release said as Chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, DeFazio is working to create a “21st century transportation bill where renewable energy will play a major role”.
The release said the legislation invests in sustainable retrofits and renewable energy sources, eliminates carbon emissions and provides funding to electrify buildings in federal public housing. DeFazio’s release said the bill would improve living conditions for nearly 2 million people living in roughly 1 million public homes across the country.