The climate crisis is real, human-made, and already reshaping our lives. Meeting this moment requires more than small fixes. It requires the clean re-industrialization of our country toward a sustainable future. I support a bold federal green jobs program that puts people to work tackling climate change while strengthening our communities.

That requires a just transition: retraining workers, paying people to go back to school, and investing in industries that heal our planet: clean energy, climate resilience, public transit, and environmental restoration. These must be the union jobs of the future. As such, we should empower the genius in working people to do living wage, unionized work that is both extremely urgent and socially beneficial, not trap them in the fossil fuel jobs of the 20th century. 

We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver the largest investment in union jobs, wages, and training since the New Deal. This is our chance to build an economy that prioritizes working families, protects our planet, and leaves no one behind.

As your congressman, I will advocate for legislation that achieves the following policy goals:

Reaching Net-Zero Emissions by 2030: Rapidly decarbonizing every sector of our economy is needed if we are to have any hope of achieving net-zero greenhouse gases by 2030. This involves banning new fossil fuel leasing on federal land and waters and instead building renewable energy infrastructure, electrifying vehicles and new buildings (while also retrofitting existing ones), and requiring 100% clean electricity on the grid.

Actualizing the Green New Deal: In order to enact a Green New Deal, we need to mobilize our society at the scale of previous world wars through training, jobs programs, and clean re-industrial investment. Building upon the Biden Administration’s proposal, I will seek to make permanent a civilian climate corps that regularly hires thousands of disadvantaged and young workers for insulation retrofits, natural restoration, and public transit expansion. All projects will use Project Labor Agreements to guarantee competitive wages and prioritize local hiring.

Financing Public Ownership: The green energy revolution will not be funded by the market alone. We need to diversify public funding and programs to meet our ambitious environmental targets of reaching net-zero emissions by 2030, as well as ensuring the clean re-industrialization of our economy and a just transition for workers. As a result, as your representative in Congress, I will support the establishment of a Green Infrastructure Bank to fund mass transit & renewables and a Climate Jobs Trust to finance green manufacturing products & services.

Building Transit-Oriented Public Housing: We need to aggressively build and upgrade millions of affordable, climate-resilient homes that are connected to public transportation in order to meet our goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2030. This means I will support the implementation of a Federal Green Public Housing program to retrofit existing housing with insulation, heat pumps, and solar panels under strong tenant protections laws. Since new housing is needed to help solve our affordability crisis, all new buildings must be built with better insulation standards, which will cut occupants’ heating/cooling needs and thus reduce the buildings’ carbon footprint. In addition, I will work to guarantee free or subsidized local transit passes for all, since public transit reduces emissions. Finally, I will push for the construction of electrified Amtrak rail to connect Massachusetts to New York and DC.

Respecting Indigenous Sovereignty: As a Bolivian-American with Indigenous heritage, I affirm the full authority that Native Americans have over projects on their lands and waters. As your Congressman, I will work to make sure that no federal project proceeds without the free, prior, and informed consent of the relevant tribal community. I will also look to invest in community-led solutions, for example, funding to revive traditional water management and land stewardship practices.

Renewing the Federal Government’s Commitment to Conservation: The federal government has a long and admirable history of promoting conservation of our federal lands and wetlands. But we need to go further. As your representative in Congress, I will advocate for legislation that adopts circular economy mandates such as extended producer responsibility, the “right to repair,” and zero waste targets for major sectors of our economy, including phasing out single-use plastics and requiring that federal contractors use recycled content. In land use, I will make permanent the protection of our federal forests & wetlands — prohibiting logging or mining in these precious ecosystems.

Ensuring Transparent Resilience & Climate Adaptation: In the face of the Trump Administration’s unprecedented attack on public funding of science and basic research, I will advocate for transparent, science-based resilience standards for our Green New Deal. In order to ensure accountability, federal agencies will be legally required to publish emissions data & progress reports online. A public “Climate Scorecard” will be used to show whether agencies met annual goals. In addition, I will work to ensure that all FEMA grants and new construction must meet flood & heat-resilient design standards, with funding prioritizing regions hardest hit by climate disasters, based on data (NOAA, FEMA risk maps, etc.). Finally, I will mandate climate disclosure for corporations, empowering investors and consumers who are abiding by ESG best practices.

Leading Internationally on Climate: As your representative in Congress, I will lobby the President to rejoin global climate treaties and press for a global price on carbon. I will also support legislation that cancels fossil subsidies abroad, helps fund developing countries’ clean energy transition and climate adaptation, and works with allies to cut global aviation and shipping emissions.