{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://norton.house.gov/media/press-releases/norton-urges-president-biden-create-interagency-working-group-climate-change", "Norton Urges President Biden to Create Interagency Working Group on Climate Change and Migration", "2023-05-01", "2023", "2023-05", "Democrat", "House", "DC", "Eleanor Holmes Norton", "N000147", "norton.house.gov", "norton", "https://norton.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today sent a letter to President Biden, signed by 46 other members of Congress, urging creation of an interagency working group on climate change and migration that would better protect populations displaced by weather-related disasters and support efforts to build resilience in the United States and across the world. A 2021 White House report recommended the creation of a standing interagency policy process on Climate Change and Migration to coordinate the U.S.'s response to migration resulting from climate change, but such a process has yet to be established.\n\n\u201cClimate change is creating a widespread humanitarian crisis, as weather-related disasters, drought, famine and rising sea levels increasingly force individuals across the world to leave their homes,\u201d Norton wrote. \u201cThe scale of the challenge requires coordination among different parts of the U.S. government, which is why an interagency working group is necessary.\u201d\n\nThe full letter follows.\n\nMay 1, 2023\n\nThe Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr.\n\nPresident of the United States\n\n1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW\n\nWashington, DC 20500\n\nDear Mr. President:\n\nWe ask that you establish a standing interagency working group on climate change and migration pursuant to your administration\u2019s recommendation in the 2021 \u201cReport on the Impact of Climate Change on Migration.\u201d By establishing the interagency group, the administration can respond to the urgency of climate displacement with policies that support climate-affected communities and individuals in building resilience in the United States and across the world.\n\nClimate change is creating a widespread humanitarian crisis, as weather-related disasters, drought, famine and rising sea levels increasingly force individuals across the world to leave their homes. The Norwegian Refugee Council\u2019s Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre estimates that weather-related events have displaced 5.9 million people. The scale of the challenge requires coordination among different parts of the U.S. government, which is why an interagency working group is necessary.\n\nWe applaud Executive Order 14013, \u201cRebuilding and Enhancing Programs to Resettle Refugees and Planning for the Impact of Climate Change on Migration,\u201d which directs the National Security Advisor to prepare a report on climate change and its impact on migration. Similarly, we commend the publication of the White House\u2019s \u201cReport on the Impact of Climate Change on Migration,\u201d which recognized that \u201c[t]he climate crisis is reshaping our world, as the Earth\u2019s climate is now changing faster than at any point in the history of modern civilization.\u201d[1] One of the report\u2019s key recommendations is the establishment of \u201ca standing interagency policy process on Climate Change and Migration to coordinate U.S. Government efforts to mitigate and respond to migration resulting from the impacts of climate change that brings together representatives across the scientific, development, humanitarian, and peace and security elements of the U.S. Government.\u201d[2] As the report recognizes, \u201c[p]ro-active coordination, coherent policy, and effective programming across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus . . . is essential to address migration and displacement issues . . . .\u201d[3] This report marks the first time the U.S. government officially reported on the link between climate change and migration.\n\nWe urge you to establish the interagency working group to scale up coordination efforts to protect climate displaced individuals. Furthermore, we request that the interagency working group publicly identify its members and share a proposed timeline for its work. Given that climate change and climate-related events will grow in severity, the interagency working group can provide a venue for developing long-term strategies consistent with the evolving scientific understanding of climate impacts and respect for human rights.\n\nThank you for your consideration.\n\nSincerely,\n\nEleanor Holmes Norton\n\nJames P. McGovern\n\nJill Tokuda\n\nRa\u00fal M. Grijalva\n\nNydia M. Vel\u00e1zquez\n\nJes\u00fas G. \u201cChuy\u201d Garc\u00eda\n\nJan Schakowsky\n\nPaul D. Tonko\n\nDwight Evans\n\nMelanie Stansbury\n\nNanette Diaz Barrag\u00e1n\n\nJamaal Bowman, Ed.D.\n\nStephen F. Lynch\n\nAdam Smith\n\nYvette D. Clarke\n\nVeronica Escobar\n\nLloyd Doggett\n\nJuan Vargas\n\nKatie Porter\n\nAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez\n\nValerie P. Foushee\n\nSydney Kamlager-Dove\n\nRashida Tlaib\n\nAdriano Espaillat\n\nGreg Casar\n\nAdam B. Schiff\n\nBonnie Watson Coleman\n\nJennifer L. McClellan\n\nChrissy Houlahan\n\nGlenn Ivey\n\nEarl Blumenauer\n\nPramila Jayapal\n\nJamie Raskin\n\nGrace Meng\n\nJudy Chu\n\nDavid J. Trone\n\nSummer Lee\n\nJimmy Gomez\n\nJulia Brownley\n\nBecca Balint\n\nIlhan Omar\n\nSylvia R. Garcia\n\nJared Huffman\n\nDelia C. Ramirez\n\nCori Bush\n\nSuzanne Bonamici\n\nDan Goldman\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T23:55:44Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://norton.house.gov/media/press-releases/norton-urges-president-biden-create-interagency-working-group-climate-change"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9859302081167698, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}