# 119-hr-1553: Empowering and Enforcing Environmental Justice Act of 2025

119-hr-1553, Empowering and Enforcing Environmental Justice Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Barragán, Nanette Diaz [D-CA-44] (D-CA); status introduced (as of 2026-10-10).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1553
- As of: 2026-10-10
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-1553
- Congress: 119
- Title: Empowering and Enforcing Environmental Justice Act of 2025
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-02-25
- Sponsor: Rep. Barragán, Nanette Diaz [D-CA-44] (D-CA)
- Cosponsors: 18
- Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-10

## Summary

**Would create a new Office of Environmental Justice inside the Department of Justice** to coordinate legal enforcement, training, community participation, and interagency work on pollution and other environmental justice matters. It would also establish a competitive grants program and a Senior Advisory Council to guide DOJ strategy and outreach. - Low-income, minority, and Indigenous communities would get stronger routes to participate in enforcement decisions and file administrative complaints, plus access to technical and legal assistance funded through grants. - State, local, and Tribal governments could win competitive grants of $50,000 to $1.0 million to hire enforcement staff, train agencies, or build collaborative programs; the Federal share may be up to 80% and no entity may get more than one grant. - DOJ attorneys and U.S. Attorneys' offices would get a Director, regular guidance and training materials, and a system to track and assess environmental justice cases, plus quarterly council meetings to improve coordination with communities and regulated parties. *Would authorize $50.0 million per year from 2026 through 2035 for the enforcement grants program, which would increase federal spending if appropriated.*

## Cosponsors (18)

- Rep. McIver, LaMonica [D-NJ-10] (D-NJ), 2025-02-25T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Tlaib, Rashida [D-MI-12] (D-MI), 2025-02-25T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Bonamici, Suzanne [D-OR-1] (D-OR), 2025-02-25T00:00:00.000Z
- Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large] (D-DC), 2025-02-25T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Krishnamoorthi, Raja [D-IL-8] (D-IL), 2025-02-25T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Crockett, Jasmine [D-TX-30] (D-TX), 2025-02-25T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Kennedy, Timothy M. [D-NY-26] (D-NY), 2025-02-25T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Titus, Dina [D-NV-1] (D-NV), 2025-02-25T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Matsui, Doris O. [D-CA-7] (D-CA), 2025-02-25T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. DeGette, Diana [D-CO-1] (D-CO), 2025-02-25T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Ansari, Yassamin [D-AZ-3] (D-AZ), 2025-02-25T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Jayapal, Pramila [D-WA-7] (D-WA), 2025-03-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Stansbury, Melanie A. [D-NM-1] (D-NM), 2025-03-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Waters, Maxine [D-CA-43] (D-CA), 2025-03-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Sylvester Turner (D-TX), 2025-03-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Lee, Summer L. [D-PA-12] (D-PA), 2025-07-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Brown, Shontel M. [D-OH-11] (D-OH), 2025-07-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Simon, Lateefah [D-CA-12] (D-CA), 2025-11-07T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Clear rules for environmental justice cases and communities: benefit, medium. The bill would set who counts as a low‑income community. A census block group would qualify if at least 30% of people have household income at or below the larger of 80% of area median income or 200% of the federal poverty line. It would also define an environmental justice matter as a civil or cri…
- Grants to boost local environmental justice enforcement: benefit, medium. Within 180 days, the Attorney General would set up a competitive grant program to help State, local, and Tribal governments enforce environmental justice laws. Each grant would be $50,000 to $1,000,000, and the federal share would cover up to 80% of costs unless waived. Money could train agencies,…
- New Justice Department environmental justice office: benefit, medium. This bill would create an Office of Environmental Justice inside the Justice Department’s environment division. The Attorney General would provide the staff and funds needed and appoint a Director. The Director would set a department-wide plan every 5 years, track cases, and meet with affected comm…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act
- 119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-1589: American Dream and Promise Act of 2025
- 119-hr-999: Right to Contraception Act
- 119-hr-1061: Protecting Sensitive Locations Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-1553 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1553)

## Related
- [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977)
- [119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-51)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-1589: American Dream and Promise Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1589)
- [119-hr-999: Right to Contraception Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-999)
- [119-hr-1061: Protecting Sensitive Locations Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1061)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1553 (as of 2026-10-10).