# 119-s-720: Empowering and Enforcing Environmental Justice Act of 2025

119-s-720, Empowering and Enforcing Environmental Justice Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA] (D-CA); status introduced (as of 2026-10-23).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-720
- As of: 2026-10-23
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-720
- Congress: 119
- Title: Empowering and Enforcing Environmental Justice Act of 2025
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-02-25
- Sponsor: Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA] (D-CA)
- Cosponsors: 11
- Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-23

## Summary

**This bill would create a new Office of Environmental Justice** inside the Department of Justice's Environment and Natural Resources Division to coordinate enforcement and boost community participation on environmental justice issues. It would also set up a competitive grant program to help State, local, and Tribal governments build enforcement capacity and support affected communities. - Communities facing disproportionate pollution or health harms, including low‑income, Tribal, and Indigenous communities, would get dedicated outreach, complaint pathways, education, and at least biweekly engagement with the office to improve participation in environmental decisions. - State, local, and Tribal governments could compete for grants to train staff, hire enforcement personnel, or fund legal and technical assistance, with awards between $50,000 and $1,000,000 and a Federal share up to 80 percent. - The office would be led by a Director who would develop and update DOJ's environmental justice strategy every 5 years, run training and continuing legal education, coordinate case tracking across DOJ components, and manage a Senior Advisory Council to advise on EJ matters. *Authorizes $50.0 million per year for fiscal years 2026 through 2035 for the grant program and leaves other costs for the new office unspecified.*

## Cosponsors (11)

- Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA] (D-MA), 2025-02-25T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] (D-CT), 2025-02-25T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ] (D-NJ), 2025-02-25T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] (D-OR), 2025-02-25T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Van Hollen, Chris [D-MD] (D-MD), 2025-02-25T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Duckworth, Tammy [D-IL] (D-IL), 2025-02-25T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR] (D-OR), 2025-02-25T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Schiff, Adam B. [D-CA] (D-CA), 2025-02-25T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT] (I-VT), 2025-02-25T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI] (D-RI), 2025-02-25T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL] (D-IL), 2025-02-27T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Grants to boost environmental justice enforcement: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would create a competitive grant program to help State, local, and Tribal governments enforce laws that affect environmental justice communities. Grants would be $50,000 to $1,000,000 each. The federal share would generally be up to 80 percent unless the Attorney General waives…
- Low-income community and EJ definitions: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would define a "low-income community" as a census block group where at least 30% of residents have household income at or below the greater of 80% of area median income or 200% of the Federal poverty line. If enacted, the bill would also define an "environmental justice matter"…
- New DOJ environmental justice office: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would create a permanent Office of Environmental Justice inside DOJ's Environment and Natural Resources Division. The Attorney General would appoint a Director and provide staff and funds. The Director would write a DOJ EJ strategy every five years, run the grant program, coord…

## Related bills

- 119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026
- 119-s-2823: FAMILY Act
- 119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act
- 119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026
- 119-s-1503: Equality Act

## Sources
- [119-s-720 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/720)

## Related
- [119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5066)
- [119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3990)
- [119-s-2823: FAMILY Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2823)
- [119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-51)
- [119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5108)
- [119-s-1503: Equality Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1503)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-720 (as of 2026-10-23).