Hi, it’s Ritchie Torres. In my historic congressional campaign in the Bronx, I told my personal story of growing up poor in a single-parent household in New York City's public housing. Housing will be my #1 priority in Congress.

You may not associate affordable housing with solving the climate crisis and addressing the coronavirus. But if we're smart -- if we reimagine housing -- it will help solve the other issues. That's why I'm enthusiastic about today's modern infrastructure and clean energy plan from Joe Biden.

Imagine taking 4 million old, leaky, musty, dilapidated buildings and re-making them green -- running efficiently off of clean energy. As someone who grew up with asthma in public housing, I'll tell you, this retrofitting would give us the opportunity to fight air pollution, our climate crisis, our health crisis, and our jobs crisis.

As a 32-year old who will be the first openly gay Afro-Latino member of Congress, I want to help usher in big systemic change.

If you don't want to just build back from this crisis, but Build Back Better, please join me as a supporter of Biden's bold modern infrastructure and climate plan. Let's invest $2 trillion, create millions of union jobs, and make millions of homes green and affordable! Sign here.

Joe Biden's plan for 4 million green retrofitted buildings and 1.5 million new green homes and housing units will also help address the coronavirus' disproportionate impact on poor neighborhoods and communities of color.

Poor neighborhoods, like the ones in the South Bronx which I will represent in Congress, have the highest levels of pollution and dirty air particles. In the Bronx, we suffer at disproportionate rates of asthma and other respiratory illnesses, precisely the conditions that exacerbate the coronavirus’ hold on vulnerable communities.

In addition, 32% of U.S. households missed their July housing payments. Green housing will be more affordable due to efficient consumption of energy that lowers bills. And there are major health care savings by reducing hospital visits and medical emergencies caused by air pollution.

Biden's plan is the most ambitious housing plan in recent memory. I'll proudly vote for it in Congress. Will you support it too? Click here.

The plan Biden announced today also includes:

• Millions of new union jobs rebuilding our crumbling roads, bridges, and schools.
• Investing in clean vehicles and 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations.
• Zero-emissions public transportation in our cities.
• By 2035, a power sector in America free of carbon pollution.
• By 2050, net-zero emissions for our entire economy.
• A new climate justice division in the Department of Justice.
• $2 trillion of investment in clean energy in his first term.

As we rebuild from the coronavirus crisis that Donald Trump mismanaged and exacerbated, we have a generational opportunity to forge a green economy that will be more affordable, make us healthier, and create millions of union jobs.

Joe Biden is promising to seize that opportunity. When he goes bold, he deserves our support. Please join me as a supporter of his modern infrastructure and clean energy plan.

Thank you.

Ritchie Torres (@RitchieTorres)
Presumptive nominee, New York's 15th Congressional District

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