Washington, D.C. — Today, Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Greg Casar (TX-35) issued the below statement on the passing of CPC Chair Emeritus Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-07).
“The CPC mourns the loss of our beloved colleague and esteemed Chair Emeritus Rep. Raúl Grijalva, a giant of the House and progressive movement and one of the greatest champions of environmental justice in American history. During his twenty years in Congress serving the people of Arizona, Rep. Grijalva fought relentlessly for working families and marginalized communities. He quickly rose to leadership positions atop the Progressive Caucus and Natural Resources Committee, where he skillfully led Democrats through key legislative fights like passage of the Affordable Care Act, pioneered the CPC’s work building enduring partnerships between progressive movements and labor with elected officials, and elevated overlooked issues in environmental justice, climate action, tribal sovereignty, and the U.S. Insular Areas in Congress and beyond. He was a leading champion of democracy in the Americas, including Honduras, Brazil, Bolivia, and Ecuador. Our longest serving Chair, Raúl will be dearly missed by the CPC. We send our thoughts and prayers to his loved ones. May he rest in peace.”
Some of his major accomplishments include:
- Introduction of the original bill to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour, which eventually became the Democratic position. He also lobbied Obama to set the minimum wage for federal contractors to $10 through executive action in 2014.
- Passing the Great American Outdoors Act into law, which permanently authorized the widely popular Land and Water Conservation Fund.
- Passing the Environmental Justice For All Act, the most comprehensive environmental justice legislation in history, through the Committee. The Biden-Harris administration’s Environmental Justice for All executive order mirrors this legislation.
- Under the leadership of the Grand Canyon Tribal Coalition, successfully advocating for President Biden’s designation of the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument.
- Holding the first congressional hearings in history on issues critical to Indian Country, including Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Indian Boarding Schools, tribal co-management of public lands, and his tribal consultation bill, the RESPECT Act, which later served as the model for the Biden-Harris administration’s executive memorandum on uniform standards for tribal consultation.
- Passing the Puerto Rico Status Act, which would grant the people of Puerto Rico the opportunity to determine their own political status, through the House.
- Championing the passage of historic climate and ocean action winsthrough major legislation, including the Inflation Reduction Act, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and the National Defense Authorization Act.
- Holding the first Trump administration accountable through multiple investigations, leading to the resignation in disgrace of the Interior Secretary and submission of the Committee’s first-ever criminal referral to the Justice Department.
- Leading defeat of the "Dirty Deal,” an industry-led attempt to attach pro-polluter permitting provisions to must-pass legislation in 2022.
