FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, July 31, 2026

Media Contact:
Jonathan Ng
Communications Director
jonathan@edmarkey.org

BOSTON, Mass. – Senator Ed Markey is continuing to lead the national climate movement, introducing two sweeping Green New Deal bills this week to rebuild America’s public schools, strengthen its healthcare system, create millions of good-paying jobs, and protect communities from the climate crisis already at their doors.

On Thursday, Markey reintroduced the Green New Deal for Public Schools Act with Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), a $1.6 trillion, ten-year plan to transform public schools by modernizing deteriorating buildings, hiring educators and support staff, and ensuring every student can learn in a safe and healthy classroom.

Earlier in the week, Markey introduced the Green New Deal for Health with Congressman Ro Khanna (CA-17), a sweeping plan to invest in community health centers and hospitals so that all communities have access to healthcare – even in times of extreme weather. This legislation would also support healthcare workers, Medicare recipients, and researchers who are on the front lines of the climate-health crisis.  

“This summer, communities across Massachusetts have faced record-breaking heat, wildfire smoke, and flash floods, while students across the country are learning in schools with broken heating systems, leaky roofs, and hazardous ventilation,” said Senator Ed Markey. “The climate crisis is already threatening where our children learn and where our families receive care. The Green New Deal for Public Schools and the Green New Deal for Health are the roadmap for investing in students, patients, workers, and a livable future – creating good-paying union jobs while securing educational justice, health justice, and environmental justice. Congress cannot continue treating these crises as separate. We must confront them together, and with the urgency they require.”

Green New Deal for Public Schools Act

The legislation would:

• Invest $1.6 trillion over ten years in public schools and Bureau of Indian Education schools;
• Create an estimated 1.3 million jobs annually and eliminate 78 million metric tons of carbon emissions – the equivalent of taking 17 million cars off the road;
• Invest $250 billion to hire teachers, paraprofessionals, mental health counselors, and other school staff;
• Fund green school retrofits that improve air quality, provide clean air and water, and increase energy efficiency, prioritizing the highest-need schools;
• Require project labor agreements, prevailing wages, and registered apprenticeship protections to support safe, well-paying union jobs;
• Fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and quadruple funding for schools serving predominantly low-income students; and
• Deliver investments supported by the American Federation of Teachers, National Education Association, SEIU, AFSCME, Sierra Club, and other labor, education, and environmental organizations.

Green New Deal for Health

The legislation would:

• Invest $130 billion over five years in community health centers;
• Authorize $100 billion for public and nonprofit medical facilities to improve climate resilience and disaster preparedness, while guaranteeing prevailing wages for workers;
• Require hospitals receiving Medicare payments to provide at least 180 days’ notice before closing or discontinuing services;
• Make heat pumps, solar batteries, and other home-resilience improvements eligible Medicare expenses for people with disabilities and medical needs;
• Invest in the healthcare workforce, community mental health, climate-health research, and more resilient medical supply chains; and
• Deliver reforms supported by National Nurses United, Boston Medical Center, the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, and other healthcare, labor, and climate organizations.