[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 424 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 424

     Expressing the commitment of the House of Representatives to 
                conservative environmental stewardship.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 17, 2015

  Mr. Gibson (for himself, Mr. Curbelo of Florida, Mr. Reichert, Mr. 
  Dold, Mr. Hanna, Mr. Meehan, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. 
Costello of Pennsylvania, Ms. Stefanik, and Mr. LoBiondo) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                                Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
     Expressing the commitment of the House of Representatives to 
                conservative environmental stewardship.

Whereas it is a conservative principle to protect, conserve, and be good 
        stewards of our environment, responsibly plan for all market factors, 
        and base our policy decisions in science and quantifiable facts on the 
        ground;
Whereas prudent, fact-based stewardship of our economy and our environment is a 
        critical responsibility for all Americans in order to ensure that we 
        preserve our great Nation for future generations;
Whereas there has been a marked increase in extreme weather events across the 
        United States, including more frequent heat waves, extreme 
        precipitation, wildfires, and water scarcity;
Whereas this has had noticeable, negative impacts that are expected to worsen in 
        every region of the United States and its territories, including, among 
        other significant weather events and environmental disruptions, longer 
        and hotter heat waves, more severe storms, worsening flood and drought 
        cycles, growing invasive species and insect problems, threatened native 
        plant and wildlife populations, rising sea levels, and, when combined 
        with a lack of proper forest management, increased wildfire risk;
Whereas increased pollutants and other factors contribute to local, regional, 
        and national environmental and human health impacts, including increased 
        mercury in the fish we eat, elevated asthma attacks in our children, 
        acid rain, smog, degraded water quality, urban heat islands, and rapid 
        storm water runoff that leads to costly infrastructure projects;
Whereas the 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review states that the effects of a 
        changing climate are ``threat multipliers that will aggravate stressors 
        abroad such as poverty, environmental degradation, political 
        instability, and social tensions'';
Whereas, if left unaddressed, the consequences of a changing climate have the 
        potential to adversely impact all Americans, hitting vulnerable 
        populations hardest, harming productivity in key economic sectors such 
        as construction, agriculture, and tourism, saddling future generations 
        with costly economic and environmental burdens, and imposing additional 
        costs on State and Federal budgets that will further add to the long-
        term fiscal challenges that we face as a Nation;
Whereas any efforts to mitigate the risks of, prepare for, or otherwise address 
        our changing climate and its effects should not constrain the United 
        States economy, especially in regards to global competitiveness; and
Whereas there is increasing recognition that we can and must take meaningful and 
        responsible action now to address this issue: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives commits to working 
constructively, using our tradition of American ingenuity, innovation, 
and exceptionalism, to create and support economically viable, and 
broadly supported private and public solutions to study and address the 
causes and effects of measured changes to our global and regional 
climates, including mitigation efforts and efforts to balance human 
activities that have been found to have an impact.
                                 <all>