[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 93 (Friday, June 6, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5354-S5355]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             CLIMATE CHANGE

  Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, I come before our body today because we 
are dealing with such an incredibly important issue. It is an issue 
that is full of technicalities but also a lot of passion, a lot of 
incredible passion about how we take care of this incredible blessing 
of a planet we have been given, take care of its climate and its 
environment and all of the incredible things it does for us, and what 
we have a responsibility to do in return.
  As a daughter of an Arkansas farmer, I was taught at an early age in 
life to be a good steward of the land we have been given, to understand 
there will be future generations who will need it, who will cherish it, 
and who will learn from it. Today, my husband Steve and I continue to 
instill those principles in our twin boys through all kinds of 
different activities, whether it is the Scouts they have participated 
in, whether it is their athletics, whether it is the fishing and 
hunting they love to do, whether it is the canoeing and camping we do 
on the beautiful rivers of Arkansas in the great outdoors--being 
together and sharing time, being together and being respectful of this 
great environment we have been given.
  Since the issue of global climate change first came before the 
Senate, it has become abundantly clear to me and I think to millions of 
Americans as well as those in this body that we have to take action on 
this issue if we have any hope of correcting it. We have had our heads 
in the sand for quite some time. It is important that we get busy. It 
is important that we get busy in making a difference, in changing our 
culture in many ways in order to be better equipped to deal with the 
problems we have in this environment.
  But it is also abundantly clear that we also have to make sure that 
our head is not in the clouds and that we are being realistic about the 
economy we have created, about the number of people on the face of this 
Earth who depend on this economy, and how critically important it is to 
provide the kind of partnership and empowerment to our existing culture 
to make the transition from what we have to what we want to have in 
terms of dealing with our climate through the economic engines we have 
in this great land, in this great country.
  As many of my colleagues have mentioned, the environmental impact of 
inaction threatens our coastline, the polar icecaps, weather patterns, 
and animal migration, but it also threatens our ability to be 
competitive in the world marketplace and to grow the kinds of jobs we 
truly want to grow if we ignore the opportunities that exist if we do 
this correctly. If we do this correctly, we can not only provide the 
kind of move in the right direction that will be positive for our 
environment, but we can also seize the opportunity to empower industry 
and our economy in a way that we can grow jobs at the same time.
  While the environmental danger that climate change poses is so 
considerable, I am also very concerned about many aspects of this bill. 
The reality is that the bill we have here before us today cannot pass. 
We cannot pass this legislation and believe the problem is going to be 
fixed because there are multiple problems. It is not just the climate 
and not just the environment,

[[Page S5355]]

it is all of the things that contribute to it. As we move forward, it 
is the hard-working Americans who participate in this economy whom we 
have to consider.
  The pathway to saving the planet will require that we partner with 
the business community and empower them to transition from an old 
energy economy and energy technologies dating back centuries, to the 
emerging energy economy and the emerging energy technologies needed for 
a new, cleaner economy and a new, cleaner environment. Failure to do so 
could lead to the loss of jobs in communities all across our Nation.
  But it could also lead to a failed environmental policy because the 
fact is, if we do not get this right now, we could spend the next 2 or 
3 years dealing with legislation that might not work, is not going to 
have all of the intricacies and all of the matters dealt with that need 
to be dealt with. And 3 years down the road, what happens? We repeal 
it? We have wasted 3 precious years, 3 or 4 precious years, where we 
could have been working productively to reach the goal of strengthening 
our economy and preserving our environment.
  Another concern is the unintended hardships the bill might place on 
the elderly and working families, particularly in my State. I am sure 
other Senators have those same concerns.
  In a State with a median income level of $37,420, ranking Arkansas 
48th among all States, many of my constituents live paycheck to 
paycheck absolutely every week. I am rightfully concerned about a bill 
that could drive up utility rates, with the costs being passed on to 
consumers. And for my constituents, even a $15-per-month increase in 
their energy bills would be devastating. Now, for some of us, $15 we 
will notice, but it might not make a difference between whether we are 
going to sign our kids up for Little League or whether we are going to 
be able to help our grandparents or our parents with their prescription 
drugs or even put food on the table. But for some hard-working 
Americans, those kinds of increases could mean an awful lot. That is 
why it is all the more important that we get this bill right.
  I want to support climate change legislation. That is something I 
feel very passionate about. I want to because I believe it is 
ultimately our responsibility to preserve and protect our planet for 
future generations. I truly believe we can no longer afford to put our 
heads in the sand about this issue. We have to move forward. We have to 
express the importance and the urgency of this issue. But I also echo 
that it is critically important we get it right. That is why I say the 
devil is in the details.
  As we move forward in these discussions on what we are doing, we have 
to pay critical attention to the details of this bill. It is why we 
cannot afford to have, as I said, our heads in the clouds about the 
realities of the issues that are associated without fully understanding 
the impact of this bill as we have looked at it today, as currently 
written, on industry and working families of this country.
  I dedicate myself to making sure not only that we passionately look 
at this issue for all the right reasons of preserving our environment 
but that we also equally as passionately look at this bill to make sure 
the mechanisms that partner us with the economy and the engines of 
economy we get right.
  I am committed to working closely with the sponsors of the 
legislation as well as the industries in my State and all across this 
Nation. We have an obligation, an obligation and a responsibility not 
only to protect this environment but also to protect the incredible 
working families whom we represent, the hard-fought jobs they work in 
day-in and day-out to care for their families, and the good corporate 
citizens that are trying their best to make sure those jobs stay in 
this country.
  I believe we can craft a proposal that will appropriately balance the 
needs of business and consumers, especially those most vulnerable to an 
increase in energy costs or a shift in our culture of energy, to 
protect our environment for our children and our grandchildren but also 
to keep that balance in recognition with how important that impact is 
on our communities across our States and across this great country.
  I do so appreciate all of the hard work, the enormous effort so many 
Senators have put into this bill. Senator Lieberman and Senator Warner 
and, of course, Chairman Boxer have all invested a tremendous amount of 
time in this bill. As we continue to move forward in looking at this 
issue, in looking for solutions, I hope that in their leadership they 
will embrace all of the Senators who have great ideas in terms of how 
we can move forward in making this a success, in preserving our 
environment but ensuring that the working people of this country and 
the hard-fought industries that are here providing the jobs we want to 
see stay in this great country, that they are going to have a seat at 
the table and come up with a bill that will benefit everybody.
  While I still have some questions about what we are dealing with and 
the debate we had and will continue to have, I want to keep my door 
open. I want to work with my colleagues to address the real and the 
long-term issues of climate change in the weeks and months ahead. But I 
also want to make sure our focus does not lose sight of the other 
consequences that come from this bill.
  I appreciate the debate we have had, and I look forward to the coming 
months as we will continue to refocus ourselves, rededicate our time to 
making sure--making sure that any bill we come up with that we come to 
the floor and ask one another to give a final vote on will be a bill 
that we have embraced from all different perspectives of finding the 
solutions we need.
  This underlying bill is clearly not that bill, and many of us have 
grave concerns about where the priorities are in this bill and how we 
make those priorities more positive in all directions. I look forward 
to regaining our time and energy and being able to come back and talk 
about these issues and really solve all of the problems, all of the 
consequences that come with our ultimate passion of wanting to ensure 
that we do take a stand on climate change and that we do embrace our 
opportunity to make sure we do not make it irreversible in terms of 
what climate change is; that we will work hard to ensure that our 
children and our grandchildren will have an incredible planet to be 
able to live on, to work on, and again to reach their every potential 
and their every possibility.

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