[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 94 (Friday, June 2, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E753-E754]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   DISAPPROVING PRESIDENT'S DECISION TO WITHDRAW FROM PARIS CLIMATE 
                               AGREEMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, June 2, 2017

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my strong opposition 
to the President's misguided, short-sighted, and disastrous decision to 
withdraw the United States from participation in the Paris Climate 
Agreement.
  Since the end of World War II, the United States has proudly carried 
the mantle of global leader off the international community.
  American leadership brought us the United Nations, the World Bank, 
the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and the Marshall Plan, which 
helped rebuild a continent decimated by war and secure a peace that has 
lasted for more than 70 years.
  As a senior member of Congress, a member of the Helsinki Commission, 
and member of the American delegation to the 80th Inter-Parliamentary 
Meeting of European Union and United States Legislators, one of my 
responsibilities is to work with the delegation's European counterparts 
on cooperative efforts to address and resolve issues of mutual concern.
  This is becoming increasingly difficult because in less than 150 
days, President Trump has done more to damage relations with our allies 
and the standing of the United States in the world than all of his 
predecessors combined.
  On his maiden trip abroad as the leader of the United States, Trump 
embarrassed our country and alienated our allies by failing to affirm 
our commitment to Article 5 of the NATO charter which regards an attack 
on any NATO member as an attack on all of them.
  Driving a wedge between the United States and its European allies has 
been the long sought strategic objective of the Russians since the 
formation of NATO in 1949.
  Compounding his disastrous performance at the NATO summit, the 
President has now renounced America's commitment to the landmark Paris 
Climate Agreement, which encourages all nations to set and reach 
national climate goals every five years.
  The U.S. played the pivotal role in drafting the agreement, forging 
consensus, and securing the assent of 195 nations.
  In withdrawing from the agreement, Trump has elected to place the 
United States in the company of Syria and Nicaragua as the only 
countries not to accept by the Paris Agreement.
  As U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham stated, by withdrawing from the Paris 
Agreement, Trump is affirming that ``he believes climate change is a 
hoax.''
  Mr. Speaker, climate change is not a hoax invented by the Chinese, 
and the Paris Agreement is an example of America's indispensable global 
leadership.
  Almost every credible scientific voice tells us human activity has 
and continues to have a dramatic impact on climate change.
  Moreover, scientists have warned that inaction by the major 
industrialized nations of the world could lead to global catastrophe.
  According to NASA researchers, 16 of the 17 warmest years in the last 
13 and a half decades have occurred since 2001.
  Evaporation patterns have shifted producing more frequent and 
powerful storms.
  The United States is the world's second largest contributor to carbon 
dioxide emissions in the atmosphere.
  Experts say the resulting polluted runoff is degrading water quality.
  As the founder of the Congressional Children's Caucus, I believe we 
have a duty to leave the planet we inherited in better shape for the 
generations that follow.
  According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), changing 
weather conditions is cited as one of the main causes of trauma to 
children.
  According to the AAP, between 2000 and 2009, there have been three 
times as many extreme weather events as occurred between 1980 and 1989 
and that following climate-related natural disasters, high numbers of 
children are found to exhibit symptoms of post-traumatic stress 
disorder.
  Children under one year of age are especially vulnerable to heat-
related climate change and there is more than a 90 percent chance that 
by the end of the 21st century average summer temperature will exceed 
the highest temperatures yet recorded in many regions.
  According to the World Health Organization, more than 88 percent of 
diseases attributable to climate change occur in children younger than 
five.
  By 2030, climate change is expected to lead to 48,000 more children 
under the age of 15 dying from diarrheal disease in 2030, primarily in 
Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
  And in the world's poorest regions, where the disease burden is 
disproportionately high, children will be the most affected by climate 
change influenced infectious diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, 
West Nile virus, chikungunya, Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted 
fever, diarrheal illness, amebic meningoencephalitis and 
coccidioidomycosis.
  The President has often questioned the value of the Paris Agreement 
but has yet to provide any scientific or empirical basis to reject the 
consensus of experts that human activity is a leading contributor to 
climate change.
  Indeed, if the President had any legitimate concerns regarding the 
efficacy of the Paris Agreement, he could and should work with 
America's partners to address and resolve them.
  He has made no attempt to do so.
  According to a recent Gallup poll, 54 percent of Americans believe 
that climate change is a serious problem.
  As a Member of Congress, I have always acted on the basis of facts 
and promoted policies that are both aspirational and grounded in 
reality.
  I have endeavored to always seek the truth by discerning what is real 
from what is fake.
  And when it comes to the issue of climate change, I have listened to 
the scientists.
  The President's isolated and short-sighted view threatens to quash 
years of deliberation and work by corporate leaders, scientists, 
educators, social actors and others who work tirelessly to protect the 
planet.
  Withdrawing from the Paris Agreement would be disastrous, not only 
because it jeopardizes America's status as a world leader, but also 
because such action will undermine our competitiveness in the emerging 
clean-environment global economy.
  According to studies, China is the world leader in renewable energy 
investment, pouring more than $78 billion into renewable energy 
projects last year alone.
  In contrast, the United States invested less than $24 billion last 
year.
  Many jobs are at stake, and that means non-participation in the Paris 
Agreement could undermine American economic interests.
  We cannot afford to be left behind as the rest of the world moves 
toward a clean economy future.
  A resounding bipartisan chorus has called for continued American 
observance of the Paris Agreement.
  From Republican and Democratic Governors to Members of Congress to 
our NATO allies, the chorus of voices counseling against withdrawal 
continues to grow.
  Americans want their country to lead the battle against climate 
change and for a healthy planet.
  The President needs to recognize that he represents the entire 
country; not just the Trump Organization.
  Trump needs to remember that he is the President of the United States 
of America.

[[Page E754]]

  If the President truly wants to ensure this nation's continuing 
greatness, then he will reverse his decision to renounce America's 
continued participation in the Paris Climate Agreement.

                          ____________________