[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 51 (Monday, March 25, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1928-S1930]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                             Climate Change

  Mr. PETERS. Mr. President, revolution is deeply embedded in the 
character of this Nation.
  More than two centuries ago, delegates from across the American 
colonies gathered in Philadelphia to take what was audacious action. 
They risked everything, including their lives, by declaring 
independence from the greatest and strongest power in the world at that 
time, the British Empire.
  I am proud to say that my forefather served in George Washington's 
army, and he was called to risk his life and serve in the Continental 
Army to fight for an idea--that freedom and liberty would reign in this 
country.
  As Americans, throughout history, we have been called to service. 
Sometimes we are called to service by clear and present danger, such as 
the bombing at Pearl Harbor. Sometimes we are called to greatness by 
stretching our imagination like, when we went to the Moon, and 
sometimes we are called to unity by necessity because the stakes of 
inaction are simply too high.
  Today the United States faces such a challenge, and I believe we can 
once again prove our greatness. It is an undeniable fact that climate 
change, caused in large part by humans, is a threat to Michigan, our 
Great Lakes, our country, and our planet. Climate change poses a threat 
not only to the lands and waters that we all depend on but also to our 
health, our economy, and even our national security.
  It is also undeniable that the United States, unified in purpose, can 
meet the challenges and defeat the threats caused by climate change, 
but we need to take action now. Time is simply not on our side.
  Without question, taking action involves political risk, but doing 
nothing is simply not an option. The longer we

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wait, the risks to our planet only grow more challenging and difficult 
to solve.
  Our planet is showing clear, unequivocal evidence of climate change, 
according to an overwhelming scientific consensus. Our ice caps are 
melting. Our oceans are warming. Severe weather is becoming the new 
normal. Land temperatures are rising.
  Just last week, an alarming new report found that the Great Lakes are 
warming more quickly than other parts of the country. This change will 
negatively impact fish species, lead to more algal blooms, cause flood 
damage to communities, homes, and businesses, and irreversibly alter a 
sensitive ecosystem that provides drinking water for 40 million 
Americans. I represent the Great Lakes State, and climate change 
threatens our economy and our way of life.
  I am disappointed that instead of working together on commonsense 
efforts and treating climate change with the seriousness that it 
deserves, the Republican Senate majority leader has chosen to waste 
limited floor time on a political stunt.
  What we should be doing is having a thoughtful debate on the need to 
address a significant threat to our country. Rather than playing 
partisan games, it is time to find unity and take bold action.
  The Senate must come together to pass real, concrete policies that 
will help to mitigate climate change and to wean us from our dependence 
on fossil fuels. I know it is possible because I have worked on 
bipartisan efforts with my colleagues to advance clean energy and lower 
greenhouse gas emissions.
  Together, we have advanced technology innovation, fueled our Nation's 
transportation with cleaner energy, bolstered our Nation's 
infrastructure to be more resilient to climate impacts, offered 
incentives for carbon capture sequestration, and boosted energy 
efficiency. These are all accomplishments that we have done together, 
but more needs to be done.
  This Congress, as we consider a surface transportation 
reauthorization package, as well as a new Water Resources Development 
Act, would be foolish to ignore climate impacts as we spend taxpayer 
dollars for infrastructure. We must seize the opportunity presented by 
a clean energy economy to continue driving American innovation while 
creating sustainable good-paying jobs.
  Today our auto industry in Michigan is rapidly working to advance 
electrification. Just last week, General Motors announced plans to add 
400 jobs and invest $300 million to build a new electric car at their 
Orion plant. But despite these efforts, our State and our country have 
been hurt by the lack of a coherent, cohesive, and forward-looking 
policy that grows our economy while protecting our environment.
  We need a policy that ensures that renewable energy is produced here 
in America and done in a way that creates jobs and strengthens our 
national security. I know that we can do it if only we can find the 
political will.
  Together, we can effectively confront climate change in a way that 
benefits Michigan workers and families, our Great Lakes, and the entire 
country.
  The science is clear, but time is not on our side. We must take 
action now to confront climate change before it is too late. I urge my 
colleagues to stop playing political games. Let's roll up our sleeves 
and get to work on solving the climate change crisis together.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Georgia.


                            disaster relief

  Mr. ISAKSON. Thank you, Mr. President. I rise for a moment to talk 
about a vote we will have tomorrow in this Chamber on a motion to adopt 
an amendment to the supplemental appropriations passed by the House, 
and it is a disaster amendment dealing with the States that have been 
afflicted by disasters over the last 2 years--most of them southern 
States, but not all. Some include the Territory of Puerto Rico.
  I am going to go over the details in a second, but first of all, some 
of you may see floating around this memorandum from the chairman of the 
Appropriations Committee in the House and the vice chairman in the 
Senate. It talks about an agreement that was on the disaster money and 
refers to Puerto Rico being shortchanged and the fact that we need to 
make sure that that doesn't happen. I want to give you the facts.
  Georgia, which I represent, is one of a number of States that 
includes Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alaska, California, 
and Hawaii, which have experienced significant disasters in the past 2 
years. We saw the fires in California on our TVs. We saw the volcanos 
in Hawaii. We saw the blueberries in Georgia fall off the vines and be 
destroyed. We saw what happened to these crops and Alaska's earthquake. 
All of these States have received nothing yet.
  Puerto Rico has received $40 billion--$40 billion for what happened 
in Maria, and $21 billion has not been spent. They have gotten a lot of 
money, $40 billion, and the amendment I want to talk about in a second 
gives them $600 million more.
  There are a lot of places in this country that are States that we 
represent that have gotten nothing and have had big disasters in the 
last 2 years. These disasters are hurting our economy, our people, and 
our States.
  So I want to--any of you to see this email or this flyer tomorrow or 
hear the debate tomorrow. What it says, the flyer says that the vice 
chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Leahy, is going to 
object to the substitute that will be offered by Senator Perdue and 
myself tomorrow to the bill that will be debated unless Puerto Rico 
gets a better shake. The point, Puerto Rico has gotten 40, only spent 
19, they have got $21 billion left to spend. We have $600 million to 
see to it that they don't run out of SNAP money at the end of this 
month, which they will with everything that stands currently. Puerto 
Rico is being treated great. Is there CDBG money they want? No, it is 
not in there.
  ``Fair'' is an interesting word. Fair is when you and I are treated 
fairly. We both get equal proportions, for money and things of that 
nature. Unfair is when somebody weights the formula--or someone takes 
undue advantage of a special situation.
  Well, this is a special situation. A lot of people are going to go 
without help by the end of next month. Farm bills are going to come 
due, and banks are going to foreclose on them. A lot of people in 
agriculture will be hurt badly. People who have been hurt by the fires 
in California will not be helped. Those who expressed help for 
earthquake damage in Alaska will not be helped. A lot of people will 
not be helped.

  We need to put off this guise of fairness and be really fair. Let's 
see that we put in the $600 million, which the amendment does and see 
to it that people on SNAP in Puerto Rico get their money. Let's see to 
it that those people in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North 
Carolina and other States damaged by floods, hurricanes, or fires get 
their money.
  There will be more emergencies, and we all know that. We all hate 
emergencies for a lot of reasons--appropriators, especially. Nobody 
wants to have to do that, but when our State, your State or mine, is 
injured dramatically in a disastrous hurricane or tornado or whatever, 
we as a country have always passionately dealt with the results of 
those storms, the losses those States have felt, and helped those 
States get back on their feet and those people be served.
  We are not asking for a handout; we are asking for a hand up in each 
of those States, and they have been waiting for a long time. Those who 
know what I am talking about, who is from Georgia, we have farmers who 
have gone through a cycle and their farm financing was done through 
banks that, at the end of this month, will have to act on those loans 
and call them for payment or have a refinance schedule knowing that 
they got some money coming down the line. If this passes and is agreed 
to by the House and the banks get the message that we are trying to 
help them like we have always had in the past, they will have a chance 
to make the negotiations, pay the money back that they borrowed, and do 
it over time and give people jobs in the field rather than go back and 
tell them we can't give them money and help them and lose the farm and 
business and us lose a lot of jobs.
  It is just not right, and it is not fair. I used the word ``fair'' 
just then because I think fair is the definition of

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seeing to it that Puerto Rico, Georgia, and South Carolina get help.
  If you get this argument, read it. It sounds like we agreed to 
something 3 weeks ago, and now, all of a sudden, we are not agreeing to 
the same thing. That is not true. We agreed last week when we left what 
this vote would be tomorrow, what the supplemental will look like, what 
would be included in it, and as I understood it and my sense of 
understanding, we agreed to all the things. Was there enough money for 
Puerto Rico for what they wanted? No, they wanted more. Would Florida 
like more? Would Georgia like more? North Carolina like more? Yes. But 
in fairness of equity, it is fair and equitable to those people.
  I would urge you to listen to the debate and what everybody tells you 
what happened before you make a decision and everyone gets hurt. 
Instead what you are going to do, if you fall for this scenario, you 
are going to really hurt some people who will otherwise be helped 
through deliberations that have taken over the part of the last 2 or 3 
months.
  Mr. President, I appreciate the time and the time to come here. I 
wish I could talk about something other than disasters, but I can't. A 
lot of people lost their lives and farms and their future. I want to 
see that we help in an equitable fashion in those States and those 
Territories that we do so.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Delaware is recognized.