[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 30 (Thursday, February 13, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1067-S1068]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         THE CLEAN ECONOMY ACT

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, today I rise to discuss solutions to the 
climate crisis, which threatens the health and well-being of my 
constituents in Maryland and Americans across the Nation.
  The urgency of climate change asks us to be our most cooperative and 
collaborative selves and to seek policy solutions that far outlast our 
legacies in office. As the threat of climate change becomes more and 
more visible to the American public, people are demanding action from 
their Federal Government. This year, we have seen an unprecedented 
level of interest from Americans of all ages and walks of life on real 
solutions to this complex problem. A variety of comprehensive solutions 
have been proposed, some that represent a departure from how the 
Federal Government has addressed climate change in the past, while 
others utilize existing Federal frameworks to drive climate action.
  History tells us that our Federal agencies have an incredible 
capacity to evolve to meet the threats of their time. In previous 
administrations, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been a 
dynamic steward of domestic environmental law throughout the last half-
century and is well-practiced in addressing environmental concerns as 
they emerge. Unfortunately, Congress and the President have failed to 
provide the EPA with the direction and funding it needs to address the 
issue of climate change in earnest. I support Senator Carper's Clean 
Economy Act for this very reason. The Clean Economy Act understands 
that the EPA lies at the center of America's climate future and 
empowers it to address climate change proactively.
  The Clean Economy Act provides the agency with the clear goal of net-
zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 to match the urgency to reduce 
warming global temperatures. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate 
Change's--IPCC--October 2018 Special Report on climate warns that 
warming above 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels will have 
a catastrophic impact on our global systems. The United States reaching 
net-zero is an essential component to keep global temperature warming 
below the 1.5 degrees Celsius cap.
  Many of this administration's nominees are fond of pointing out that 
they are not scientists, implying that they are not qualified to make 
decisions related to climate change. I will point out that most of us 
are not economists

[[Page S1068]]

either, but that doesn't stop us from making decisions that affect the 
economy. We have a responsibility to make informed decisions affecting 
our climate, environment, and natural resources, which are at the heart 
of our ability to maintain a healthy sustainable economy. There are 
some tough decisions to make in the face of climate change that 
reasonable people will disagree about, but the basic science should not 
be ignored. Whether to accept the facts of the matter should not be a 
partisan debate.
  Fortunately, the IPCC, to which the U.S. Government and scientific 
community is a leading contributor, continues to provide a well-
documented guide for what we need to do to respond to the climate 
crisis. According to the IPCC's landmark Special Report on Global 
Warming of 1.5 deg.C, the model pathways that would enable us to limit 
global warming to the critical benchmark of 1.5 deg.C above pre-
industrial levels reach net zero global net anthropogenic CO2 emissions 
by approximately 2050.This bill is based on the science that 
demonstrates the importance and value of reaching net-zero greenhouse 
gas emissions by not later than 2050.
  We can do this, and making the necessary investments to do so will 
strengthen our economy, create jobs, and protect our public health and 
national security. The most expensive and unrealistic course of action 
is to ignore the mounting costs of climate change and fail to respond.
  The legislation ensures that the EPA's plan incorporates greenhouse 
gas reduction, while expanding opportunities for the U.S. labor force. 
After all, any conversation about a new U.S. energy future without the 
participation of working people is incomplete. The Clean Economy Act 
ensures the EPA has the power to invest in the development and 
deployment of low- and zero-greenhouse gas emitting technologies and 
that the U.S. workforce reaps the benefits of an equitable transition 
away from fossil fuels. The support of the Blue Green Alliance, a 
coalition of labor unions like the United Steelworkers and the Utility 
Workers Union of America and environmental organizations like the 
League of Conservation Voters and Natural Resources Defense Council 
demonstrates that a diverse collection of interests see a net-zero 
future for our country.
  This legislation builds off bipartisan progress we have made this 
Congress using existing Federal frameworks to reduce emissions and 
prepare for the effects of climate change that are already here. In 
November 2018, the Fourth National Climate Assessment concluded that 
climate change is affecting the natural environment, agriculture, 
energy production and use, land and water resources, transportation, 
and human health and welfare across the U.S. and its territories.'' The 
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee favorably reported the 
American's Transportation Infrastructure Act in July 2019 that for the 
first time included a Climate Title. The Federal assistance in it will 
help the transportation sector lower emissions through infrastructure 
for electric and alternatively fueled vehicles. The bill also supports 
States and local agencies preparing our Nation's roads and bridges to 
withstand climate impacts.
  I encourage my colleagues across committees to work together to enact 
both pieces of legislation to prepare all sectors of the clean economy 
for the climate reality before us today.
  One of the most critical climate change impacts that we must take 
immediate action on is the threat to our water infrastructure. This 
week, GAO is releasing a report on water infrastructure and climate 
change in response to a request I made with my colleague Senator 
Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island. We asked the GAO to study what is 
known about the effects of climate change on the Nation's domestic 
water systems and the potential fiscal risks posed by those effects and 
evaluate Federal actions that may be taken to reduce such risks.
  Therein, EPA estimates that drinking water and wastewater utilities 
need to invest almost $744 billion to repair and replace their existing 
infrastructure over the next 20 years. GAO finds climate change is 
increasing these costs. In 2017, it cost the Federal Government over 
$300 billion to repair damage resulting from climate- and weather-
related events, including damage to drinking water and wastewater 
infrastructure, according to NOAA.
  The faster we act to make our water infrastructure resilient to 
climate change impacts, as well as address the root cause of climate 
change through legislation such as the Clean Economy Act, the better we 
can reduce the risks and control the costs. Our drinking water and 
wastewater treatment systems are at great risk from climate change 
impacts such as heavy rainfall, sea level rise, and flooding that local 
managers are experiencing today.
  The GAO report shows a path toward minimizing future damage. This 
study documents the need for the Federal Government to work with States 
and local utilities to strengthen the resilience of water 
infrastructure to climate impacts and makes practical suggestions that 
we should implement immediately through incorporating climate effects 
into infrastructure planning and providing enhanced technical and 
financial assistance.
  My colleague Senator Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia and I 
introduced S. 2636, the Clean Water Infrastructure Resilience and 
Sustainability Act to prepare our publicly owned wastewater treatment 
facilities for the impacts of climate change. These efforts will work 
in tandem with the goals of the Clean Economy Act to seek net-zero 
emissions while preventing further damage to our national 
infrastructure by the extreme weather events we are already seeing.
  The Clean Economy Act directs the EPA to coordinate with other 
Federal agencies to encourage the restoration of ecosystems such as 
forests and wetlands that sequester carbon and improve climate 
resilience, particularly on Federal and Tribal land.
  The fight to reduce the greenhouse gases that cause climate change is 
not unlike the challenge we face in cleaning up and restoring water 
quality in the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers and streams. Many of the 
solutions, such as restoring natural carbons sinks like wetlands, are 
the same. Wetlands act like natural sponges, storing excess carbon in 
soils, as well as soaking up stormwater and trapping pollutants before 
they reach rivers, streams, and the Chesapeake Bay.
  The original Chesapeake Bay Agreement was a simple, one-page pledge 
signed in 1983 recognizing that a cooperative approach was necessary to 
address the bay's pollution problems. The 1987 Chesapeake Bay Agreement 
set the first numeric goals to reduce pollution and restore the bay 
ecosystem. Today, the EPA-led Chesapeake Bay Program partnership 
engages dozens of agencies and organizations in the effort to restore 
the bay and its rivers. I am encouraged to see a number of the agencies 
named in section 2 of the Clean Economy Act are Federal agency 
partners, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration--NOAA--U.S. Department of Defense--DOD--and U.S. 
Department of the Interior--DOI.
  This body recently unanimously passed proposals I authored that will 
benefit the Chesapeake Bay watershed and wetlands nationwide. Foremost 
was a provision increasing the EPA Chesapeake Bay Program 
Reauthorization to a historic $92 million. The bills were part of a 
bipartisan package of wildlife conservation legislation, the America's 
Conservation Enhancement--ACE--Act. The ACE Act served as a substitute 
amendment for the North America Wetlands Conservation Extension Act--
NAWCA--which provides grants to protect wetlands.
  We have demonstrated our ability to respond legislatively to 
challenges that seemed insurmountable 30 years ago. I urge all of my 
colleagues to cosponsor this new consensus bill.

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