[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 73 (Wednesday, April 28, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S2267]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              S.J. Res. 14

  Mr. MARKEY. Mr. President, the methane problem is not a new one. It 
has quickly and drastically warmed our planet since the Industrial 
Revolution, and today it accounts for one-quarter of global warming.
  We have no time to lose. In the short term, methane is more than 80 
times more powerful and damaging than its better known cousin named 
CO2.
  And while we have made more progress reducing our carbon dioxide 
levels, methane pollution has continued to surge in the background. 
Even last year, with more cars off the road and many stuck in their 
homes, methane pollution levels just kept rising.
  And it rose in record amounts. In 2020, we saw the largest ever 
annual increase in methane emissions. If we continue to fail to act, 
methane pollution from the oil and gas industry is projected to cause 
as much near-term global warming as 260 coal-fired powerplants every 
year by 2025.
  This is a crisis brought on by humanity, but, thankfully, it is one 
that we can solve as well by humanity. We have the technology and we 
understand the science and we need now to summon the political will and 
the regulatory leadership in order to solve this methane problem.
  Last week, I sent a letter to President Biden asking him to lead the 
world in developing a bold domestic methane strategy, and although the 
administration's economy-wide goals for greenhouse gas emissions are a 
good baseline start, we need robust and specific targets for methane.
  By voting today to rescind the Trump-era attacks on methane 
regulations, we can protect the Clean Air Act instead of undermining 
it. By reinstating strong standards, we can protect public health and 
create new jobs in detecting and repairing leaks. By taking a stand 
today for environmental progress and good governance, we can begin to 
repair the immense damage done by Donald Trump. He was an enemy of 
science, a roadblock to progress, and a willing saboteur of American 
jobs and health as long as he could pursue his anti-environmental 
agenda.
  Today, we have an opportunity to recommit to climate action and to 
environmental justice. The COVID-19 pandemic has helped expose the 
deep, systemic, and historic injustices our communities of color and 
low-income neighborhoods continue to face, communities like those in 
Chelsea, MA, which has been affected by both poor air quality and some 
of the highest COVID-19 infection rates in the State and the Nation, or 
Weymouth, MA, which grapples daily with the public health and public 
safety threat of a natural gas compressor station.
  Big oil and big gas corporations have used places like Weymouth as a 
way station for pollution, without fear of reprisal for emissions of 
methane and toxic compounds. This week, we can stand up for justice for 
these communities instead of idly standing by.
  By passing this resolution on the floor this afternoon, we can make 
real progress for the climate, for our global community, and for all 
Americans who breathe different air because of their race, their ZIP 
Code, or their income level.
  In Massachusetts, Ralph Waldo Emerson said that health is the first 
wealth. Today's vote is a decisive victory for our families. It will 
give the Biden administration the tools it needs to shut in this 
methane for a very inexpensive cost to the oil and gas industry, 
providing real benefits to the health of our planet and the health of 
families in our country. As a result, I urge an ``aye'' vote on that 
CRA