[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 184 (Wednesday, October 20, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S7100]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                           Build Back Better

  Mr. President, ``denial,'' incidentally, seems to be the watchword on 
the Republican side. Certainly it is when it comes to climate change. 
Some of our Republican colleagues insist, despite all of the evidence, 
that climate change is a phony, fake news, a hoax. Others acknowledge 
it is real but say we just can't afford to do anything about it. In 
fact, what we can't afford to do is nothing. Climate change is here, 
and the cost of it is disastrous.
  One in three Americans live in a county that has been hit by an 
extreme weather event this summer--one in three--with family homes 
consumed by wildfires, farms ravaged by unprecedented droughts, and 
lives lost in floods of Biblical proportion.
  Last year, our Nation was hit by 18 climate disasters costing at 
least a billion dollars each--18. The total tab for climate-related 
disasters that year was $95 billion. This year is worse. Remember 
Hurricane Ida? It caused $100 billion in damages. Think about that. One 
storm: $100 billion.
  And don't believe that that is just a matter of private citizens 
contacting their insurance companies. You can bet that the Federal 
Government and many State and local governments will be investing 
heavily to overcome the damage that has been done.
  Climate change is the gravest threat to our economy, bar none--not to 
mention our children's and grandchildren's future. We have waited too 
long. Climate change must be addressed today. Tomorrow is too late. 
Delay and denial would not make it disappear. They will only increase 
the damage and lessen the opportunities for solutions that we might 
consider.
  America is the world's can-do Nation. We are the Nation who looks at 
problems and says: We can fix it. And here is something that our 
Republican colleagues either don't get or won't admit: Dealing with 
climate change has the potential to be the biggest job creator in 
generations. We have an opportunity to put millions of Americans to 
work building a sustainable, resilient future for our country.
  Let me give you a recent example from last week. I had a chance to 
meet with the public transit officials in Champaign-Urbana, IL. Of 
course, Champaign-Urbana, IL, is home to the University of Illinois. 
They were there to showcase a new zero-emissions bus and a charging 
infrastructure that is cutting edge. You see, these buses run on 
hydrogen fuel cells powered by solar energy. They will save tens of 
thousands of gallons of diesel fuel and prevent more than 130 tons of 
greenhouse gas emissions every single year.
  Imagine if every city in America followed the lead of Champaign-
Urbana, reconstructing their public transit system, making them 
sustainable and dependable. Think of all the Americans we could put to 
work assembling buses and trains, building charging stations, training 
workers to maintain and repair these fleets.
  That is what President Biden's bipartisan infrastructure bill will 
help do. It is the largest infrastructure proposal in decades, and it 
will invest billions in green transit alone.
  And, for the record, the previous President, Republican President 
Donald Trump, had no transportation package. He talked about it in the 
campaign, and for 4 straight years he delivered nothing.
  President Biden's Build Back Better agenda is also an investment in 
our future. If you are worried about our worker shortage--and you 
should be--the Build Back Better plan will enable parents, especially 
mothers, to return to work by making safe and affordable childcare 
resources and senior care available for every family in this country. 
And it is a blueprint for America to win the 21st century and boost 
every family's economic security by investing in schools, education, 
and first-class job training.
  Continuing to do nothing while China and our other competitors pass 
us by is a strategy for finishing in second place, which appears to be 
the Republican strategy. Our Republican colleagues say: We just can't 
afford to invest in America's workers, families, and economic 
potential. Boy, are they wrong. What we can't afford is to do nothing--
nothing.
  That is what they did when it came to the American Rescue Plan. Not a 
single Republican would support our efforts for the American Rescue 
Plan to address the COVID-19 crisis.
  The vaccination program, which has vaccinated most of Americans and 
continues to do even more, was funded by that program. Money was in 
that program to help businesses get back on their feet after the 
pandemic. It was a real investment in the future of America. 
Unfortunately, it did not have support from the other side of the 
aisle.