[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 10859]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  0910
                       A WEEK OF MOMENTOUS EVENTS

  (Mr. BLUMENAUER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. This is a momentous week--a path to citizenship 
passing in the Senate, the Supreme Court striking down DOMA, and, on 
Tuesday, President Obama recommitted his administration to deal with 
the moral imperative of climate change.
  All around us the evidence is mounting--with extreme weather events, 
drought, flooding, wildfires, shrinking polar ice caps, invasive plants 
and pests our farmers have never seen before.
  The President outlined new administrative initiatives because 
Congress is incapable of acting. Sadly, the House of Representatives is 
led by climate skeptics, climate deniers, and climate cowards.
  My hope is, if the Republicans in the House won't allow action, they 
will at least stay out of the President's way. Protecting the planet 
and our grandchildren's future ought not to be bringing out the worst 
in us but the best.

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