[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 11721]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             CLIMATE CHANGE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New 
Mexico (Mr. Ben Ray Lujan) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BEN RAY LUJAN of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, as fires across the 
West grow more intense and superstorms in the United States do more 
damage, it is clear that the cost of inaction on climate change is 
growing. The economic toll that it is taking on communities across the 
country is impacting the American people.
  Hurricane Sandy cost the United States $70 billion in damages, many 
lives, and lost economic output. In my home State of New Mexico, where 
wildfires have burned all summer, many communities that rely on tourism 
and access to our majestic lands have seen their businesses negatively 
impacted. Farmers and ranchers in New Mexico have had to sell off their 
herds because of drought conditions that made it too expensive to feed 
their animals.
  Opponents of efforts to address climate change and to transition to 
cleaner fuels and renewable energy often cite the cost of these 
efforts. What they fail to account for is the increasing cost that 
global warming is having in the form of more severe droughts, more 
dangerous wildfire seasons, and increased devastation from superstorms.
  Mr. Speaker, if we continue down this path and fail to take steps 
necessary to address climate change, the costs will only continue to 
grow and the impact on our communities will only increase.
  Last week, I joined my colleagues in the Safe Climate Caucus in 
sending a letter to Speaker Boehner asking him to schedule a debate on 
the House floor to discuss climate change and our Nation's response to 
this growing threat.
  The time for action is now. We must not sit idly by and ignore the 
facts and ignore the science while communities in New Mexico and across 
the country experience the negative impacts of climate change.

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