[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 3378]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             CLIMATE CHANGE

  (Mr. MORAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, if you listen to the other side, you would 
think that the costs of the Environmental Protection Agency's efforts 
to reduce global warming and to protect our environment are breaking 
the back of our economy, but that is hardly the case.
  What is really beginning to break the back of our economy is the 
costs associated with extreme weather events. From Hurricane Sandy to 
the droughts in the Midwest and the West, it is costing tens of 
billions of dollars every year, and it is getting worse.
  In fact, 10 years ago, the insurance industry estimated what the 
costs would be, and it was way less than it is today; and they 
acknowledge it is because of the effects of climate change. This 
applies to the Hartford Financial Services Group, AIG Prudential, and 
the Reinsurance Association of America. They all say that this is the 
footprint of climate change and that extreme weather conditions are 
going to get worse.
  So you have to ask yourself: If the insurance industry is 
acknowledging the presence of climate change, why can't the Congress? 
Will the majority of this House stay in denial that the climate is 
changing, that human activities are contributing to this change? Are 
they going to continue to play an obstructionist role, or are they 
going to act responsibly for the benefit of future generations? I hope 
it is the latter.

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