[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 6887-6888]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          SAFE CLIMATE CAUCUS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Waxman) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, this morning, our Nation's leading climate 
scientists released the country's third National Climate Assessment. 
The report confirms that climate change is real, is being caused by 
humans, and is already harming communities across America. The report 
tells us that the scientific evidence is ``unequivocal.'' The impacts 
are being felt in every region, and they are growing more urgent. They 
are going to get worse if we don't act.
  A record drought is destroying crops in California, torrential rains 
have flooded Florida, and wildfires are getting more intense. Coastal 
areas are being inundated as sea levels rise. No sector of our 
economy--from oyster hatcheries on the west coast to maple syrup 
producers in New England--are untouched. Even allergy sufferers are 
affected, as the pollen season starts earlier and lasts longer.
  The National Climate Assessment concludes that unless we act now to 
cut carbon pollution, these impacts will intensify. No State, no 
community, and no congressional district will be spared from climate 
change. We will all be affected.
  And so we are at a crossroads. One path is to listen to the 
scientists. We can protect our environment by curbing carbon pollution 
from power plants and oil refineries. We can lead the world in 
developing the clean energy technologies of the future, like solar and 
wind energy. We can meet our moral obligation to preserve our fragile 
atmosphere for our children and grandchildren.
  The other path is to deny the science and ignore the growing threat 
of climate change. We can watch our coastlines flood, our forests burn, 
and our crops wither. We can let the Chinese and other countries 
dominate the trillion-dollar market for the clean, renewable energy of 
the future.
  It should be an easy choice, but the special interests that profit 
from fossil

[[Page 6888]]

fuels are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to obscure the 
issues. The Koch brothers, the coal companies, and the oil industry 
have joined forces to stop any action to address climate change in 
Congress.
  Consider this: earlier this year, virtually every Republican Member 
of the House voted to block EPA regulation of dangerous carbon 
pollution. They even voted to deny that climate change is occurring.
  I am the ranking member of the Energy and Commerce Committee. This 
committee has jurisdiction over our Nation's energy policy. Over the 
last 3 years, Representative Bobby Rush, the ranking member of the 
Energy Subcommittee, and I have sent over 30 letters requesting that we 
hold hearings on climate science so we can make informed decisions. Not 
even one hearing on the science has been held.
  Thankfully, President Obama is not waiting for Congress to act. The 
President is listening to the scientists. He recognizes the danger of 
uncontrolled climate change and is using his authority under existing 
law to cut carbon pollution.
  The President is absolutely right to act. His climate action plan is 
reasonable, it is affordable, and it will protect our atmosphere for 
our children and future generations. It accelerates a transition to a 
clean energy economy that will create millions of jobs.
  The President has said he is willing to listen to other ideas, but 
Republicans have offered no alternatives. I have repeatedly asked the 
House Republicans, If you don't like the President's plan, what is your 
proposal? But I have never gotten an answer because they don't have 
one.
  Saying ``no'' to every solution is not a plan. Doing nothing is not a 
plan. Denying the science is not a plan. No one can accept what the 
scientists are telling us and fail to support a plan of action. If 
Republicans aren't going to offer solutions, the President must 
continue to act. He deserves our support.
  We still have time to avoid the worst impacts of climate change 
presented by the National Climate Assessment. But the window is closing 
fast. We must act now to stop carbon pollution and invest in the clean 
energy technologies of the future.

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