Executive Session

Floor Speech

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Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. President, we don't have any more time to waste on political stunts, on climate denial or, for that matter, on climate ``delay-al.'' Enough with the straw man arguments from my Republican colleagues about hamburgers and ``Sharknado.'' Is that really the best they can do?

Climate change is real, and our pollution is causing its devastating impacts. Those are just facts.

As an engineer, I am certain our capacity to confront this challenge rests heavily on our ability to make policy that is actually driven by facts, by data, and by the best available science. That science provides us with clear and indisputable evidence that the destructive wildfires, hurricanes, and flooding we have seen are directly linked to human-caused climate change.

We are running out of time. It is past time for us to start implementing real solutions to eliminate our carbon pollution and mitigate the most devastating effects of climate change, and we must create a managed transition to an economy that is run on 100 percent clean energy. I encourage us to look to what just happened in my home State of New Mexico to see that this is possible, that it is not pie in the sky.

For more than a century, New Mexico has been a major part of our carbon-based economy--from coal, to oil, to gas. Yet, just last week, our new Governor, Michelle Lujan Grisham, signed into law sweeping legislation to move our State toward being a 100-percent carbon-free power sector by 2045. I am enormously proud of the hard work that has led to there being this landmark legislation. This major transition to clean energy will change our State and our economy for the better.

New Mexicans will save money in their monthly bills. Along the way, we will create thousands of new, high-paying jobs across our State, including in the communities that will be impacted by this transition. We are already seeing the massive economic potential of clean energy with the enormous wind farms and solar plants that are coming on line all across our State. Every new project brings new jobs and brings millions--sometimes billions--of dollars of investment.

That is the kind of action we need to take in the U.S. Senate. The United States can and must lead the way in this transition. That is why we are challenging Majority Leader McConnell to put an end to the political stunts.

Leader McConnell, bring your solutions to the floor. Let's get to work together.

I yield the remainder of my time to Senator Whitehouse of Rhode Island, who has been an incredible leader on this issue.

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