Climate Action Now Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. HOYER. Mr. Chair, the overwhelming majority of scientists in the world, not just in the United States, believe that climate change is one of the major crises confronting the global community.

We went to Paris, and the world community got together and adopted an agreement that was voluntary in its implementation. No sovereignty was given up by any nation. They said that scientists say we have a crisis and that we need to respond to it.

My friend from Michigan who spoke earlier, Mr. Walberg, said that we ought to be focused on education, housing, healthcare, and job creation. He is right, but to ignore this problem is dangerous and unacceptable.

Climate change is perhaps one of the greatest threats we face as a nation and as a planet. Those who deny it do so at great peril to the health, security, and economic prosperity of our country.

H.R. 9 will not solve climate change. The first step in any journey does not get you there. But without it, you get nowhere.

House Democrats are laying down a marker today that we are committed to tackling this challenge with the seriousness it deserves.

Recognizing and combating climate change must be a global effort. This legislation prohibits the Trump administration from using any funds to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement.

I tell my friends in the House that I believe the overwhelming majority of Americans support that proposition, as do the citizens of the world.

We have been the leader of the free world. Withdrawing from an agreement that was voluntarily entered into by over 170 nations shrugs off the mantle of leadership, moral and intellectual. If the United States withdraws, then we will be the only nation in the world not to be part of this historic agreement which embraces the goals previously set by our country--joined by the contribution of other nations--to reduce carbon pollution, promote technological innovation, and help avoid the most catastrophic consequences of climate change.

If we ignore the challenges of climate change, then we will also close ourselves off to opportunities to take the lead in the race to develop and deploy cleaner and more efficient technologies, which would create jobs and grow businesses and be a boon to our economy.

So I would suggest to my colleagues that those who argue against this bill argue not for economic progress, not for the creation of jobs, but exactly the opposite, and they deny the future: the future of the economy, the future of our health, the future of our environment, and the future of our children.

America, if it is to be great, must not sit on the sidelines and shrug like Atlas in confronting the rest of the world. We must act on climate change.

Mr. Chairman, I want to thank my dear friend, the chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr. Engel, for his leadership and his strong voice on behalf of what is an international issue. It is an issue for us, but it is an international issue.

I want to thank, as well, my dear friend, Representative Kathy Castor, for her leadership as chair of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis and for introducing H.R. 9.

I also want to thank Chairman Pallone and the Energy and Commerce Committee for their leadership.

There have been over 30 hearings on this issue. All concluded we must have a concerted effort to address climate change, and House Democrats will continue to do our part. But this ought to be a bipartisan vote. Every citizen--Republican, Democrat, Independent, and nonaffiliated-- are going to be affected if we do not deal with climate change, and their children as well.

I look forward to bringing to the floor future legislation from our committees which seeks to tackle the climate crisis with substantive proposals, but I urge my colleagues: Let's take this first step. Let's say that we are not going to withdraw from the rest of the world. Let's say we are going to continue to lead on an issue that there is a global consensus on that we must deal with climate change. Take this step. Assert America's leadership.

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