Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008--Continued

Floor Speech

TOM LANTOS AND HENRY J. HYDE UNITED STATES GLOBAL LEADERSHIP AGAINST HIV/AIDS, TUBERCULOSIS, AND MALARIA REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2008--Continued -- (Senate - July 15, 2008)

CLIMATE CHANGE

Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, as you noted, I come from the State of Minnesota and the State of Minnesota is a State that believes in science. We brought the world everything from the Post-it note to the pacemaker. We are the home of Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota. We believe in science. As a former prosecutor, I also believe in evidence. What we have been hearing from this administration, time and time again, whether it is about energy policy--where they have actually done literally nothing the last 8 years when it comes to pushing us forward to where we should be when you look at the rest of the world with technology and hybrid cars and electric cars and new gas mileage standards which came out of this Congress, or whether it is about climate change, which I am about to address today--they have been living in an evidence-free zone. It is time to bring out the evidence.

The administration made headlines twice last week in its ongoing effort to do nothing about climate change. We learned there was political interference with science--political interference with the evidence and the facts. We also learned the administration will not issue the global warming regulations mandated by the Supreme Court.

I am a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee. Some of my colleagues might recall last fall when Dr. Julie Gerberding, the Director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, was invited to testify before our committee. She was invited to testify on how climate change could impact public health. Unfortunately, her testimony that she delivered was markedly different from what she and her staff at the CDC had prepared. The Office of Management and Budget got its hands on the speech and removed about 7 pages that discussed the impact of global warming--7 pages redacted. These pages included explanations and descriptions of the links between climate change and heat stroke, weather disasters, worsening air pollution, allergies, food and waterborne infectious diseases, mosquito and tickborne infectious diseases, and food and water scarcity. I would say those things seem very relevant to the job of the head of the CDC, and something she should be allowed to testify about when it comes to climate change.

Well, at the time there was brouhaha because someone leaked the actual testimony, a whistleblower brought it to our attention.

At the time, the White House claimed they needed to edit it because of its "broad characterizations about climate change science that didn't align with the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report.''

Last fall, we provided a number of examples of how her testimony was, in fact, closely aligned with that report. Her testimony, in fact, included the statement that:

The west coast of the United States is expected to experience significant strains on water supplies as regional precipitation declines and mountain snowpacks are depleted.

She went on to say:

Forest fires are expected to increase in frequency, severity, distribution, and duration.

In fact, the IPPC has found that "warm spells and heat waves will very likely increase the danger of wildfire.''

So they were completely consistent, and I do not have to tell anyone, you do not have to read a report on what has been going on in California in the past 2 weeks.

Global warming did not cause these fires, but it certainly intensifies the three main causes of wildfires: high temperatures, summer dryness, and long-term drought.

Minnesotans know when the wool is being pulled over their eyes. Let's face it, the Bush administration did not change Dr. Gerberding's testimony because of concerns regarding accuracy. They did not worry about if it matched with that record because it, in fact, exactly did. They did it for political reasons.

So it was no surprise to me when the news broke last week that both the Office of the Vice President and the President's Council on Environmental Quality had actually stepped in to interfere with her testimony. This revelation came to us from Mr. Jason Burnett, a former Deputy Administrator of the EPA, who informed Chairman Boxer that he had been approached by the Council on Environmental Quality staff and asked to work with the CDC to remove from the testimony any discussion of the human health consequences of climate change.

Upon reviewing the original testimony, Mr. Burnett came to the same conclusion we have reached since: The science was correct. He did not think he should alter the statement. He was not operating in an evidence-free zone. He wanted the facts out there. He wanted information out there.

I am sorry to report that even though the administration has been caught redhanded in this behavior, time and time again, it has not stopped them from continuing their interference with scientific facts. Last week we learned the Office of Management and Budget has been sitting on an e-mail from that same former Deputy Administrator of the EPA regarding the endangerment of public health or welfare from global warming.

The OMB received this e-mail, and once they realized what it contained----

The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Lautenberg). The Senator's time has expired.

Ms. KLOBUCHAR. I ask unanimous consent for 1 additional minute.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

Ms. KLOBUCHAR. The OMB received this e-mail. Once they realized what it contained, they first tried to make Mr. Burnett take it back, and then they actually tried to bury it.

We also learned last week of the administration's decision to leave office without taking any regulatory action to address climate change. This is wrong. The bottom line is that this White House is leaving it to the next President to show leadership, to show leadership on energy, and to show leadership on climate change.

I cannot say it more plainly than this: Our climate is changing. If we do not act to stem the tide, it will have grave and disastrous impacts on every single facet of our lives, from our health, to our economy, to our foreign policy.

It should begin with science, it should begin with evidence, it should end with science, and it should end with evidence. That is how we will come to the right policy outcome. We cannot have the wool pulled over the eyes of the American people anymore.

I yield the floor.

Source