The Climate Crisis

The Climate Crisis
Democrats strongly believe in our responsibility to address the climate crisis head-on and to serve as stewards of our environment and public lands for current and future generations.

Democrats strongly believe in our responsibility to address the climate crisis head-on and to serve as stewards of our environment and public lands for current and future generations. Democrats are working with President Biden to restore protections for our environment and natural resources, promote cleaner air and water, and ensure America is a leader in confronting the climate crisis.

During the 117th Congress, House Democrats delivered a historic slate of legislation to address the climate crisis. These include the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law enacted in November 2021, a generational infrastructure package that is estimated to create nearly 1.5 million jobs annually throughout the next decade, turbocharge our clean energy economy, and take action on environmental justice and legacy pollution initiatives. The landmark Inflation Reduction Act is America’s single-largest investment in combatting the climate crisis and puts the U.S. on a path to roughly 40% emissions reduction by 2030. It includes historic investments in the clean energy economy that will lower energy costs, increase our energy security, and substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This legislation also promotes alternative energy and electric vehicle production. The CHIPS and Science Act, signed into law by President Biden in August 2022, invests in science and technology of the future, bolstering efforts to manufacture clean energy technology in the United States and providing access to training programs that will help to develop the STEM workforce of tomorrow.

House Democrats also passed a number of bills that act to protect and conserve our planet, including the Wildfire Response and Drought Resiliency Act, the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act, the Water Resources Development Act, and the Protecting America's Wilderness and Public Lands Act. In addition, House Democrats overturned a dangerous methane emissions rule put into place by the Trump Administration.

We will continue to partner with the Biden Administration to combat catastrophic climate change and protect our natural resources for future generations.

The Climate Crisis Related
Climate change was conspicuously absent from Tuesday’s State of the Union address, and call us nostalgic for a bygone era (read: two years ago) when science was valued and not feared, but we wanted to be sure you saw NASA’s announcement that 2018 was the fourth warmest year on record.
2/7/19
The Trump Administration is once again having Americans believe, falsely, that they must choose between a strong economy and basic safeguards to protect public health through this new proposal to undermine the Clean Water Act.
12/11/18
I am proud to stand here with Chairman Grijalva, Mr. Huffman, Mr. Gallego, tribal leaders, and native Alaskans whose identity, culture, and way of life are deeply tied to their lands.
12/11/18
Today’s report by federal climate scientists, released on a day when the Trump Administration believed fewer Americans would see it, reveals the alarming extent of our global climate challenges.
11/23/18
Any new trade agreement with Mexico and Canada ought to advantage American workers, farmers, and businesses; benefit consumers; and strengthen our relationships with our neighbors.
10/1/18
House Republicans could have worked with Democrats to pass a bipartisan Farm Bill that provides certainty for America’s farmers and supports programs that combat hunger.
9/6/18
Today, the Trump Administration doubled down on its war on clean air by ending the Clean Power Plan and replacing it with a proposal to advantage the same polluters whose former lobbyists and executives now populate the EPA and other Administration agencies
8/21/18
Intent on reversing every single policy the Obama Administration put in place to protect workers, consumers, public health, and the environment, today’s announcement shows that the Trump Administration is playing dangerous, partisan games with our nation’s energy security.
8/2/18
After having failed to pass their partisan Farm Bill last month, Republican leaders brought to the Floor a second time a bad bill that takes food assistance away from hungry families. 
6/21/18
Today's farm bill vote shows how deeply divided House Republicans continue to be
5/18/18
Just another day in the deeply divided and dysfunctional GOP Majority:
 
5/18/18
Add AARP to the growing list of organizations opposed to Republicans’ partisan Farm Bill. Through its extensive cuts to nutrition assistance, the GOP Farm Bill will put millions of seniors at risk of going hungry. Take a look at what AARP has to say here or see excerpts below:
 
5/16/18
Republicans could have worked with Democrats on a bipartisan Farm Bill, but instead they are doing what they do best: fighting over an unpopular, controversial bill that no one on their side of the aisle likes.
5/9/18
Instead of working in a bipartisan fashion to support America’s farmers and address food insecurity, House Republicans have once again written a deeply flawed, unpopular Farm Bill that cuts vital nutrition assistance programs that keep 40 million Americans from going hungry; fails to support economic opportunity for rural America; and weakens environmental protections.
5/8/18
On this Earth Day, which we observe on Sunday, let us recommit ourselves to the task of preserving our planet to sustain future generations.
4/21/18
I am disappointed that Chairman Conaway has chosen to mark up a partisan Farm Bill that includes severe cuts to nutrition assistance for Americans in need.
4/18/18
The farm bill draft introduced today by Republicans on the Agriculture Committee doubles-down on their assault against families and children on the edge of hunger.
4/12/18
The Trump Administration’s decision to weaken fuel efficiency standards is reckless and will undermine American competitiveness on the global stage.
4/3/18
President Trump will deliver his first State of the Union address tonight, and as we reflect on his first year in office, it is clear that the Trump presidency has so far been defined by chaos and incompetence.
1/30/18
America is not America without its great outdoor spaces, its national parks, and historic monuments that Congress and past presidents have preserved for the benefit of generations to come. 
12/4/17
We’re in, because it’s the right thing to do. We’re in, because it’s common sense. We’re in, because we are the leaders notwithstanding the blowing of the trumpet of retreat by Trump. That’s why we’re in.
11/14/17
Each day, more and more concerning questions surrounding the awarding of a lucrative contract to Whitefish Energy are raised.
10/27/17
Today we are witnessing the consequences of putting in charge of the Environmental Protection Agency someone who does not believe in the agency’s core mission and has spent his career seeking to undermine environmental protection.
10/6/17

I am heartbroken by the scenes of flooding and destruction in Texas caused by Hurricane Harvey and by the painful effect this storm has had on lives, health, and families' homes.

8/28/17