FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
From left, U.S. representatives Carlos Curbelo, Elise Stefanik and Ryan Costello, lead sponsors of the Republican climate resolution.
House Republicans introduce climate resolution
WASHINGTON, March 15, 2017 – Seventeen Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives today introduced a resolution that acknowledges the negative impacts of climate change “that are expected to worsen in every region of the United States” and calls upon the House to work on solutions for mitigation and adaptation efforts.
The resolution, introduced by Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL), Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Rep. Ryan Costello (R-PA) and 14 other Republicans, resolves that “the House of Representatives commits to working constructively, using our tradition of American ingenuity, innovation, and exceptionalism, to create and support economically viable, and broadly supported private and public solutions to study and address the causes and effects of measured changes to our global and regional climates, including mitigation efforts and efforts to balance human activities that have been found to have an impact.”
“With forty percent of Florida’s population at risk from sea-level rise, my state is on the front lines of climate change,” said Curbelo. “South Florida residents are already beginning to feel the effects of climate change in their daily lives – from chronic flooding to coral bleaching to threats to our freshwater supply in the Everglades. We cannot ignore these challenges and every Member of Congress has a responsibility to our constituents and future generations to support market-based solutions, investments, and innovations that could alleviate the effects of climate change and make our nation more resilient. Our goal with this resolution is to shift the debate from whether climate change is real toward the tangible efforts to reduce carbon emissions and mitigate its effects.”
In addition to the three lead sponsors, other co-sponsors of the resolution are:
- Mark Amodei (NV-02)
- Don Bacon (NE-2)
- Barbara Comstock (VA-10)
- John Faso (NY-19)
- Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-8)
- John Katko (NY-24)
- Frank Lobiondo (NJ-02)
- Mia Love (UT-04)
- Brian Mast (FL-18)
- Pat Meehan (PA-07)
- Tom Reed (NY-23)
- David Reichert (WA-08)
- Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL-27)
- Mark Sanford (SC-01)
“The risks of climate change are far too great to get bogged down in partisan politics,” said Citizens’ Climate Lobby Executive Director Mark Reynolds. “With this resolution, these 17 Republicans are saying that business as usual is unacceptable when it comes to preserving a livable world for future generations. Hopefully, their leadership will help us turn the page and move forward on solutions to this critical problem.”
Many of the resolution’s sponsors are also members of the bipartisan House Climate Solutions Caucus, which is bringing Republicans and Democrats together to discuss and develop legislative solutions to climate change. The caucus has 26 members, with equal numbers from both sides of the aisle.
Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL), who with Curbelo co-chairs the Climate Solutions Caucus, had this to say about the Republican resolution:
“Americans don’t see climate change as a partisan issue, and neither should Congress. As the Democratic co-Chair of the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus, I applaud my Republican colleagues for introducing this important resolution on climate change. We’re going to need lawmakers from both sides of the aisle working together, engaging in robust debate, following the science, and finding bipartisan legislative responses to the growing threats of climate change.”
For More Information or to Take Action, see CCL’s special page for the Republican Climate Resolution.
