FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CCL volunteers and staff huddle in the Rayburn cafeteria between meetings on Capitol Hill. (Photo by Craig Preston)
Analysis finds Republicans in Congress warming up to climate change advocates
WASHINGTON, DC, Nov. 15, 2017 — Over the past four years, Republican members of Congress appear to be increasingly receptive and engaged when meeting with volunteer advocates from Citizens’ Climate Lobby, according to an analysis of notes from meetings with congressional offices.
This and other findings from the analysis were shared with more than 400 House and Senate offices today as 580 CCL volunteers descend on Capitol Hill to resume their push for Congress to enact revenue-neutral carbon pricing.
The analysis, prepared by CCL Legislative Director Danny Richter, reflects a review of hundreds of notes from meetings held with senators, representatives and staff on Capitol Hill during June lobbying events held the past four years. The agenda in these meetings was to ask members of Congress to sponsor or support a policy to address climate change known as Carbon Fee and Dividend.
In reviewing the notes, Richter ranked the meetings with Republicans in three tiers, with Tier 1 being productive meetings with offices that showed clear and genuine interest. Tier 2 meetings were quiet but not uninterested interactions. Tier 3 meetings were combative or totally uninterested interaction.
In 2014, the ratio of Tier 1 meetings to Tier 3 meetings – productive vs. hostile – was 3 to 1. Between then and 2017, that ratio gradually improved, with this year’s ratio being 20 to 1. To put it another way, 20 times as many Republican offices were clearly interested in what our volunteers had to say as offices who were clearly hostile to CCL’s message.
“What this tells us is that CCL’s approach of respect and appreciation with members of Congress is paying off,” said CCL Executive Director Mark Reynolds. “Our engagement with congressional offices, particularly Republicans, is helping to drive the growth of the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus in the House.”
The analysis also revealed topics that were brought up by offices in meetings with CCL volunteers. The most frequently discussed topics discussed in CCL’s 501 meetings last June were:
- The Climate Solutions Caucus.
- The Paris Climate Agreement (Trump announced his pullout from the accord just before the meetings).
- The growth of jobs that would result from Carbon Fee and Dividend.
- The dividend that would be returned to households with CCL’s policy.
- The border adjustment tariff applied to maintain a level playing field for American businesses.
