[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 743 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 743
Expressing strong disapproval of the President's formal notification to
the United Nations of his intent to withdraw the United States from the
Paris Agreement.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 5, 2019
Mr. Schneider (for himself, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Mr. Cartwright, Mr.
Connolly, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Panetta, Ms. Speier, Ms. Clarke of New York,
Mr. Schiff, Mr. Kildee, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Tonko, Mrs. Dingell, Mr.
Rush, Ms. Moore, Mr. Gonzalez of Texas, Ms. Barragan, Mr. Suozzi, Mr.
Casten of Illinois, Mr. Foster, Ms. DelBene, Ms. McCollum, Mrs. Davis
of California, Mr. Krishnamoorthi, Mr. Garamendi, Ms. Jayapal, Mr.
Brendan F. Boyle of Pennsylvania, Mr. Blumenauer, Mrs. Napolitano, Mr.
Welch, Mr. Pocan, Mrs. Torres of California, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Ms.
Norton, Mr. Takano, Mr. Larsen of Washington, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Heck,
Mr. Smith of Washington, Mr. Raskin, Mr. Lipinski, Ms. Kelly of
Illinois, Mrs. Lawrence, Mr. Pascrell, Mr. Sablan, Mr. Huffman, Mr.
O'Halleran, Mrs. Murphy of Florida, Mr. Morelle, Mr. Serrano, Mr.
Sherman, Mr. Cooper, Mr. Price of North Carolina, Mr. Cisneros, Mr.
Lynch, Mr. Quigley, Mr. Meeks, Mr. Ted Lieu of California, Mr. Correa,
Ms. Bonamici, Mr. Stanton, Mr. Case, Ms. Pingree, Mr. DeSaulnier, Mr.
McEachin, Mr. Perlmutter, Mr. Kilmer, Ms. Underwood, Mr. Keating, Mr.
Neguse, Ms. Lee of California, Mr. Levin of California, Mr. Beyer, Mr.
Cleaver, Mr. Carson of Indiana, Mr. Pappas, Ms. Meng, Mr. Costa, Ms.
Bass, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Espaillat, Ms. Castor of Florida, Mr. Larson of
Connecticut, Mr. Aguilar, Mr. Crist, Mr. Courtney, Ms. Judy Chu of
California, Mr. Schrader, Mr. Yarmuth, Mr. Sean Patrick Maloney of New
York, Mr. Soto, Mr. DeFazio, Miss Rice of New York, Ms. Gabbard, Mr.
Michael F. Doyle of Pennsylvania, Mrs. Lowey, Mr. Delgado, Mr. Cox of
California, Mr. Kind, Mrs. Hayes, Mr. Gallego, Mrs. Axne, Mr. Clay, Ms.
Eshoo, Ms. Frankel, Ms. Brownley of California, Mr. Ryan, Mr.
Lowenthal, Mr. Hastings, Mr. Peters, Mr. Scott of Virginia, Ms.
DeGette, Ms. Schrier, Mr. Danny K. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Rouda, Mr.
Payne, Mr. Sarbanes, Ms. Kuster of New Hampshire, Ms. Mucarsel-Powell,
Mrs. Fletcher, Ms. Finkenauer, Mr. Malinowski, Ms. Stevens, Ms.
Haaland, Mr. Jeffries, Mr. Deutch, Mr. Khanna, Mr. Carbajal, Mr.
McNerney, Mr. Engel, Ms. DeLauro, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Neal, Mr. Nadler,
Ms. Lofgren, Ms. Velazquez, Mr. Loebsack, Mr. Evans, Mrs. Bustos, Mr.
Bera, Mr. McGovern, Ms. Titus, Mr. Sires, Ms. Matsui, Mr. Lewis, Mr.
Lawson of Florida, Mr. Ruppersberger, Mr. Butterfield, Mr. Swalwell of
California, Ms. Waters, Mr. Cicilline, Mr. Norcross, Ms. Fudge, and Ms.
Sewell of Alabama) submitted the following resolution; which was
referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Expressing strong disapproval of the President's formal notification to
the United Nations of his intent to withdraw the United States from the
Paris Agreement.
Whereas global climate change is a threat to the United States national
security, public health, national economy, and the legacy we will leave
to our children;
Whereas there is expert-level consensus within the Federal Government, from the
intelligence community and Department of Defense to the Department of
Agriculture, Department of Transportation, and the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, that climate change is real, already
affecting the United States, and poses a dire threat to our well-being
and security if left unaddressed;
Whereas on November 23, 2018, the U.S. Global Change Research Program, a
collaboration of thirteen Federal agencies, released Volume II of its
Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4) outlining the impact climate
change will have on human and societal welfare, including region-
specific effects, and issues affecting natural resource management,
public health, emergency response, and other critical issues to national
well-being;
Whereas NCA4 makes clear that communities around the country are already facing
climate-driven impacts on human health such as extreme heat, expanded
exposure to vector-borne diseases, poor air quality, and weather events
that are displacing communities;
Whereas NCA4 found that reducing greenhouse gas emissions could, by the end of
the century, result in thousands of American lives saved and hundreds of
billions of dollars in health-related economic benefits gained each
year;
Whereas NCA4 highlighted that already-aging United States infrastructure, from
stormwater management to the electrical grid, would be stretched to its
limit in the face of Federal inaction toward combating climate change;
Whereas on May 6, 2019, the United Nations Intergovernmental Science-Policy
Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) released its
updated Global Assessment, which found that around one million species,
1 in 4, are at risk of extinction as a result of climate change;
Whereas the IPBES Global Assessment found that the reduction in global
biodiversity that is driven by climate changes threatens global food
security, and the NCA4 notes that climate change is expected to disrupt
United States agricultural productivity and threaten domestic crop
yields;
Whereas the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Gonzalez stated at the
opening of the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP25, that
``choosing the path of hope is not the job of one person, one industry
or one government alone . . . the only solution is rapid, ambitious,
transformative action by all--governments, regions, cities, businesses
and civil society'', and that ``we made a commitment to the people of
the world through the Paris Agreement. It was a solemn promise . . . to
do anything less will be a betrayal of our entire human family and all
the generations to come.'';
Whereas the World Meteorological Organization's Provisional Statement on the
State of the Global Climate in 2019, released on December 3, 2019,
stated that 2019 ends the warmest decade on record and that greenhouse
gas concentrations have reached a record new high of 407.8 parts per
million;
Whereas the United Nations Environment Programme's Emissions Gap Report 2019,
released in November 2019, highlighted the significant work the global
community must undertake in order to overcome the shortcomings of
current commitments to keep global temperature rise to two degrees
Celsius, that greenhouse gas emissions continued to increase in 2019,
that G20 countries account for more than 75 percent of greenhouse gas
emissions, and that ``enhanced action by G20 members will be essential
for the global mitigation effort'';
Whereas the most vulnerable communities, including communities of color, women,
children, the elderly, persons with disabilities, low-income
communities, and those with underlying health conditions, face even
greater health risks as a result of climate change;
Whereas the United States is already seeing climate change exacerbate extreme
weather events, including 6 Category 5 hurricanes in the past 4 years,
the issuance of the first-ever Extreme Red Flag Warning for wildfires,
and communities around the country regularly facing ``100 Year Floods'';
Whereas investing in energy efficiency and clean energy technologies is an
extraordinary job creation opportunity for the United States that
already employs more than 3,260,000 people, with solar and wind
technicians representing the first and second fastest-growing jobs in
the entire United States economy by 2026, respectively;
Whereas the United States can lead the world in innovation and manufacturing
clean energy technologies, creating good-paying jobs, modernizing the
energy grid, and growing new companies that will be the titans of a new
clean energy economy;
Whereas the Paris Agreement highlights the importance of environmental justice
and equity in our climate solutions, particularly in light of the impact
climate change is expected to have on vulnerable communities around the
globe;
Whereas the Paris Agreement is an international accord that aims to limit the
increase in global temperatures to less than two degrees Celsius and
urges efforts to limit the increase to one and a half degrees Celsius
above pre-industrial levels;
Whereas the Paris Agreement was adopted on December 12, 2015, opened for
signature on April 22, 2016, and entered into force on November 4, 2016;
Whereas 197 parties are signatories and 187 are officially party to the Paris
Agreement, including the largest emitters of carbon pollution, China,
the European Union, and India;
Whereas if the United States withdrew from the Paris Agreement, it would be the
only nation in the world to do so;
Whereas the United States, as one of the world's top emitters of carbon
pollution, has an obligation to participate in global efforts to curb
climate change;
Whereas the United States exit from the Paris Agreement will cede leadership on
clean energy technologies, and the jobs they create, to China, India,
and other nations;
Whereas a group of States, including California, Colorado, Connecticut,
Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan,
Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North
Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia,
Washington, Wisconsin, and the territory of Puerto Rico, have all joined
the United States Climate Alliance, a bipartisan group of States
committed to upholding the goals of the Paris Agreement;
Whereas more than 3,800 mayors, college and university leaders, businesses, and
investors in the United States announced their continued support for the
Paris Agreement;
Whereas leaders of the world's religious communities recognize the grave threat
to humanity posed by climate change and our moral obligation to protect
the earth and its people publicly have called upon politicians, business
leaders, and the faithful to take action to address climate change; and
Whereas millions of Americans have made their voices heard in support of the
Paris Agreement, and the United States upholding its commitments to the
international community to reduce carbon pollution for the benefit of
good-paying jobs, healthy families, and a sustainable future for our
environment now and in future generations: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) strongly disapproves of the President's formal
notification to the United Nations of his intent to withdraw
the United States from the Paris Agreement;
(2) commends the group of States, cities, colleges and
universities, businesses, investors, and individuals who have
publicly expressed their support for the Paris Agreement; and
(3) urges the President to reverse his decision and
maintain United States participation in the Paris Agreement.
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