March 25, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 51 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session
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Climate Change (Executive Session); Congressional Record Vol. 165, No. 51
(Senate - March 25, 2019)
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[Pages S1928-S1930] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] Climate Change Mr. PETERS. Mr. President, revolution is deeply embedded in the character of this Nation. More than two centuries ago, delegates from across the American colonies gathered in Philadelphia to take what was audacious action. They risked everything, including their lives, by declaring independence from the greatest and strongest power in the world at that time, the British Empire. I am proud to say that my forefather served in George Washington's army, and he was called to risk his life and serve in the Continental Army to fight for an idea--that freedom and liberty would reign in this country. As Americans, throughout history, we have been called to service. Sometimes we are called to service by clear and present danger, such as the bombing at Pearl Harbor. Sometimes we are called to greatness by stretching our imagination like, when we went to the Moon, and sometimes we are called to unity by necessity because the stakes of inaction are simply too high. Today the United States faces such a challenge, and I believe we can once again prove our greatness. It is an undeniable fact that climate change, caused in large part by humans, is a threat to Michigan, our Great Lakes, our country, and our planet. Climate change poses a threat not only to the lands and waters that we all depend on but also to our health, our economy, and even our national security. It is also undeniable that the United States, unified in purpose, can meet the challenges and defeat the threats caused by climate change, but we need to take action now. Time is simply not on our side. Without question, taking action involves political risk, but doing nothing is simply not an option. The longer we [[Page S1929]] wait, the risks to our planet only grow more challenging and difficult to solve. Our planet is showing clear, unequivocal evidence of climate change, according to an overwhelming scientific consensus. Our ice caps are melting. Our oceans are warming. Severe weather is becoming the new normal. Land temperatures are rising. Just last week, an alarming new report found that the Great Lakes are warming more quickly than other parts of the country. This change will negatively impact fish species, lead to more algal blooms, cause flood damage to communities, homes, and businesses, and irreversibly alter a sensitive ecosystem that provides drinking water for 40 million Americans. I represent the Great Lakes State, and climate change threatens our economy and our way of life. I am disappointed that instead of working together on commonsense efforts and treating climate change with the seriousness that it deserves, the Republican Senate majority leader has chosen to waste limited floor time on a political stunt. What we should be doing is having a thoughtful debate on the need to address a significant threat to our country. Rather than playing partisan games, it is time to find unity and take bold action. The Senate must come together to pass real, concrete policies that will help to mitigate climate change and to wean us from our dependence on fossil fuels. I know it is possible because I have worked on bipartisan efforts with my colleagues to advance clean energy and lower greenhouse gas emissions. Together, we have advanced technology innovation, fueled our Nation's transportation with cleaner energy, bolstered our Nation's infrastructure to be more resilient to climate impacts, offered incentives for carbon capture sequestration, and boosted energy efficiency. These are all accomplishments that we have done together, but more needs to be done. This Congress, as we consider a surface transportation reauthorization package, as well as a new Water Resources Development Act, would be foolish to ignore climate impacts as we spend taxpayer dollars for infrastructure. We must seize the opportunity presented by a clean energy economy to continue driving American innovation while creating sustainable good-paying jobs. Today our auto industry in Michigan is rapidly working to advance electrification. Just last week, General Motors announced plans to add 400 jobs and invest $300 million to build a new electric car at their Orion plant. But despite these efforts, our State and our country have been hurt by the lack of a coherent, cohesive, and forward-looking policy that grows our economy while protecting our environment. We need a policy that ensures that renewable energy is produced here in America and done in a way that creates jobs and strengthens our national security. I know that we can do it if only we can find the political will. Together, we can effectively confront climate change in a way that benefits Michigan workers and families, our Great Lakes, and the entire country. The science is clear, but time is not on our side. We must take action now to confront climate change before it is too late. I urge my colleagues to stop playing political games. Let's roll up our sleeves and get to work on solving the climate change crisis together. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Georgia. disaster relief Mr. ISAKSON. Thank you, Mr. President. I rise for a moment to talk about a vote we will have tomorrow in this Chamber on a motion to adopt an amendment to the supplemental appropriations passed by the House, and it is a disaster amendment dealing with the States that have been afflicted by disasters over the last 2 years--most of them southern States, but not all. Some include the Territory of Puerto Rico. I am going to go over the details in a second, but first of all, some of you may see floating around this memorandum from the chairman of the Appropriations Committee in the House and the vice chairman in the Senate. It talks about an agreement that was on the disaster money and refers to Puerto Rico being shortchanged and the fact that we need to make sure that that doesn't happen. I want to give you the facts. Georgia, which I represent, is one of a number of States that includes Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alaska, California, and Hawaii, which have experienced significant disasters in the past 2 years. We saw the fires in California on our TVs. We saw the volcanos in Hawaii. We saw the blueberries in Georgia fall off the vines and be destroyed. We saw what happened to these crops and Alaska's earthquake. All of these States have received nothing yet. Puerto Rico has received $40 billion--$40 billion for what happened in Maria, and $21 billion has not been spent. They have gotten a lot of money, $40 billion, and the amendment I want to talk about in a second gives them $600 million more. There are a lot of places in this country that are States that we represent that have gotten nothing and have had big disasters in the last 2 years. These disasters are hurting our economy, our people, and our States. So I want to--any of you to see this email or this flyer tomorrow or hear the debate tomorrow. What it says, the flyer says that the vice chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Leahy, is going to object to the substitute that will be offered by Senator Perdue and myself tomorrow to the bill that will be debated unless Puerto Rico gets a better shake. The point, Puerto Rico has gotten 40, only spent 19, they have got $21 billion left to spend. We have $600 million to see to it that they don't run out of SNAP money at the end of this month, which they will with everything that stands currently. Puerto Rico is being treated great. Is there CDBG money they want? No, it is not in there. ``Fair'' is an interesting word. Fair is when you and I are treated fairly. We both get equal proportions, for money and things of that nature. Unfair is when somebody weights the formula--or someone takes undue advantage of a special situation. Well, this is a special situation. A lot of people are going to go without help by the end of next month. Farm bills are going to come due, and banks are going to foreclose on them. A lot of people in agriculture will be hurt badly. People who have been hurt by the fires in California will not be helped. Those who expressed help for earthquake damage in Alaska will not be helped. A lot of people will not be helped. We need to put off this guise of fairness and be really fair. Let's see that we put in the $600 million, which the amendment does and see to it that people on SNAP in Puerto Rico get their money. Let's see to it that those people in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina and other States damaged by floods, hurricanes, or fires get their money. There will be more emergencies, and we all know that. We all hate emergencies for a lot of reasons--appropriators, especially. Nobody wants to have to do that, but when our State, your State or mine, is injured dramatically in a disastrous hurricane or tornado or whatever, we as a country have always passionately dealt with the results of those storms, the losses those States have felt, and helped those States get back on their feet and those people be served. We are not asking for a handout; we are asking for a hand up in each of those States, and they have been waiting for a long time. Those who know what I am talking about, who is from Georgia, we have farmers who have gone through a cycle and their farm financing was done through banks that, at the end of this month, will have to act on those loans and call them for payment or have a refinance schedule knowing that they got some money coming down the line. If this passes and is agreed to by the House and the banks get the message that we are trying to help them like we have always had in the past, they will have a chance to make the negotiations, pay the money back that they borrowed, and do it over time and give people jobs in the field rather than go back and tell them we can't give them money and help them and lose the farm and business and us lose a lot of jobs. It is just not right, and it is not fair. I used the word ``fair'' just then because I think fair is the definition of [[Page S1930]] seeing to it that Puerto Rico, Georgia, and South Carolina get help. If you get this argument, read it. It sounds like we agreed to something 3 weeks ago, and now, all of a sudden, we are not agreeing to the same thing. That is not true. We agreed last week when we left what this vote would be tomorrow, what the supplemental will look like, what would be included in it, and as I understood it and my sense of understanding, we agreed to all the things. Was there enough money for Puerto Rico for what they wanted? No, they wanted more. Would Florida like more? Would Georgia like more? North Carolina like more? Yes. But in fairness of equity, it is fair and equitable to those people. I would urge you to listen to the debate and what everybody tells you what happened before you make a decision and everyone gets hurt. Instead what you are going to do, if you fall for this scenario, you are going to really hurt some people who will otherwise be helped through deliberations that have taken over the part of the last 2 or 3 months. Mr. President, I appreciate the time and the time to come here. I wish I could talk about something other than disasters, but I can't. A lot of people lost their lives and farms and their future. I want to see that we help in an equitable fashion in those States and those Territories that we do so. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Delaware is recognized.
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