Lois Capps: “I thank my colleague for yielding. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 2042. The so-called Ratepayer…”

“I thank my colleague for yielding. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 2042. The so-called Ratepayer Protection Act does nothing to protect any of us. In fact, it does just the opposite. This bill would simply continue this majority's policy of sticking their head in the sand and doing nothing to address the serious problems of climate change. The Pope has said that climate change is a reality. It is impacting our lives every day. It is impacting our economy, and it is only going to get worse. Mr. Chairman, we are confronted almost daily with new evidence that climate change is leading to increased health risks, threatening our environment, and costing our economy billions of dollars. Studies have shown that climate change can lead and does lead to higher rates of asthma, reduces crop yields, acidifies our oceans, and increases the risk for harmful algal blooms. More severe droughts are threatening drinking and agriculture water supplies in many locations, while warmer climates are increasing the severity and frequency of storms in others. A recent study also showed that climate change could undo many of the improvements that we have seen in human well-being and life expectancy over the last half century. The power sector is the largest source of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for nearly one-third of the U.S. total. Mr.…”