Barbara Boxer: “I thank the Senator, and I welcome his remarks. We are in a space in the Senate where there are some people who still…”

“I thank the Senator, and I welcome his remarks. We are in a space in the Senate where there are some people who still say climate change isn't happening, even though, as the Senator and I know, 98, 99 percent of the scientists in this country say it is obvious. I am also so pleased my friend is here today because he is talking about cap and trade, and that leads us into my question. I will ask two questions. One question I have for the Senator from Hawaii is how he feels about the Pope and the encyclical, where the Pope is basically stating it the way it is, and it needs to be heard by everyone. I wonder how my friend responded to that. Also, I wanted to make sure my friend knew in California we have a cap-and-trade program, and I thought it was so good that you reminded people that this was a creation by a Republican President dealing with acid rain and it was so successful and the public health benefits so outweighed the costs. So I wanted to make sure my friend was aware we had this cap-and- trade system in California that is working well. We balanced our budget in large part because of this, and businesses like it. They liked the certainty of it. Also, will the Senator respond to the issue of the Pope entering into this debate.”