On the recordJuly 10, 2013
After President Obama's historic announcement of his climate action plan 2 weeks ago, we returned home to our congressional districts for a week, and some of us saw record- high temperatures and drought. Others witnessed unseasonably heavy rainfall and tidal flooding. And yet this week we return to a House that's heading in the wrong direction. The Energy and Commerce Committee is debating a bill that would give the Department of Energy veto authority over EPA's public health rules. The Energy and Minerals Subcommittee spent yesterday in a hearing on the wonders of subsidized coal production. Fighting climate change is the biggest imperative of our time. The stakes are high, and ignoring it will not make the problem go away. President Obama's plan is a step in the right direction, and I'm encouraged that EPA is moving quickly on meaningful standards for power plants. Strong power plant standards are an imperative if we're going to avert the worst impacts of climate change. We've got a lot of work to do, Mr. Speaker, and it's time to get this House headed in the right direction on climate policy. ____________________
