Ed Markey: “Corn is shriveling. Pastures are dying. More than 1,000 counties in 29 States are eligible for drought disaster…”

“Corn is shriveling. Pastures are dying. More than 1,000 counties in 29 States are eligible for drought disaster assistance. Increased food prices from droughts act like an extreme weather food tax on every single American. Even if the drought is not in your neighborhood, you will feel the pain at the checkout counter. Even if the heat wave has broken in your State, your cupboard may be emptier as you have to make hard choices at the grocery store. Even if the storm skips your town, the disruptions will be felt all the way to your dinner plate. Many of our Western forests are also extremely dry. Wildfire has already burned millions of acres this summer. Tens of thousand of people have had to evacuate. Hundreds of homes have been destroyed. Lives have been lost. We also know that increasing carbon pollution increases the risk of extreme weather. We all buy flood and fire insurance for our homes. This amendment is the flood and fire insurance for America from the disaster, the disaster that is this Republican legislation. On the other side of this spectrum, parts of Minnesota and Florida experienced devastating flooding in June. The rain from Tropical Storm Debby caused Florida to have its wettest June ever. All of this occurred during the hottest 12-month period for the lower 48 States since record-keeping began in 1895, and it follows 2011, when America experienced a record 14 extreme weather disasters that each caused $1 billion or more of damage.…”