On the recordMay 22, 2014
Madam President, I served 33 years in the National Guard. When I joined the Guard, I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. I have taken a similar oath as a Senator. Former Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army Gordon Sullivan famously wrote, ``Hope is not a method.'' I didn't come to Congress to hope. I approach my work here with the lessons I learned in the military: Find solutions and work together to overcome challenges. Unfortunately, that approach is not how it works in Washington. Too many people here don't care about solutions, and many ignore the problems. There is no greater proof than climate change. Here we are in 2014, almost 50 years after President Johnson warned that ``by burning fossil fuels humanity is unwittingly conducting a vast geophysical experiment.'' Yet irresponsible leaders in Washington pretend that climate change isn't real. They pretend that humans aren't causing it. They hope they can go along with the status quo. But Montanans know better. Here are the facts: Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are now higher than at any time in human history. The 12 hottest years on record have been in the last 15 years. The average temperature in Montana is 2.5 degrees higher than in 1900. And spring runoff now occurs 1 week to 4 weeks earlier. In Montana, climate change has contributed to the worst mountain pine beetle epidemic in recorded history.…





