On the recordJune 10, 2016
I want to thank my friend from Oregon for yielding. Mr. Speaker, today, my friends on the other side of the aisle are making four points. The first point they are making is that they don't believe in science, because the science around climate change is unassailable. The second point they are making is that they don't worry about American prosperity, because from an economic perspective and national security, the military, we should be reminded, has called climate change a threat multiplier. This is a very significant risk to long- term American prosperity. The third point they are making is that they don't believe in the power of markets to change behavior at its core. They are not acknowledging the power of a capitalistic economic model to change people's behavior. And the fourth thing they are saying is that they don't trust U.S. businesses to innovate into opportunities and around challenges. These are extraordinary statements. And contrast that with our approach. I have a piece of legislation called the Tax Pollution, Not Profits Act, which puts in place a carbon pricing mechanism, which has been proven to be the most effective way--more effective than a regulatory approach--to change behavior and reverse some of the trends and bend the curve on climate change. We take the revenues that are generated by that bill and we use it to offset all of the costs that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle say exist through tax credits to individuals.…
