Chellie Pingree: “I thank Mr. McGovern for his good work and for yielding me the time. Greenhouse gas emissions did not happen in…”

“I thank Mr. McGovern for his good work and for yielding me the time. Greenhouse gas emissions did not happen in isolation. They have widespread impact and will not be curbed without global coordination. The Obama administration understood that fact, and that is why they entered America into an international compact to curb emissions on a global scale. When the Trump administration retreated from the Paris accord last year, it meant the effects of climate change would only get worse in my home State of Maine. In Maine, climate change isn't an abstraction, it is not a silly floor debate that has no meaning. It is a very real threat to our economy and to our way of life. I recently met with farmers in my State who told me climate change is here now and we need real solutions to adapt and to mitigate. I met with climate scientists from the University of Maine who told me invasive species are threatening the livelihoods of our foresters. I also met with shellfish growers and harvesters who are grappling with the effects of ocean acidification, of extreme weather events, and of the very real fact that the Gulf of Maine is warming faster than 95 percent of the Earth's other waters. This is real, and I don't want my grandchildren looking back and saying: ``Why didn't Congress fix the problem when they could?'' H.R. 9 is the first piece of positive climate change legislation to receive a vote in the House in years.…”