for more than 100 years, scientists have shown that burning fossil fuels creates carbon pollution that heats up and builds up in our atmosphere. It just doesn't go away. It just keeps building up more and more and more. And for more than 100 years, we kept on burning fossil fuels anyway. In fact, we have given major--as a Congress--major, permanent tax benefits for the past 100 years to the fossil fuel industry. Now we are experiencing the full force and the huge cost of that choice, and it is growing even faster than many predicted. This week, I published a report that outlined how extreme weather events are becoming more destructive, more dangerous, and more expensive, thanks to the climate crisis. Last year, the U.S. Senate set an awful record. We had 22 separate billion-dollar weather and climate disasters in one year--the most ever. In total, these 22 disasters cost the Nation almost $100 billion in damages, and 262 Americans lost their lives in severe storms and heat waves and wildfires. 2020 may have set a record, but, unfortunately, it is a record that is going to be broken probably this year. Over the past 5 years, American taxpayers have spent an average of $126 billion a year in damages due to these disasters. And the total cost of these disasters over the last 15 years tops $1 trillion, and growing every single day, every single year.…
On the recordSeptember 22, 2021
Source
govinfo.govShare
More from Debbie Stabenow
Nov 18, 2024
Yes. Now, we could pass an extension again and throw this into the lap of everyone next year. That doesn't create any more certainty for farmers. Those who want to just do some ad hoc payments, you know, that is not going to work. And so…
Dec 2, 2024
I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Veterans' Affairs be discharged from further consideration of S. 3746 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title. The…
Nov 18, 2024
Thank you so much. And thank you, Senator Klobuchar, for your current leadership and future leadership on the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. You know, I would say that, at any other time, putting forward a bill would be…





