On the recordJuly 25, 2019
Madam President, finally, on climate, I want to congratulate my dear friend, one of the most intelligent, hard-working, articulate Senators we have, Sheldon Whitehouse, on reaching a rhetorical milestone. Usually ``rhetoric'' and ``milestone'' don't go together, but in his strong eloquence on the environment, they do. Yesterday, Senator Whitehouse gave his 250th speech on the subject of climate change. Many Members of this Chamber have yet to speak 250 times on the floor in total, much less on a single topic. Senator Whitehouse's speeches have covered everything from sea level rise to polar cap ice melting and the effect of climate change on our economic security and our national security. He has diligently shone a light on the impediments to legislative progress on climate change, and he waxes fervent and poetic, condemning the web of dark money that funds fraudulent climate research and lobbies against climate action. Much more important than Senator Whitehouse's milestone, of course, is the issue he is talking about. Each passing week brings another proof point that climate change is happening right now and reshaping our planet for the worse, moving so quickly that, at some point, we will not be able to recover no matter what we do. The world will be so much worse for our children and grandchildren. I think of my 8-month-old--just turned 8 months on the 24th--my little grandson. Will his world be the same as ours?…





