Jeff Merkley

Climate change is very evident in a number of ways.

We have a significant problem with loss of snowpack in the Cascades, which is resulting in warmer streams.

I think that is the foundation for this discussion.

I share the concern of many of my colleagues that an international body would set standards for U.S. financial institutions.

Since the prevailing winds go from west to east, when our forests are burning out in Oregon, California and Washington State, the rest of the Nation is experiencing those impacts.

To summarize, you are saying yes, there is a connection between the coal-fired power plant pollution and the illnesses and deaths that are disproportionately occurring?

The people of the United States expect the Constitution to be upheld and the principles of the Fourth Amendment. They expect that the law that is passed on this floor will be implemented in an appropriate fashion and consistently, and when…

Were the opinions of this court, established by law-- and, yes, it is transparent to the public that the court exists. But the question of secrecy is not one of whether it exists; it is a question of whether the process is open in any…

The Senator from North Carolina can ask a question, and I get to answer the question.

When colleagues come to the floor and contend that there have been no secret courts in America, that there has been no secret law in America, that the administration of section 215 matched the plain language of the laws adopted by this…

We have a very unlevel playing field if they are providing finance support for their industries and we are not doing the same?

But I wanted to have you explore a little bit about the subsidies that China gives to their exports.

This financing creates jobs here in the United States of America?

Certainly that is a factor in the cost. Virtually all of my home State is in compliance with the new standards.

I have some concerns about it. It is weaker than many States.

But should the public not have a right to know what chemical soup is put into the ground on public lands?

This is chemicals on public land. This is our public land.

So these are real concerns, and I think it is important to keep looking at it. The public deserves to know what chemicals are put into the ground on public land.

That pretty much violates or wipes out the entire fling of the disclosure.

I think both sides of the aisle benefit greatly from these sorts of voluntary efforts.

The Endangered Species Act is not broken. Since this bipartisan law was enacted in 1973 under President Nixon, it has been 99 percent successful in recovering listed species.

One of the things that we have really been encouraging are the candidate conservation agreements with assurances.

It is our responsibility not to politicize the science or the biology needed to recover a particular species, but to heed the warning signs given to us by science.

Thank you all so very much, and that example shows the powers of grassroots action, that it is not just about leaders who help drive policy or change but citizens together standing up and saying we are changing how this is done.

Thank you for your leadership on this issue, this world challenge.