Sheldon Whitehouse

I do a climate speech every week on the Senate floor, at least every week that we are in session.

If there is that kind of benefit, it would seem to be reasonable that we could find a way, through the politics of this body, to deliver some of that benefit back to the States of West Virginia and Wyoming.

A lot of what my colleagues have been saying during the course of this hearing, I believe, has only looked at one side of the ledger.

No, not at all. And Republicans and Democrats that I come across are worried about climate change and the impacts.

Young Republican voters under the age of 35 think that climate denial is, and these are the poll's words, not mine, ignorant, out of touch or crazy.

I was down in Florida not too long ago touring the coasts, where climate change is really undeniable, sea level rise is something you measure with the equivalent of a yardstick.

I think that it is not just me who thinks the science is settled, NOAA thinks the science is settled, NASA thinks the science is settled.

The American people are behind you and counting on EPA to stand strong against the polluters.

The benefits of the Clean Air Act, according to a 2011 EPA assessment, will outweigh its costs by a ratio of 30 to one.

EPA's mission to protect human health and the environment is one of the most fundamental and popular responsibilities of the Federal Government.

EPA took a critical step forward in this fight when it exercised its existing Clean Air Act authority.

There is no greater environmental threat today than climate change.

Do not be deterred by the polluters and their Republican allies in Congress who attack the proposal.

A recent Washington Post ABC news poll found that 70 percent of other public supports Federal standards to limit carbon pollution.

We as responsible Members of Congress should not be basing public policy on eccentric fringe views.

We are working together, along with a few other Senators, on a piece of legislation to address the problem of hospital acquired infections.

We left out nursing homes and behavioral health providers when we did that, so they're not part of the meaningful use program, which is really brilliant for people who are----

So how do you possibly get a signal out of that?

This is far and away the most important hearing happening today in Washington, DC, because of the importance of this issue and your attention to it.

We did with the ICU initiative in Rhode Island. It worked really well.

For all the work and all the fuss and all the fighting that has surrounded the Affordable Care Act, there remains a very large fundamental problem in the American healthcare system, which is that it costs about 50 percent more than the…

Interestingly, it also had the side effect of making the nursing staff in the intensive care units empowered enough that nursing turnover experienced a considerable drop-off, because they were so excited about what they were doing.

Obviously, when you're talking about saving people's lives, saving money is a secondary concern.

To me, the No. 1 effort is to do what we can to mitigate the circumstances surrounding climate changes.

When you lose them, you don't just lose them, it creates a knock-on effect.