Sheila Jackson Lee: “I am here today to speak in opposition to the proposed legislation, H. Con. Res. 86--Expressing the sense of Congress…”

“I am here today to speak in opposition to the proposed legislation, H. Con. Res. 86--Expressing the sense of Congress that a carbon tax would be detrimental to the United States economy. Days away from a shutdown of their own making, my Republicans colleagues are focused on their political agenda over the needs of the American people. It is important for the American people to know and to be reminded that Democrats made significant strides in unlocking the clean energy economy with the Inflation Reduction Act, while House Republicans are only concerned with undoing that progress and blocking those achievements. Year after year, research comes out supporting what we have known for years: Climate change is one of the biggest threats to the survival of our nation and the welfare of our people. Scientists have warned us about the devasting reality that would follow if we failed to act as a nation. It is clear that some of us have heeded these warnings with great concern while others have taken them lightly. My colleagues on the other side insist that a carbon tax would harm American families, specifically the poor, the elderly, and those on fixed incomes. But what do they have to say about the impacts of emissions on those groups? We know that the effects of climate change are not equally distributed, instead affecting the elderly, low-income communities, and people of color the most.…”