Coastal State Climate Preparedness Act of 2017

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the topic of this Special Order.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today as a member of the Climate Solutions Caucus to speak on the issue of climate change. The caucus is a bipartisan group of members committed to implementing economically viable options to reduce climate risk.

The caucus has a ``Noah's Ark'' membership rule. Members can only join in pairs, one from each party. Under the leadership of co-chairs Mr. Curbelo and Mr. Deutch, the caucus is helping to break the partisan gridlock on this issue and show that promoting climate solutions can be truly bipartisan.

The formation and rapid growth of the Climate Solutions Caucus represents a recognition of both the challenges and opportunities and has demonstrated that there is bipartisan will to take action.

In recognition of the fact that 60 Members of Congress have come together to fight climate change in a bipartisan fashion, I organized this time for my colleagues to join me on the floor to let the American people know what we, as their elected leaders, are doing to address climate change.

We know, from scientific evidence, that our climate is changing. The global average temperature has increased by about 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit over the last 100 years. Sea levels are rising, the ocean is becoming more acidic, precipitation patterns are changing, and heat waves are becoming more frequent and longer in duration.

Each of these changes produces a cascade of effects that impact our lives and livelihoods, including flooding, changes in crop yields, power shortages, declines in fisheries, and increases in cardiovascular disease.

Recent events in our own country, such as devastating hurricanes in the Southeast and wildfires in the West have brought this issue to the forefront of everyone's minds. Now climate

change can't be directly blamed for all these problems, but the evidence strongly suggests that it contributes to each of them, and there are things that we can do to limit its effects.

Climate change also has a significant impact on public health. A groundbreaking study published just this week in a medical journal, The Lancet, unequivocally showed that climate change is a serious public health threat. The study involved 24 institutions from around the world and included staggering statistics, such as the fact that air pollution caused 1.9 million premature deaths in Asia in 2015, and that the range of common disease-transmitting mosquitoes increased 9.5 percent since 1950.

We know that high temperatures exasperate health problems and that burning fossil fuels creates pollution that causes cardiovascular disease. The National Academies estimate that air pollution causes around $120 billion per year in health-related damages, including healthcare costs, missed days of work and school, and premature death.

We also know that changing climate has altered the range, in some cases accelerated the spread of vector-borne diseases likes Zika and the West Nile virus. Responsibly transitioning to a clean energy economy will not only reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change, but it will also reduce air pollution and help all Americans breathe easier.

What I want to talk about for a few minutes, before I turn to some of my colleagues, is a very common misperception about the relationship between implementing climate solutions and growing jobs.

Some people think that this is a zero-sum game. That is, they think if you have more of one, you get less of the other. But that is simply not true.

Implementing climate solutions can grow jobs, especially new high- paying jobs. The U.S. needs to take advantage of these economic opportunities. Regardless of what we do here in the U.S., the rest of the world has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reaching the targets laid out in the Paris Agreement, as have many cities, States, and companies here at home.

To achieve that goal, significant technological development and innovation will be needed, as well as infrastructure, markets, and distribution channels to get that technology to the people and places that need it.

The national economies that produce this clean energy technology will benefit greatly. The U.S. still leads the world in technology and innovation. Countries around the world try to recreate the innovation ethos that exists in Silicon Valley and in other places across our Nation.

The United States also has the workers who are needed to build these innovations. So we have what it takes, and if we seize the opportunity to invest in clean and climate-resilient technologies, then our economy and the American people will benefit as the world adapts to climate change and America grows good-paying jobs all across our Nation.

But if we let this opportunity pass us by, then profits and jobs will instead flow to foreign countries that develop the technologies the world needs, and American cities and States will be forced to buy foreign products as they upgrade to climate-resilient infrastructure.

That is why I will soon be introducing a bill called Challenges and Prizes for Climate Act. This bill will establish five or more prize challenges overseen by the Department of Energy to harness the ingenuity of the research community in the private sector to solve big, complex climate problems.

Challenges have been used in the past by a wide range of organizations, including the XPRIZE, who used the challenge to jump- start the commercial space transportation industry. This industry is now flourishing.

I was just recently at SpaceX in California and saw their impressive manufacturing facility they have there. The U.S. is now relying on SpaceX in order to bring supplies up to the International Space Station and their plans to soon be flying astronauts. This commercial space transportation industry began with those who reached to try to meet this challenge and get the XPRIZE.

The Federal Trade Commission also used the prize challenge to help bring a robocall blocking service to the market, something that we can all very much appreciate. That is why I am going this direction.

My bill will create challenges that fall under five themes: carbon capture and reuse, energy efficiency, energy storage, climate adaptation and resiliency, and data analytics for better climate predictions.

Using authority from the America COMPETES Act, the Department of Energy will convene working groups from across agencies, universities, nonprofits and the private sector to help plan the challenges, and even to contribute to the prizes.

The goal of the challenge is not just to reward the winner of the best solution, but also to bring visibility to the range of innovations competing for the prize and to help society envision the future. This bill will help us see what our clean energy future will look like, and I urge all of my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Speaker, I want to begin hearing from the bipartisan group of climate leaders who have joined me here on the floor this evening.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fitzpatrick), my Republican colleague.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Fitzpatrick for his leadership and jumping in, in his firm term here in the House leadership, on coming to solutions on climate change.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. McNerney), my colleague who I have been working with for a number of years here in the House, a very dedicated Member, especially when it comes to issues of science and climate change.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. McNerney for all the work that he does on this issue and many other issues here in the House.

Mr. Speaker, I am going to go back to the other side of the aisle. I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Faso).

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Faso for his work, understanding that we are only going to make progress on this through bipartisan action. I am very happy to join working with him on the Climate Solutions Caucus to bring that action forward.

Mr. Speaker, my next speaker is a woman who I work with on the Science, Space, and Technology Committee, who has done some fantastic work on that committee, especially when it comes to the issue of climate change and dealing with climate change.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Bonamici).

Mr. Speaker, I thank Ms. Bonamici for speaking tonight.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman who really deserves a tremendous amount of credit for all of us being here tonight. He is the co-chair of the Climate Solutions Caucus, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Deutch).

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Deutch for his leadership of the Climate Solutions Caucus.

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time I have remaining.

Mr. Speaker, with that, I yield to my colleague, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Suozzi).

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for all of his work on this and other issues.

Mr. Speaker, I now yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Carbajal), my colleague.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Carbajal for his work. That was a great lead-in to our next speaker. We just had, a couple of speakers ago, the Democratic co-chair of the Climate Solutions Caucus. Our next speaker is the Republican co-chair. I give him a lot of credit and I thank him for the work that he has done in putting this caucus together.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Curbelo).

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Curbelo for his leadership and for pointing out some of the victories that we already have had here on this House floor, the Climate Solutions Caucus. That is just the beginning. There will be plenty more to come as we grow this caucus and do the work that we are here to do.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Panetta), a freshman Member who is already making a big splash here getting a lot done in Washington, working especially on a bipartisan basis on a lot of these issues, getting some good things done.

Mr. Speaker, at this time, I just want to thank all my colleagues for their leadership on this issue. The time to take action on climate is now. We can't leave this problem to future generations to solve for us. As we heard this evening, there is no shortage of good ideas for how to do so.

I want to close by reading the mission statement of the Climate Solutions Caucus, which reminds us of the many reasons why our bipartisan group has come together to take action:

``The members of the Climate Solutions Caucus acknowledge the fact that, if left unaddressed, the consequences of a changing climate have the potential to adversely affect the health of all Americans and the strength of our economy, consequently imposing substantial costs on both State and Federal budgets.

``By seeking to reduce climate risk, we will, in turn, ensure the protection of our economy, infrastructure, and public safety, all while attaining energy independence from the world's most volatile regions. Therefore, it is our goal to take a market-based approach to substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the United States in order to leave a better planet and stronger economy for future generations.''

Mr. Speaker, this is something that all Americans can endorse and support. It is a better world and a better country.

So I thank, again, all my colleagues for joining me here tonight, and for their work, all of the 60 members--30 Democrats, 30 Republicans-- for their work on the Climate Solutions Caucus.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Lipinski for yielding and also for

organizing this Special Order for the Climate Solutions Caucus. I also want to thank the founders of the Climate Solutions Caucus, Congressman Ted Deutch from Florida and Congressman Carlos Curbelo also from Florida, where they can see at their doorstep what issues like sea level rise mean to their communities.

Mr. Speaker, I am really pleased to join with my colleagues from the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus this evening to highlight the importance of taking action on climate change, something that matters so much to my constituents at home in Oregon, but also to the country and to the planet.

This is an important issue that really is a moral imperative. This is about preserving our natural resources for our children, our grandchildren, and for generations to come. Addressing climate change is also vital to our Nation's economy, as we have had some discussion about that this evening, and also to national security, but, really, the health of the planet.

Now, the district I am honored to represent out in Oregon is breathtakingly beautiful, and it is really full of potential. The majestic Columbia River is the northern boundary of the district, and the rugged Pacific Ocean is on the western boundary. It has a thriving outdoor recreation economy. As my colleague from New York mentioned, that is an important sector that cares a lot about the changing climate.

I also have in my district the heart of Oregon wine country. People in my district fish. They fish in our rivers, our lakes, and our ocean. They hike in our forests. They ski in our back country and on our mountains. We rely on those natural resources in our backyard to support a significant part of our economy, but we are very vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

My constituents are already experiencing challenges: Our wine and agricultural industries are concerned about drought as global temperatures continue to rise. Coastal communities are worried about the vitality of the commercial fishing and shellfish industries as high levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere change ocean chemistry.

I was really thrilled that we had an Oregonian from Oregon State University come to the Climate Solutions Caucus and talk about adapting to ocean acidification.

Our region has faced higher spring and summer temperatures and earlier snowmelt, and, as a result, a snowboard shop in my district is now selling more skateboards and fewer snowboards.

Climate change is not a partisan issue. Nationwide, fishers, farmers, small-business owners, and our servicemen and -women are changing the way they do their jobs because of climate change, regardless of political affiliation.

The economic, health, and environmental consequences of climate change are well known, and our understanding about how to address climate change continues to improve.

People in the United States and around the world are facing threats from rising sea levels, from ocean acidification, from more frequent and severe weather events from record droughts and flooding and rising global temperatures. We can no longer sit back and debate whether we should take action. The time is now. It is critical that we support scientific research about the climate and that we build on, rather than break down, decades' worth of progress on this issue.

Now, one important area of research is the connection between extreme weather events and climate change. Although it is not possible to say that climate change causes one particular extreme weather event, it is critical that we know more about climate change and how it increases the frequency and the severity of these events. Learning more about this correlation can help families, communities, and businesses make informed choices and adopt climate strategies.

Now, this year has seen poignant example after example with so many devastating extreme weather events. We need to do everything we can to make sure our communities are prepared to keep families safe.

We have had wildfires in the Western United States for a long time, but since the mid-1980s, they have been increasing in frequency and in duration, threatening lives, threatening public health and property. It has been unusually hot and very dry in the Northwest.

Fires and severe smoke create dangerous conditions for all populations. In Portland, Oregon, on Labor Day, the sky was gray, full of smoke from wildfire. This is especially problematic for pregnant women, for seniors, for children, for anyone with chronic health conditions like asthma. Residents and communities miles away from the wildfires saw ash falling on their homes, their cars, and throughout their neighborhoods.

This year's hurricanes have devastated communities, of course, across Texas, across the Southeast, and in the U.S. islands. About 70 percent of our fellow citizens in Puerto Rico are still without power.

These storms are increasing in frequency and severity, and lives are being lost every year.

Mr. Speaker, it is so important that we take action, and that is why I am so pleased to be here today to help highlight the importance of this issue.

As Representative Lipinski noted and others have, Mr. McNerney and others, we can take action to address climate change and grow the economy. It is not an excuse to say this will be bad for the economy, because we can grow those renewable energy industries. There is so much potential in wind power, wave energy, solar energy. Those are good, high-paying, family-wage jobs. We can grow those economies and address climate change at the same time.

Mr. Speaker, addressing climate change is going to save lives; it is going to save property. I am so pleased to be part of this bipartisan group that is working together in equal number of Democrats and Republicans to call attention to this important issue, and I will continue to work with the caucus to emphasize the importance of congressional action.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues on the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus for their dedication to this effort. I know it is quite a relief to my constituents back home in Oregon to know that there are bipartisan Members who are committed to addressing this critical issue.

Again, Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues for their dedication to this effort. I look forward to the progress that we will make together on behalf of our constituents, our communities, our country, and our planet.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, Mr. Lipinski, for yielding and for his thoughtful and passionate leadership in combating climate change, and thanks to the strong bipartisan cross section of Members who have come to the floor tonight to talk about the importance of tackling climate change.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call on my colleagues, all of them, to join the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus. I started this caucus with my fellow Floridian, Congressman Carlos Curbelo, to start a new dialogue around climate and Congress because we are already facing difficult challenges. We can't ignore it. We can't bury it in political fights. We need to have an open discussion not only for our future, but for the impact of climate change that we are facing today.

It is no coincidence that this project started with two Members from south Florida. A 2015 study projected that some south Florida cities could be underwater within this century. The study's author said some cities appear already to be lost.

Climate change is already here for Floridians. The effects have hit Florida first.

Scientists have warned of warming average global temperatures and the changing climate for decades. Dr. Andrew Clarke of the British Antarctic Survey has spent 40 years at the bottom of the planet watching it disappear. Dr. Clarke said: ``You can see the entire environment changing in front of your eyes.''

We now have climate change right before our eyes in south Florida. We see the rate of sea level rise outpace the global rate tenfold. We see the high-water mark jump 1 inch every

year. Just this week, we see the tides flooding our neighborhoods.

The limestone that serves as the foundation of our State is porous. Saltwater pushes up through the limestone from below the surface.

Lower bridge heights will block boats from reaching open waters. With 165 miles of canals, Fort Lauderdale faces significant threats of rising seas. Who in south Florida hasn't driven around their neighborhood and noticed more puddles, more water accumulating on the sidewalks and streets?

While many Americans might be able to ignore climate change, ignore the science, based on their own personal experience and your own personal experience at home, we can't. Looking out our windows, we see what is already there.

By the year 2100, almost 300 U.S. cities would lose at least half of their homes, and 36 American cities could be completely destroyed. One in eight Florida homes could be underwater. Those Florida homes represent half of the total expected loss in housing value caused by climate change over the next 84 years. These aren't risks of a distant future. These are the burdens we are placing on our children and on our grandchildren.

In response, and through the work of the South Florida Climate Compact, Miami Beach has initiated a sea level rise plan to lift roads, build up seawalls, and install pumps to clear water in the streets. Fort Lauderdale is fixing roads and drains and sending vacuum trucks into the streets to prevent saltwater damage, upgrading building codes and flood elevation requirements, and requiring higher seawalls.

In Florida, you can't put climate change out of sight or out of mind, but it is not just hitting Florida and it is not just the sea level rise or increasing temperatures.

The National Climate Assessment has documented regional climate impacts hitting every area of the United States:

In the Northeast and Midwest, dramatic increases in heavy precipitation events overwhelm drains and levies, causing flooding and accelerating erosion;

In the Great Plains and Southwest, drought and wildfires strain demands for scarce water resources;

In Alaska, receding sea ice and melting glaciers are damaging infrastructure;

On the coasts, increases in carbon dioxide and warming seas lead to coral bleaching and ocean acidification that is taking its toll on fisheries and the ecosystems.

The diverse and interconnected impacts that we already see throughout our country explain why we already have 60 Members who belong to this new dialogue, the Climate Solutions Caucus, 30 Democrats and 30 Republicans committed to changing the conversation and pushing solutions that will create more resilient communities.

We are committed to understanding the impacts of climate change, the impact on our national security; to investing in clean, innovative energy protection; to protecting our public health; and to overcoming the political obstacles that hold up public policy solutions.

It is time for Congress to come together and admit the challenges that our constituents are already facing at home. It is time to build consensus.

Through the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus, we have brought together Members from regions in every part of the country who are experiencing their own climate change challenges. I invite every Member of the House of Representatives to join us. Lift up the voices of your constituents, your farmers, your city officials, your developers, doctors, scientists, and, most importantly, the families whom you represent.

If you are watching at home, call your Member of Congress and urge them to join the Climate Solutions Caucus and help us start the difficult work of building truly bipartisan consensus that will help us tackle climate change together and help us create resilient American communities of the future.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend, Mr. Lipinski, again for organizing tonight's discussion.

Mr. Speaker, I applaud my colleague, Mr. Lipinski, for pulling this effort together this evening.

Mr. Speaker, climate change is real, and I applaud my colleagues on the Climate Solutions Caucus for working together in a bipartisan effort to try and find common ground and to seek to work together to pass legislation to address this very real threat.

I believe the greatest opportunity we have here is to include efforts to move our Nation toward a greener economy as part of a comprehensive infrastructure bill.

We must address climate change for three reasons: first, the Earth is part of the divine creation, and we have an obligation to preserve and protect our precious gift; second, moving toward a green economy that retrofits homes and buildings and installs solar and wind farms will create good jobs at good wages that simply cannot be exported; and, third, the main topic I wish to address this evening, is moving toward a green economy, reducing our dependency on foreign oil, and addressing climate change is essential to our national security.

Americans rarely talk about it and sometimes forget, but we supported Osama bin Laden against the Russians in Afghanistan. We supported Saddam Hussein in Iraq after we lost the Shah after the Iranian Revolution. We supported the Assads in Syria. And we still maintain a close relationship with the Saudis, despite their support for Wahhabism. Why? Because our national economic strategy and security has relied for decades on access to foreign oil.

Our meddling in local affairs to ensure the oil spigot flowed freely has sowed distrust across generations throughout the Middle East.

By moving towards a green economy and eliminating our dependence on foreign oil, we can clearly say to the Middle East: We never wanted your land, we never wanted your money, and now we don't need your oil. All we want is for people of the region to stop trying to kill each other. It will take some time, but moving towards an economy independent of foreign oil is the best way to get there.

In addition to eliminating our dependence on foreign oil, we must try to stall the rapid rise in extreme weather events, droughts, and desertification that is destabilizing huge swaths of the Middle East and Africa. The number of refugees in the world has grown from 35 million only 10 years ago to 65 million today. War and violence are exacerbated by the instability caused by climate change.

One of the most violent regions in the world today is Syria. The instability in Syria began with droughts that destroyed the livelihoods of the Syrian people that rely upon an economy which is 85 percent agrarian. When people lost their farms, they fled to the cities looking for work, but, of course, they could not find it. Then they looked to the Assad government, but, of course, were ignored. Fomented by the Arab Spring, they began to revolt. The result? The Syrian Government has killed almost a half million of its own people and millions more refugees. This story is being repeated throughout the region.

Although the people suffering are thousands of miles away from the United States, our national security is threatened by these failing states. The rise of ISIS in Syria and Iraq is a prime example of the impact of failed states on Western security. Mass migrations by those seeking to alleviate suffering, millions seeking political and economic reforms place pressure on corrupt and incompetent governments that are unable to respond to the needs of a population seeking opportunity and hope.

Our enemies who wish to foment instability--Russia, Iran, North Korea, and violent terrorist factions--are aided by the effects of climate change and the instability it causes. We must do everything we can to stall the growth of this nefarious trend.

The good news is that there is a growing bipartisan consensus in the Climate Solutions Caucus and the armed services community that we must act. The Armed Services Committee in the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act acknowledged that ``climate change is a direct threat to the national security of the United States,'' and that ``the Department of Defense must ensure that it is prepared to conduct operations both today and in the future, and that it is prepared to address the effects of changing climate on threat assessments, resources, and readiness.''

Secretary of Defense Mattis has said, ``Climate change can be a driver of instability, and the Department of Defense must pay attention to the potential adverse impacts generated by this phenomenon.''

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford has said that climate change and rising sea levels pose serious long-term threats to the country. The number of natural disasters will increase in the coming years, along with ``the requirement for humanitarian assistance'' and the response required for the military for civilian disasters.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank again my colleagues for the work that they have done to try and bring the issue of climate change to the American people, and to try and find solutions to this very real problem that is not only affecting us here at home, but our national security throughout the world.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Lipinski for his leadership on this.

Mr. Speaker, I want to talk a little bit about climate. We know that climate is changing, and we have seen it.

In California, we had horrific wildfires that claimed 40 lives and destroyed thousands of structures. We have seen hurricanes more frequently, more devastating, and more powerful than ever before. So the effects are there. We see it happening.

Now, the thing that we are faced with is that there is a significant section of people that deny climate change. You can sort of see why they are denying it. I mean, if something is in your interest, you are going to be able to talk yourself into just about anything.

The big benefit of denying climate change is that we can continue to use fossil fuels. If you are a company that uses fossil fuels or produces fossil fuels, yeah, this is what you want. But there are costs of denial, and the costs of denial are clear.

We are seeing weather. We just talked about that. We are seeing health effects. We have seen that both in terms of elevated temperatures, causing people to have heat problems. We are seeing disease vectors moving to the temperate zones from the Equator. We are also going to see significant infrastructure costs, like we see in Puerto Rico now. These are real costs that we are going to pay for the denial of climate change.

Now, what are the benefits of climate change?

Well, there are significant benefits, from my point of view.

First of all, we have been spending American taxpayer dollars to develop technology to fight climate change, or to reduce carbon emissions.

I will tell you a little story about my own career. I was working at a company called U.S. Wind Power. With some amount of taxpayer dollars, we developed the leading technology for wind energy. Of course, what happened was that the funding stopped, tax credits ended, and that technology that we developed with taxpayer dollars went to Europe. They built thousands of windmills in Germany, and they made a lot of money based on that technology that we developed and paid for right in the United States of America.

We also know that renewable energy production creates more jobs than fossil fuel production for the same amount of energy. We are talking about a potential to create millions of jobs in this country. Not only that, but renewable energy has a stable price market feature. Unlike fossil fuels, which have highs and lows over a 10-year cycle, fossil fuels are going to be nice and stable, will be predictable. And businesses love predictability. So I think this is also another very good argument.

Lastly, if we reduce fossil fuels and go to clean energy, we are going to have cleaner air and cleaner water, a healthier environment, and we can reach sustainability. I think the benefits are pretty clear.

So where are we now?

Well, there are still significant resources out there determined to muddy the waters and confuse people about climate change. I have three publications here I want to illustrate. One is called ``Clexit for a Brighter Future.'' Now, the point of this is that we need to exit the Paris and United States climate treaties because fossil fuels are what we need to power the future.

Another one is called ``The Mad, Mad, Mad World of Climatism.'' This one, if you look it up, is biased, and it seems to be paid for by oil interests.

The last one I want to show is a respected magazine that is called National Geographic. And the cover page shows ``The War on Science.''

So I think we have a pretty good case to make for moving forward with action on climate change.

There will be significant costs if we don't. Renewable energy is more than cost competitive these days. As I mentioned, I worked in the wind energy business. We see wind and solar being more cost competitive-- more than cost competitive, really--with coal and oil for energy production.

So we have the technology, we have the means, and we have the desire to do this, yet we are still hung up here in Washington in terms of following through with government support that is needed with the right sort of policies that will encourage us to reduce fossil fuel reduction.

Now, one of the great bright spots we see--as Mr. Lipinski, my friend from Illinois, pointed out--is that there is a bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus that has been formed over the last two terms. In order to join, you have to have a Member of the other party. If I am a Democrat, I have a Member of the Republican Party join.

What we are doing in that caucus is creating legislation that will help reduce carbon emissions in an economic and prosperous way. I think good things have a potential to happen. I encourage the caucus to continue, and I hope it continues to grow.