Climate Action Now Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. BOST. Madam Chair, any time Congress considers legislation that will radically change our economy, the American people deserve an opportunity to be heard first. And make no mistake, the underlying bill is a radical change to our economy, and not for the better.

My amendment is simple. Before Congress considers legislation to comply with the Paris climate agreement, let's give the American people 90 days of public comment. That is a standard exception for legislation as big as this.

Who would dare deny our job creators, working families, farmers, coal miners, and manufacturers the opportunity to be heard?

If you support the underlying bill, then I would think you would need to hear how this agreement will impact people's jobs and their bottom lines. No one will escape higher prices for energy, food, housing, transportation, or just about anything else. If you come from an industrial State, like my home State of Illinois, you can be especially hard hit.

According to recent studies, the Paris Agreement will devastate employment in steel, iron, cement, and oil refining by killing over 1 million jobs.

Manufacturing jobs are good jobs, and they are jobs that are multipliers, with every new steel job leading to seven additional jobs in the region in which they are created.

We just worked our tail off with the President, President Trump's administration, to help bring nearly 2,000 jobs back, the steel jobs that were in Granite City that were lost. The underlying bill would throw these jobs right back out the window.

What about our farmers? They have faced tougher times and more uncertainty than at any other time, and this would cripple them.

Coal miners have a proud heritage in my district. They are barely hanging on, and this would be the final nail in the coffin.

All of this risk, and for what? A global climate agreement that holds America to a higher standard than China, India, and other emerging nations with bigger emissions and pollution problems?

Look, I have 11 grandchildren. I want to leave a healthier world for them. I want future generations to look back and say that we cared about the future of our planet. But we also have to worry about the people's security in the present. We need to work together to find solutions that protect jobs and protect the planet.

So before the people's House considers the underlying bill, let's hear from the people themselves.

Support my amendment and give our constituents the opportunity to be heard on just how bad the Paris Agreement could be for them.

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