Electricity Security and Affordability Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 4 minutes.

My dear colleagues, this is the simplest of simple amendments. It asks of this House only one thing, to acknowledge the truth of these words:

Greenhouse gas pollution is contributing to long-lasting changes in our climate that can have a range of negative effects.

Our country and this Congress are at a critical moment in the history of our small planet. We are privileged as leaders of the most powerful country on Earth to be in a position to lead the world in combating climate change. There is still time.

If we act now, we can protect our natural resources, like water, promote job growth, and ensure that our descendants are able to live healthy lives on this planet long after we are gone.

Making the right choice begins with accepting the fact of climate change. It is hard to ignore this reality. The 10 hottest years in human history all occurred since 1998. This time last year, we had just completed the hottest year ever in the United States, a full degree hotter in terms of average temperature than the previous record. Though we are dealing with cold in many parts of the U.S. this year, the scientists tell us global temperatures are continuing to warm.

Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau, among others, will be submerged during this century unless meaningful action is taken. Here at home, we are seeing more and more severe droughts, wildfires, storms, and hurricanes--often all in the same year.

There are tremendous economic incentives for the United States to take climate change seriously. In December, the Pew Charitable Trust estimated that the clean energy sector could generate $1.9 trillion in revenue from 2012 to 2018. We also know that there are three times as many jobs created per dollar spent on renewable energy than on fossil fuel. As we work to create an economy that supports 21st century jobs, how can we overlook one of the world's fastest-growing industrial sectors and the millions of jobs it would support?

Large multinational corporations have joined environmentalists, scientists, and the vast majority of the American public who recognize the impact of carbon pollution on our world. For example, Coca-Cola has already suffered from a global water shortage that is driving up costs, and Coke has recognized climate change as a challenge to its future profitability.

The business plans of ExxonMobil and other Big Five oil companies assume they will have to pay for the cost of carbon in the future. This Congress should recognize the same facts that these business leaders have accepted: climate change is real and requires a different game plan. History will not be kind to climate change deniers.

The Schakowsky-Lowenthal amendment doesn't ask for much. It doesn't change the bill's provisions. It simply asks us as 21st century leaders of the most powerful country in the world to say ``yes'' to this simple fact: climate change is real and can have negative consequences.

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