news

WASHINGTON—Congressman Paul D. Tonko, Chair of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change, today delivered a speech before the House of Representatives stressing the urgency of acting on climate through bold, new investments in America’s infrastructure. Rep. Tonko’s full one-minute can be read below.

As one of only a handful of engineers in Congress, Rep. Tonko has long championed the push to tackle the growing threat of climate change through strong support of infrastructure to create new, good-paying jobs, protect the environment and public health and build a cleaner, more competitive and more just economy for all.

Watch Rep. Tonko’s statement HERE or read below:

M. Speaker, we cannot unravel infrastructure from climate. As we consider bold new investments in America’s infrastructure, our choices will shape our climate future, for better or worse.

Failing to address climate pollution and clean energy in our infrastructure work will force future generations of Americans to cover a blank check. And we are already passing on grave and growing costs for our past failures to act.

But let me put this another way: seizing opportunities to tackle climate change in our infrastructure work will help us build legislation that makes America a cleaner, safer, more competitive nation. It will save countless lives and create millions of good, American jobs.

If we make climate a priority, our workers will miss fewer days on the job and our kids will miss fewer days at school.

Our local budgets will suffer less strain, our infrastructure dollars will go farther. The things we build will last longer.

Climate change is a growing threat that demands urgent bold action. And doing nothing about it is doing something— it is condemning the United States to become a weaker, sicker, and poorer nation.

This is our path to choose. Do we allow America to further decline or choose a more sustainable, prosperous, and just future?

To me, a great many of us in Congress, and the vast majority of Americans, the choice is clear. Let’s ensure our infrastructure work can move forward by doing our jobs on climate.

###