In 1967, near the start of the modern environmental movement in the United States, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “It really boils down to this: that all life is interrelated. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied into a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

As I reflect on Dr. King’s wisdom and contributions, I am reminded of much of the work we do in Congress as stewards of the environment and especially the growing climate crisis. Earlier this month, my colleagues and I put forward an ambitious package of policies to put our country on track to address climate change and complete the vast transition needed to achieve a 100% clean United States economy.

The devastating effects of climate change are being felt all over the world. We are reminded by the vast scale of these consequences when we look at the bushfires raging through Australia, a continent roughly the size of the continental United States. 

Climate change has dried the land and vegetation, worsened drought and increased global temperatures, and more. These fires have already killed dozens of people, more than half a billion animals, destroyed thousands of homes and brought one of America’s most reliable allies to its knees. 

But you don’t have to look around the world to see the costs and hardship caused by climate change. For millions of Americans across the United States, the changing climate has brought with it unprecedented flooding, fires, drought and extreme weather events. This crisis has become a backyard issue.

Our climate proposal is an innovative, comprehensive way for leaders at all levels of government to work together with private and non-profit leaders to address the threat of climate change:

• Our legislative framework, the Climate Leadership and Environmental Action for our Nation’s (CLEAN) Future Act, is a comprehensive new climate plan that would ensure the United States achieves net-zero greenhouse gas pollution no later than 2050 by outlining a number of sector-specific and economy-wide solutions to address the climate crisis.  
  

Our work on this ambitious proposal is ongoing. In the meantime, my work in numerous other areas of climate action continues:

• Earlier this month we celebrated the advance of my bill, H.R. 5530, the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Rebate Act, which would provide incentives to encourage U.S. consumers, as well as public and private entities, to invest in electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
  • The legislation was advanced as part of a broader Electric Vehicle (EV) legislative package, H.R. 5545, the NO EXHAUST Act of 2020.
• Just this week, the Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change, which I chair, held a hearing on H.R. 5544, the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Leadership Act that would replace hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), coolants primarily used in air conditioning and refrigerators, with more environmentally sound alternatives. The bipartisan bill has garnered support from the manufacturing industry, U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Natural Resources Defense Council.
• Last but certainly not least, on Wednesday, I was able to question experts on the current state of the global climate crisis during a hearing in the House Science, Space & Technology Committee. The facts are clear; we can no longer afford to wait. We must take immediate action to enact meaningful solutions to fight climate change if we are to leave the generations that follow us with a clean and healthy Earth. 
  

Science and research must guide Congress to develop meaningful legislation to address climate change. These bills are environmentally sound, innovative, help advance American competitiveness and can make significant strides to mitigate our impact on the environment while ensuring that the United States remains a leader in technological development.

What we choose to do today in the face of this crisis will be felt for generations to come. It is up to all of us to work towards building viable solutions to protect our planet.

As always, thank you for reading.