WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) voted against H.R. 2, legislation comprised of 14 GOP-led energy bills to reduce environmental protections and minimize the U.S. response to climate change. Rep. Grijalva released the following statement:
“Climate change is undeniably the greatest challenge of our time – the question is not whether our planet is warming but whether we are committed to meeting this threat head-on. Just days before the largest climate demonstration ever amassed, Congressional Republicans are pushing legislation that would do everything from blocking vital EPA protections, to ordering federal agencies to pretend that carbon pollution and climate change do no harm, to exempting the Keystone XL pipeline from all permitting requirements. They couldn’t be more out-of-step with the American people.
“Addressing climate change is about more than slowing the warming of our planet. It’s about recognizing the public health threats posed by pollutants, and about doing right by those who will inherit the earth when we are gone. H.R. 2 harkens back to the days when climate policy was set by whichever energy industry had the deepest pockets, and that’s a digression we cannot afford to take.”
###