Washington, D.C. — Today, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL), Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), and House Democrats announced the introduction of H.R. 9, the Climate Action Now Act—a bill to get the United States back on track to meeting its commitment under the Paris Climate Agreement and to lay the groundwork for further climate action in the 116th Congress. Christy Goldfuss, senior vice president for Energy and Environment Policy at the Center for American Progress, issued the following statement:
From extreme hurricanes to devastating wildfires and the record-breaking Midwestern floods happening right now, Americans are experiencing the impacts of a changing climate every day. Since President Donald Trump announced plans to withdraw from the Paris Agreement nearly two years ago, states, cities, universities, and businesses have been standing up to say they are “still in” and moving forward with bold action toward a 100 percent clean energy economy. Yet our climate crisis demands federal leadership. Today’s introduction of H.R. 9 is the first step to returning the United States to a position of world leadership and just the beginning of climate leadership from Speaker Pelosi and the 116th Congress.
We applaud House leaders working to take action on climate change, and it is critical that the Senate follow suit. We call on Senator Mitch McConnell to introduce companion legislation to H.R. 9 to give senators an opportunity to support climate action now.
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