Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) released the statement below regarding today’s report on “The Cost of Delaying Action to Stem Climate Change” from the President’s Council of Economic Advisers:
“The Council’s report reminds us that the American people will pay a price if we fail to act on climate change—pay in storm-damaged homes, lost crops, failing fisheries, and other costs. Many of us in Congress are committed to getting our Republican colleagues to wake up and stop denying the changes happening now. We literally cannot afford to wait.”
Whitehouse will be chairing a Senate hearing this afternoon in his Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety to examine related issues. While opponents of efforts to combat climate change argue that steps like EPA’s proposed rule to reduce carbon pollution constitute a “war on coal,” Whitehouse’s hearing will focus on the harm that fossil fuels are already inflicting on communities across the country by endangering public health, compromising infrastructure, and harming resources that people depend on to make a living. The hearing begins at 2:30 p.m. Additional details and the live webcast can be found here.
###
