Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) today announced her appointment to the new Senate Democrats’ Special Committee on the Climate Crisis. The Committee, which includes Senator Cortez Masto and nine other Democratic Senators, will be tasked with investigating, holding hearings, and issuing findings on the economic and national security consequences of climate change and demonstrate how acting on the climate crisis presents significant opportunities for jobs, public health, and the economy. The creation of this committee is one of many steps Democrats are taking to remain on the offense and highlight the economic and human cost of inaction on climate change.
“It’s past time for Congress to act to protect our environment and avert climate catastrophe. I’m proud to sit on the Senate Democrats’ Special Committee on the Climate Crisis with my Democratic colleagues. This Committee allows us to lead investigations, hold hearings and issue findings on how climate inaction is harming our country’s economy and national security, and threatening communities across the U.S. This is just one of the many ways Senate Democrats are taking on this Administration and challenging it to take action to strengthen our nation’s future, foster green energy innovation that we’ve already seen in Nevada, protect workers and combat our world’s growing climate crisis. Republican leaders in Congress and this President must stop denying the science and come together to tackle climate change. The cost of inaction is simply too high for our country and our kids’ future for us to sit on the sidelines.”
BACKGROUND:
In the wake of Senate Republicans’ refusal to take action on climate change and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) refusal to schedule or allow for a vote on the resolution to establish a bipartisan select committee on the climate crisis, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has established the new Senate Democrats’ Special Committee on the Climate Crisis.
Specifically, this committee will work with environmental, financial, and national security experts to find solutions for communities impacted by climate change and provide oversight on special interests that foster climate denial. Senator Cortez Masto will join the committee along with the chair of the committee, Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), and Tina Smith (D-Minn.).
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