Climate Action Now Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. PLASKETT. Madam Chair, I join my colleagues today to speak out on the President's intent to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement by supporting H.R. 9 and specifically in support of Congresswoman Gonzalez-Colon's amendment that is before the floor right now.

The President's intent to withdraw from the climate agreement is perilous, misguided, and ignores the increasingly stark reality of the impacts of climate change in our Nation as well as in the world.

Rising sea levels are already having devastating impacts on hundreds of vulnerable communities across the country and around the world.

Last week, I visited Charleston, South Carolina, and listened to the mayor of Charleston discuss how they were urgently working to heighten the seawall in Charleston directly as a consequence of drastically increasing carbon emissions, and likely related to warming sea water and the rise in sea level and volatility that has caused so much damage.

The catastrophic effects of global warming were manifested in 2017 and 2018 natural disasters, where the Nation saw unprecedented natural disasters, from the deadliest wildfires in California to the worst hurricanes that hit the East Coast and Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The vulnerability of the island territories is particularly important, as they are isolated and have specific energy issues and concerns that other places do not due to their isolation and being surrounded by and part of the ocean environment.

Madam Chair, I thank Congresswoman Gonzalez-Colon for her work on this amendment, which requires a report on the impact of climate change in the U.S. territories that pays particular attention and consideration to their unique energy needs and systems and the climate change vulnerabilities faced by communities in this jurisdiction.

Madam Chair, I urge my colleagues to support the amendment and passage of H.R. 9.

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