Bennet Encourages Committees to Include Climate Change in Their Agendas

Referencing the local impacts of a warming climate, Colorado Senator Michael Bennet today encouraged the relevant chairs of all the Senate committees he sits on to address climate change by holding hearings on the subject during the current session of Congress.

In individual letters to the chairs of the Senate Finance and Agriculture committees and the and HELP Subcommittee on Children and Families, Bennet warned that a warming climate threatens Colorado’s economy, “all the way from the ski industry to our rich agricultural sector” and “constitutes one of the most serious long-term issues facing the country.”

“Between Superstorm Sandy, last summer’s wildfires and a persistent drought, extreme weather events fueled by our climate constitute substantial challenges for families across the country,” Bennet wrote in a letter to Chairwoman Kay Hagan, chair of the HELP Subcommittee on Children and Families.

Bennet also outlined forthcoming economic opportunities as the nation combats climate change.

“As the Finance Committee begins its work to reform the tax code, it is my hope that it will look for ways to prioritize low-carbon energy and energy efficiency,” Bennet wrote to Chairman Max Baucus. “Tax reform provides a unique opportunity to prioritize technology and energy production aimed at reducing the worst effects of a changing climate.”

Full text of letters below:

February 26, 2013

Dear Chairwoman Hagan:

Between Superstorm Sandy, last summer’s wildfires, and a persistent drought, extreme weather events fueled by our climate constitute substantial challenges for families across the country.  These new threats include: death and Illness from heat waves, respiratory illness from rising temperatures, and the wider spread of infectious diseases like West Nile Virus and Dengue Fever.

I am asking that you consider holding a hearing on these issues.  Doing so would provide a unique opportunity  for us to shed light on the health impacts of climate change, particularly on our children and families.  Thank you for your consideration of this request. 

Sincerely,                                                 

Michael F. Bennet
United States Senator

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February 26, 2013

Dear Chairwoman Stabenow:

I write to discuss the possibility of additional oversight within the Senate Committee on Agriculture that would build on the testimony and discussion from our recent hearing – Drought, Fire and Freeze: The Economics of Disasters for America’s Agricultural Producers.  I appreciated your leadership in scheduling such a timely hearing and for your invitation to Dr. Roger Pulwarty from Colorado to testify as the Committee learned more about the persistent problems the nation is facing as a result of disasters and extreme weather.

As you know, our changing climate constitutes one of the most serious long-term issues facing the country.  Between a continued drought, last summer’s wildfires, and Superstorm Sandy, extreme weather events fueled by our climate constitute grave challenges for agricultural producers and rural communities across the country.  Thank you for your consideration of this request. 

Sincerely,                                               

Michael F. Bennet
United States Senator

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February 26, 2013

Dear Chairman Baucus:

As the Finance Committee begins its work to reform the tax code, it is my hope that it will look for ways to promote low-carbon energy and energy efficiency.  Tax reform provides a unique opportunity for our nation to prioritize technology and energy production aimed at reducing the worst effects of a changing climate.

The overwhelming opinion of scientists and government auditors – including the GAO – is that climate change constitutes one of the most serious long-term issues facing the country.  Between a continued drought, last summer’s wildfires, and Superstorm Sandy, extreme weather events fueled by our climate constitute grave challenges for all sectors of the country’s economy.  There is a pressing need to address these challenges, particularly as we embark on reforming the tax code to more reflect the fiscal, and natural, realities of a 21st century America.  Thank you for your consideration of this request. 

Sincerely,                                            

Michael F. Bennet                                                                                  
United States Senator