Pelosi Remarks at Press Event Unveiling the “Solving the Climate Crisis” Action Plan

Contact: Speaker's Press Office,

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Speaker Pelosi. Good morning, everyone, and a good morning it is. A good morning for the Congress and a good morning for our country and a good morning for the planet.

One of the first acts of our House Democrats' Majority took was to create a Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, reflecting the will of the American people, especially young people, demanding action now.

Since then, the Committee has led a drumbeat of progress in the country and in the Congress: passing H.R. 9, Climate Action Now, to keep us in the Paris Agreement, traveling to COP25 in Madrid to send the message, ‘We're still in it.' This week, passing H.R. 2, which puts our country on a path toward zero emissions. Now, today, we are here, on the steps of the United States Capitol, to take a bold step for climate action now with the Congressional Action Plan: Solving the Climate Crisis.

I am so proud to salute Chairwoman Kathy Castor who brings decades of experience, young as she is, and great energy and urgency to the climate fight. This is a – I wish it weren't a fight. I wish it were just a coming together. But, it will be a fight as long as it needs to be.

Thanks to her and her orchestration, and the members of the committee: member of the leadership, Assistant Speaker Ben Ray Luján; Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici; Julia Brownley; Jared Huffman and Donald McEachin who have a life-long champions – they've been life-long champions of environmental justice in their state legislative work and here, in the Congress of the United States.

But, this whole effort was invigorated by our Freshman Members who are leaders on climate action in their communities, in the private sector, in their legislatures and they have – they are now in the Congress. Congressman Mike Levin, Congressman Sean Casten and Congressman Joe Neguse. We salute them and any other Freshman Members who are with us today; I see Harley Rouda. Thank you.

The Committee worked to bring people together inside the Congress, where we had over 100 hearings on climate crisis. Madam Chair Castor invited, urged, whatever, all of the committees of jurisdiction to have hearings, to take testimony, to build the intellectual basis, to bring people together of various views on this subject. More importantly, bringing together the extraordinary leadership of the outside groups. My colleagues, let us salute the outside groups.

[Applause]

Thank you.

Experts, young people – who are experts too, families who are fighting for climate action, organizations who have had as their organized principle to protect the environment and, now, they have transformed the conversation on the outside, and here, and around the world.

Essential to our success, under Madam Chair's leadership, we have so much inside maneuvering to succeed, but that – we cannot succeed without the outside mobilization that they bring. We recognize that. We respect that. We count on that. With your leadership, all of you, we will turn this report into law, into saving the planet.

Democrats know that the climate crisis is the essential crisis of our time, threatening public health, jobs and the economy, national security and values. Our plan honors our obligation to address the climate crisis and embraces our opportunity to solve that crisis as we build a new, clean energy economy that creates millions of good-paying jobs with strong labor protections. And it champions, and so many here you'll hear from, environmental justice, tackling systemic racism by reducing pollution and empowering leaders from communities who are disproportionately affected, both from COVID-19 and the climate crisis, which are related.

And so, I am now pleased to yield to this champion in the fight for clean energy. Her work has been based on respect for others' opinions, for bringing people together, for science-based decision, for respect for government's role and, most importantly, based on our values.

With that, I'm pleased to yield to, again, our champion, Madam Chair Kathy Castor.

[Applause]