Rain? Snow? Freezing temps? Welcome to winter and I love it. Snow, actual snow, blanketed the DC area earlier this week and again this morning, which made my Maine heart happy.
This week’s must read: Meet John Curtis, the Utah Republican who cares about climate change (Los Angeles Times) The journalist, Sammy Roth, asks some tough questions, and Congressman John Curtis answers. I encourage you to take a look at the entire interview and spoiler, there is an epic photo of Curtis and his wife skiing in jeans and short sleeves! (Only in the mountain west…)
“He started off by saying he’s ‘not naïve’ and knows he has ‘a lot of work to do,'” Roth reports “But he has also seen a shift in the way Republicans talk about climate. If the topic came up in a House committee hearing six years ago, he said, the conversation ‘quickly moved to a debate about the science.’ Today, it ‘quickly moves to a debate about methods’ — i.e., possible solutions.”
PROVE IT Act gets committee nod:
On Thursday, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee passed the Cramer-Coons PROVE IT Act by a bipartisan vote of 14-5. The PROVE IT Act is a bipartisan data collection bill that would help inform a future carbon border adjustment.
“The PROVE IT Act will be a useful tool in defending and promoting U.S. commercial interests, lowering global emissions, and ensuring U.S. products are not unfairly treated in global markets,” some top U.S. manufacturers and carbon tariff supporting organizations wrote in a letter of support to the Committee this week. Signers included American Petroleum Institute, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and American Iron and Steel Institute.
“If the goal is to reduce global emissions, the answer is to produce more in America,” Senator Kevin Cramer said at the markup. “Our bipartisan PROVE IT Act acknowledges American excellence while protecting workers and businesses from unfair tariffs and foreign competitors seeking to undercut them.”
House Conservative Climate Caucus prepares for Curtis’s departure:
The House Conservative Climate Caucus added leadership roles to bolster their founder and chairman, Utah’s Rep. John Curtis. While Curtis and his vice chair, Mariannette Miller-Meeks, will continue their positions, five new vice chair positions have been added. The positions will be served by: Buddy Carter, Jen Kiggans, Greg Murphy, Tim Walberg, and Lori Chavez-DeRemer.
“If you would have asked me when I first started this caucus, that less than three years later we would have 85 members and brought a conservative voice to the climate table, I probably would not have believed you,” said Curtis, who announced his bid for the Senate seat being vacated by Senator Mitt Romney at the end of the term. “I am incredibly excited of the success we have experienced, the engagement of our members, including our six vice chairs, and look forward to continued success.”
Rep. Carter noted that the GOP needs to “convince Republican members that this is important — keep in mind for young people, this is the No. 1 issue. We can’t ignore that politically. We’ve got to address that.”
Be well and if you’ve got it, play in the snow!