Republican co-signers of a conservative climate change resolution, 13 of whom also serve on the bipartisan House Climate Solutions Caucus, continue to talk about why they are committed to pushing Congress to enact solutions. Rep. Carlos Curbelo, a co-founder of the caucus and emerging climate leader who has invited U.S. Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt to Florida to see climate impacts firsthand, pointed to “the effects of rising sea levels” his South Florida district members experience. “We’ve seen firsthand how streets keep flooding from king tides,” Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen added. Like Curbelo, she also represents a Florida coastal district.
“We can’t deal in alternative facts, or alternative realities,” said Rep. Mark Sanford of South Carolina. “We have to deal with whatever there’s consensus about as a starting point in legitimate debates that do exist.” Sanford criticized Republican reluctance to take on the issue, “even though the scientific consensus has been clear…You talk to old-timers, and they say it’s changing.”
Curbelo indicated “there are many members who have not yet signed this resolution who are very interested, asking us questions about it, following the news on this issue.” He expressed confidence that the list of co-sponsors and those willing to speak out will continue to grow. He says the co-sponsors are looking for climate-friendly policies “that can pass this Congress.”