New Climate Resolution

February 27, 2019

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by Kelsey Tamborrino (Politico's Morning Energy) Senate Democrats remain divided on the Green New Deal as they face a vote on the nonbinding resolution before August recess. Their solution? Come up with something different.

All 47 members of the Senate Democratic caucus are backing a resolution that urges Congress to act immediately on climate change, a Democratic leadership aide tells Pro's Anthony Adragna . Text of the resolution was not available Tuesday night, but it will not include any specific targets or timetables, unlike the original Green New Deal, which calls for a 10-year plan to decarbonize the economy.

Meanwhile, Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse, Brian Schatz and Martin Heinrich wrote a letter Tuesday, calling on Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to hold floor debate on climate change before any vote is taken on the original Green New Deal resolution, S. Res. 59 (116).

Democrats' effort comes as tides are shifting on the Hill. ENR Chairman Lisa Murkowski announced a hearing examining the electricity sector in a changing climate for March 5 — the first on climate change for the Republican-led committee in years.

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WESTERN CAUCUS TARGETS GREEN NEW DEAL: The Congressional Western Caucus will hold a forum and press conference on the Green New Deal today to offer its "first in-depth public review" of the resolution.

The GOP-led caucus said it invited Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other proposal co-sponsors to attend. Ocasio-Cortez responded that while she would like to go, she's unlikely to make it as she's attending another hearing, according to the caucus. The confirmed list of attendees includes conservatives and doubters of mainstream climate science, including Myron Ebell of the Competitive Enterprise Institute and Thomas Pyle, the president of the American Energy Alliance.

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PROCEDURAL DRAMA IN ONE ACT: Before a House Natural Resources subcommittee hearing on climate denial could get started Tuesday, Republicans shut it down with a 4-2 motion, your host reports. Subpanel ranking member Louie Gohmert successfully called for a motion to adjourn, arguing the topics set for discussion had nothing to do with the committee's jurisdiction.

With just two Democrats in the room, Chairman T.J. Cox held a forum on the topic instead. Cox tweeted that Republicans' tactic could not be a "more ironic response to a hearing on climate denialism." READ MORE

Neal backs ‘bold action’ on climate change, falls short of endorsing ‘Green New Deal’ (Mass Live)

Fighting Climate Change Is Much More Than Just Hugging Trees (Our Daily Planet)

Pressed by Climate Activists, Senate Democrats Plan to ‘Go on Offense’ (New York Times)

WAITING ON THE VOTE: (Politico's Morning Energy)

Lisa Murkowski and Joe Manchin: It’s time to act on climate change — responsibly (Washington Post)

Excerpt from New York Times: Despite that, Democrats see fighting climate change as a winning issue on the campaign trail — a way to mobilize not only young voters but also progressives, who are increasingly talking about the environment in terms of economic and social justice, given the outsize effect pollution has on minority communities.

Climate change has for the first time emerged as a front-and-center issue in national political campaigns. On Friday, Washington’s governor, Jay Inslee, announced that he would campaign for presidenton the signature issue of fighting climate change. Other Democratic presidential candidates regularly make campaign speeches about the subject, and most initially rushed to back the Green New Deal, the liberal social policy proposal made famous by its author, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. Students around the world are “striking” from school this spring to demand action.

But the rise of climate change as a rallying cry has come with huge downsides for Democrats. The ambitions of its youthful advocates have clashed with the caution of Democratic veterans, memorably caught in a viral video of middle and high schoolers confronting Senator Dianne Feinstein of California.

And in a speech to conservative activists on Saturday, President Trump appeared to salivate at the chance to confront Democrats on the issue. “I encourage it,” he mockingly said of the Green New Deal. “I think it’s really something that they should promote.”

Republicans see a political advantage in tying Democrats to the most contentious Democratic proposals, like linking climate change policy to universal employment.

Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, plans to put the Green New Deal to a vote, without a single hearing or legislative language, as a way of daring Senate Democrats, especially those running for president, to go on record in favor of it.

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Polls show that millennial voters, the largest voting demographic, consistently rank climate change as an issue of top concern — something older generations never did. A 2018 poll by the Pew Research Center found that millennials are the only generation in which a strong majority — 65 percent — says both that there is solid evidence of global warming and that this is attributable primarily to human activity.

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Celinda Lake, a Democratic strategist, said that if Democrats talked about the issue correctly — using phrases like “transitioning to green energy,” rather than the more polarizing “climate change” — they could win over Trump voters, who associate words like “transition” and “energy” with jobs.

“Trump’s weakest issue is the environment,” Ms. Lake said. READ MORE

Excerpt from Politico's Morning Energy: WAITING ON THE VOTE: Two senior Senate Republicans said Tuesday a vote on the Green New Deal resolution, S. Res. 59 (116), might not happen until after a break scheduled for the week of March 18. "It may be likely after the March recess," Senate EPW Chairman John Barrasso said, adding he expected a vote next week on Trump's border wall emergency declaration. Sen. John Cornyn , formerly the chamber's No. 2, echoed that sentiment. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday the vote would be in the "next couple weeks."

HERE TO HELP: The Carbon Capture Coalition sent a letter to congressional leaders on the role of carbon capture in climate legislation. The letter lays out several areas where the coalition stands "ready to work" with lawmakers from both political parties, including on the expansion of the 45Q tax credit for carbon capture, utilization and removal projects, and on federal funding for research and development of the next generation of carbon capture technologies. READ MORE