Schatz to Chair New Climate Crisis Committee

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer recently established a new committee aimed at addressing climate change. Sen. Brian Schatz will chair the committee, which will work with environmental, financial, and national security experts to find solutions for communities impacted by climate change and provide oversight on special interests that foster climate denial.

The committee, comprised of ten Democratic senators, will investigate, hold hearings, and issue findings on the economic and national security consequences of climate change. The committee will also determine how addressing climate change presents significant opportunities for jobs, public health, and the economy.

“The economic, national security, environmental, and public health consequences of inaction on climate change are far too pressing to not have a group of Senators dedicated to investigating the costs of inaction and the opportunities that exist in taking bold action,” Schumer said.“While our Republican colleagues stay fixated on denying science, democrats know that climate change is real and Congress must act quickly, and this new committee is an essential first step in addressing this existential threat.”

According to Schatz’s communications director, this new committee is one of many steps democrats are taking to highlight the economic and human cost of inaction on climate change. The entire Senate Democratic Caucus recently co-sponsored a resolution stating that climate change is real, caused by humans, and that the United States and Congress need to address it immediately. Senate Democrats have also introduced legislation to prohibit any federal funding for the Trump administration’s climate panel and demanded major climate investments in any infrastructure bill.

“In order to take bold action, we need a broad coalition. We have put together a group of people who are leading on climate in different ways. And that is going to be the foundation for our success,” Schatz said.

Schatz also said that the committee will make real inquiries and real analysis, and that they are treating climate change like the emergency it is.