Jonathon Berman, jonathon.berman@sierraclub.org
Washington, DC -- Today, House Republicans have chosen a group of climate deniers and staunch opponents of environmental protection with disastrous records to represent them on the Special Committee on the Climate Crisis.
The GOP members of the panel will include Garret Graves (La.), Morgan Griffith (Va.), Buddy Carter (Ga.), Carol Miller (WV), Gary Palmer (Ala.) and Kelly Armstrong (ND).
Of the veteran House members on the panel, Graves, Palmer and Carter all accrued an outrageous 0% environmental voting record last year. The highest scoring Republican member of the panel, Morgan Griffith, voted with the environment 3% of the time. Freshmen Miller & Armstrong have yet to be rated.
In response, Sierra Club Legislative Director Melinda Pierce released the following statement:
“Apparently, the Republican plan to tackle the climate crisis is to make a coal lobbyist the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, an oil lobbyist the head of the Interior Department, all while packing the new House Select Committee with climate deniers, and enabling a President who stands alone in the world on this issue. This is a historically tragic state of affairs and a true embarrassment to everyone associated with these decisions.”
Climate Denial and Anti-Environment Roundup:
Garret Graves (R-LA) - “The climate’s always changed” (Mother Jones)
Morgan Griffith (R-VA) - “[Climate change] led to the Vikings dominating Europe for several hundred years.” [Climate Change Hearing, March 8, 2011]
Buddy Carter (GA) - “I do have reservations about how real it is” (Savannah Morning News)
Carol Miller (WV) - Miller listed her #1 priority on her campaign website as “Protecting Coal & Gas” (Carol Miller for Congress)
Gary Palmer (AL) - “Disagreements arise not over whether the climate is changing, but why these changes are happening. While many have asserted that human activity is the driving force behind climate change, this is far from “settled science”. Historic fluctuations in climate have been similar to or greater than what we have observed in the last 50 years, and the climate models used to justify government action have routinely failed to reproduce observed results or accurately predict future changes.” (Weld, Birmingham)
Kelly Armstrong (ND) - Armstrong has provided a full-throated endorsement of the Trump/Pruitt/Wheeler Zinke agenda of stopping all efforts to tackle the climate crisis: “The Trump agenda has already rolled back Obama-era regulations that were choking off our farmers, ranchers, and energy producers; and creating hardships for the industries that are so vital to our state” (Armstrong for Congress)
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.