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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) spoke on the House floor today in support of H.R. 9, the Climate Action Now Act, is a bill to ensure the United States honors its commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement and lays the groundwork for further climate action. Since the beginning of the 116th Congress, House Democrats have held more than 30 hearings that touch on the climate crisis across eight full committees and 14 subcommittees. 

To watch or download Pingree’s floor speech in support of H.R. 9 click here.

A full text of Pingree floor speech is as follows:

Thank you, Madam Speaker, and thank you very much, Mr. McGovern for your good work and for yielding me the time.

Greenhouse gas emissions did not happen in isolation.

They have widespread impact and will not be curbed without global coordination.

The Obama administration understood that fact.

And that’s why they entered America into an international compact to curb emissions on a global scale.

When the Trump administration retreated from the Paris Accord last year, it meant the effects of climate change would only get worse in my home state of Maine.

In Maine climate change isn’t an abstraction—it’s not a silly floor debate that has no meaning—it is a very real threat to our economy and to our way of life. 

I recently met with farmers in my state who told me, “climate change is here now, and we need real solutions to adapt and mitigate.”

I met with climate scientists from the University of Maine who told me invasive species are threatening the livelihoods of our foresters.

I also met with our shellfish growers and harvesters, who are grappling with the effects of ocean acidification, of extreme weather events, and of the very real fact that the Gulf of Maine is warming faster than 95% of the earth’s other waters.

This is real, and I don’t want my grandchildren looking back and saying, “why didn’t Congress fix the problem when they could?”

H.R. 9 is the first piece of positive climate change legislation to receive a vote in the House in years.

The bill will reaffirm America’s commitment to fighting climate change and put this Congress on a course to take on the climate crisis before it is too late.

I yield back.

H.R. 9, the Climate Action Now Act, would prohibit any federal funds from being used to withdrawal of the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement.