Larson: "Let's Provide Solutions, Not Bluster"

Washington – Today, Rep. John B. Larson (CT-01) took the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives to speak against the House Republicans’ “sense of Congress” resolution to disapprove of a carbon tax.

“This body should be about the vitality of ideas—whatever those ideas are,” said Larson. “In a democracy, there ought to be the willingness to express them. Mr. Blumenauer has detailed at length the lack of public hearings. I get it; this is a messaging opportunity. This has no force of law. All this does is say what the sensibilities of Congress are. Now, what does the public think of the sensibilities of Congress? What the public thinks is that we’re all bluster and no solutions.

“We know the science behind this. … It’s not just about climate change, it’s about the health of the air we breathe, what we’re poisoning the atmosphere with, what happens with respect to the effects of asthma, and what happens in terms of the people in coal mines with black lung disease. The American people are screaming out for Congress not to have a messaging opportunity, but to offer a solution.”

Larson has proposed addressing the threat of climate change by taxing carbon emissions that are warming the planet and passing the revenue back to consumers in the form of a tax rebate. A portion of the revenue would also be dedicated to investing in America’s infrastructure. He also supports retraining initiatives to help workers gain new skills in rapidly growing clean energy sectors.

###