U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Will Serve on New Senate Democratic Special Committee On The Climate Crisis

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) established a new Senate Democrats’ Special Committee on the Climate Crisis. The committee—comprised of ten Democratic senators including U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin— will be tasked with investigating, holding hearings, and issuing findings on the economic and national security consequences of climate change and how acting on the climate crisis presents significant opportunities for jobs, public health, and the economy.

"Let there be no doubt, climate change is a real, immediate and growing threat to national security, public health and our economy. The longer we fail to act, the more costly climate change will be. We must take bold action now,” said Senator Baldwin. “Of particular concern to us in Wisconsin are the costs of infrastructure damage from severe flooding, crop and livestock losses from extreme weather, and increasing water pollution in our Great Lakes and inland lakes and rivers.  These are threats to major parts of our Wisconsin economy. Taking bold action to confront climate change is not just an environmental goal; it is an urgent economic necessity for us in Wisconsin.”

More specifically, the committee 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.

Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) will chair the committee, and other members include Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Ed Markey (D-MA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-NV), and Tina Smith (D-MN).

The creation of this new committee is one of many steps Democrats are taking to remain on the offense and highlight the economic and human cost of inaction on climate change. Recently, the entire Senate Democratic Caucus co-sponsored a resolution stating that climate change is real, caused by humans, and that the United States and Congress need to take immediate action to address it. And Senate Democrats have introduced legislation to prohibit any federal funding for the Trump administration’s fake climate panel and demanded major climate investments in any infrastructure bill.