Twenty-nine House Republicans are joining 29 House Democrats to resurrect the bipartisan House Climate Solutions Caucus, E&E News reported Friday.
The caucus will seek to find bipartisan compromise on green energy and climate initiatives. The bipartisan group is the latest iteration of the Climate Solutions Caucus, which sought to pursue bipartisan climate compromise during the Trump administration and counted 90 representatives among its ranks before going effectively dormant after the 2018 midterm elections, according to E&E News.
Prominent Republicans joining the caucus include Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida and Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, according to E&E News. Legislators established a previous iteration of the caucus in 2016, but it was effectively defunct by 2018 after several of its prominent Republican members lost their seats in that year’s election cycle, according to E&E News.
One of the caucus’ first undertakings will be to examine solutions to the permitting process, which currently drowns crucial energy infrastructure development in bureaucratic red tape, according to E&E News. (RELATED: Republicans Probe Putin’s Alleged Effort To ‘Undermine American Energy Security’ By Funding US Green Groups)
WATCH: @SenJohnKennedy Destroys Dep. Energy Secretary – Exposes Climate Change Fraud By Asking One Question
KENNEDY: “If we spent $50 trillion to become carbon neutral…How much is that going to reduce world temperatures?”
SEC TURK: “This is a global problem.”
KENNEDY: “You… pic.twitter.com/eja5PJzM00
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) May 4, 2023
The leaders of the caucus, Republican Rep. Andrew Garbarino of New York and Democratic Rep. Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, became well-acquainted while attending the 2021 United Nations COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow, Scotland, according to E&E News.
“Our goal is to engage in productive discussions on durable, consensus-driven climate and energy policies that would create good jobs and lower energy costs, while simultaneously reducing pollution and conserving clean air and water,” Garbarino said in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Every day we waste cedes increasing ground to malign foreign actors like China and Russia, who would like nothing more than to see our energy sector compromised by indecision and inaction.”
“I look forward to working with Congresswoman Houlahan, our bipartisan colleagues in the House, industry, and other stakeholders to find workable solutions to address these important issues,” he added.
“The caucus is focused on bipartisan, economically viable solutions that reduce climate risk and also deal with readiness for preparing for natural disasters,” a spokesperson for Mace’s office told the DCNF. “In a coastal district in South Carolina that deals regularly with natural disasters, our constituents expect us to work together to be prepared to address these challenges.”
“Climate change is real. The Biden Admin is using it as a cudgel to hurt people,” Gaetz said in a statement to the DCNF. “I’m a member of the caucus to advocate for free-market solutions. I also love trees.”
Gaetz voted in favor of Republican Texas Rep. Chip Roy’s National Defense Authorization Act amendment Friday to prohibit the Department of Defense from using any funds to implement President Biden’s executive orders relating to climate change, according to a spokesman from his office.
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