Sen. Franken Applauds President's Speech on Climate Change

Press Release

Today, U.S. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), a leader on efforts to address climate change, issued the following statement regarding yesterday's speech on climate change by President Obama:

"Severe weather patterns exacerbated by climate change are costing taxpayers a lot of money now, and it's only going to get worse over time. The President's commitment to fight climate change is the right thing to do for present and future generations."

On Tuesday, Sen. Franken focused his first hearing as the chairman of the Energy Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on the topic of energy efficiency. During the hearing, Chairman Franken highlighted legislation he has introduced to reduce the environmental impact of energy, as well as energy consumption and costs for businesses and families in Minnesota.

In April, Sen. Franken delivered a speech on the Senate floor urging his colleagues to take action to address global climate change, noting that climate change has already contributed to record high temperatures, widespread drought, and deadly hurricanes--which have cost taxpayers billions of dollars. In December 2011, Sen. Franken and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) held a colloquy in which they urged their colleagues to take scientific evidence of global climate change seriously, and to take legislative action to slow and reverse it.

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