Climate Change

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, as a member of the House Sustainable Energy and Environmental Coalition, I rise today to recognize the 1-year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy and remember those who tragically lost their lives as well as those continuing to rebuild from the destruction.

My constituents in Colorado understand the pain that comes with extreme weather events, having recently suffered from devastating and historic flooding and fires. The flooding killed nine people, damaged or destroyed almost 18,000 homes and businesses across the State, damage to our roads and bridges is estimated to be $450 million, and our cities and counties saw over $170 million in infrastructure damage.

Yet floods were not the only severe weather events in Colorado this year. Numerous wildfires and droughts damaged and destroyed property and crops and took lives.

I applaud the President for putting forth his climate action plan in an effort to implement meaningful policies that are slowing the effects of climate change. Congress should take further action to minimize the impacts of these natural disasters and to better understand our weather patterns.

We will and we must work together to rebuild stronger and smarter to better prepare for future natural disasters that are becoming all too common because of the real impacts of climate change.

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