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Environment & Energy
Related: About this forum"Green" GOP House Members; The AR Trillion-Tree Assclown, The Supermarket Heir, And Kevin McCarthy
A few of the Republicans who won House seats this cycle seem genuinely interested in pursuing environmental policy in Congress, and many of them campaigned on platforms that included a green plank. Having a proactive message on climate was a winning issue for folks on the right side of the aisle, Quillan Robinson, vice president of government affairs for the conservative environmental activist group the American Conservation Coalition (ACC), told Grist. Every single one of the 24 Republicans ACC endorsed beat out Democrats this cycle. These are all people who have been proactive on these issues, have led bills, have been cosponsors, have been talking about the issue of climate change, Robinson said.
The incumbents whom ACC endorsed have a mixed record: Some of them, like Bruce Westerman of Arkansas, the only licensed forester in Congress, have voted against climate bills far more often than theyve voted for them, according to the League of Conservation Voters environmental scorecard. But others are more legit. Brian Fitzpatrick, for example, representing Pennsylvanias 1st district, is the only Republican left in Congress who supports a carbon tax. Kevin McCarthy, the House Minority Leader and a perpetual thorn in Pelosis side, has been pushing his caucus to do more to address climate change, motivated in part out of fear of alienating younger members of his party.
As for the Republican challengers who won House seats last week and dont yet have a legislative record to point to, a couple of them talk about climate change with a fluency thats more commonly found across the aisle. Maria Elvira Salazar, a former TV journalist who beat incumbent Democrat Donna Shalala in Floridas 27th congressional district, says evidence of climate change is right here in Miami. Areas like Miami Beach may become uninhabitable in a matter of decades, not centuries, unless we work to combat the problem, she said on her website.
Peter Meijer, a 32-year-old Republican business analyst and a member of the billionaire Meijer supermarket family, beat Democrat Hillary Scholten for an open seat in Michigans 3rd district. Michigan voters across the board want to see action on climate change and value environmental conservation. In order to appeal to those voters, Meijer made a three-part video series in which he talks about Michigans natural resources, the role Republicans should be playing in the conversation around climate change, and water supplies threatened by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), the so-called forever chemicals.
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https://grist.org/politics/these-freshman-house-republicans-might-actually-care-about-climate-change/
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