Patterns, soil moisture, and potentially melting the polar ice caps. There was no legitimate debate over the science when i started in 2012, and there is no legitimate debate over the science today. Indeed the science has only strengthened. And with each passing year, as senator merkley said, we rely less on complicated climate models and on scientific forecasts, and unfortunately more on straightforward real time measurement of the changes. Today we observe with our own eyes what recently was predict predicted, glacial collapse and retreat, Sea Level Rise, arctic warming, and increasingly extreme weather. Another constant since 2012 is the fossil fuel industrys remorseless campaign. A, to block Climate Action and, b, to do this while hiding its hands behind front groups. I have delivered dozens of these speeches about the dozens of climate denial front groups. Indeed weve had whole groups of senators come to the floor to talk about the web of denial that the fossil fuel industry has constructed to propagate fake science, to hide the fossil fuel industry pulling these strings and pull its muscle and weight around congress. Mostly its funded by big oil and the koch brothers. They said these groups up and they set them loose to sow false doubt about real Climate Science and to obstruct, obstruct, obstruct here in washington. They have spent at a minimum hundreds of millions of dollars on this anticlimate campaign. With that money theyve talked up some seriously ridiculous notions like the Carbon Pollution is good for us all because carbon is plant food. Theyve taken out billboards comparing climate scientists to the unabomber. It is false and ugly stuff powered by hidden money. Oil giants still spend huge amounts to infect americas corporate lobbying with their obstruction message. Influence map reckons the biggest anticlimate lobbying force in washington is the u. S. Chamber of commerce, a trade group that purports to represent typical patriotic american businesses. It should more properly be called the u. S. Chamber of carbon. There it is at the rock bottom side by side with the National Association of manufacturers in a statistical tie for worst obstructor of Climate Action in america. Why wouldnt big oil go to all this trouble . They are defending a 650 billion per year subsidy in the United States alone, according to the International Monetary fund. So its logical but its still shameful. There is a vast majority of American Companies that have a different view and that want to see Climate Action, but in congress that vast majority is a silent majority. When i say silent i mean they are not showing up in congress, not to push back, not to correct the record, not even to seek serious climate legislation. Corporate america was awol in congress in 2012 and they are awol in congress now. Corporate americas silence was deafening then and its deafening still today. So what has changed since that first speech sevenplus years ago . Well, first of all the economics of Renewable Energy changed in a big way. In 2012 wind and solar werent cost competitive with fossil fuels. Storage and electric vehicles were nowhere. That year the average cost of solar was over 200 per mega watt hour. Today its a quarter of that. The cost of wind power is down and offshore wind is emerging. Battery storage now competes on price with gasfired peek demand plants in many years. And they are making more and more electric vehicles driving costs down and performance up for consumers. Even with that massive subsidy for fossil fuel, renewables are starting to win on price. Another new area that were startinstarting to capture carb. This little cube that i have in my hand is co2 that was pulled out of the air by direct air capture technology and can be turned into tiles, blocks, bricks. There it is. Its the beginning of a new era of Carbon Capture and the group that did this is competing in wyoming this summer for the x prize for Carbon Capture. Another thing thats changed since 2012 is economists, central bankers, wall street bankers, real estate professionals, Asset Managers all recognizing the major risks that Climate Change poses to the global economy. Its not free to ignore it and the costs could come in the form of crashes. Back in 2012 these economic warnings, these crash warnings were uncommon. Today they are coming from everywhere. Freddie mac predicted that rising sea levels will prompt a crash in Coastal Property values greater than the housing crash that caused the 2008 financial crisis. First street has shown how Sea Level Rise is already affecting coastal real estate values up and down the east coast. It found that rising seas have already resulted in 16 billion in lost Property Values in coastal homes from maine to mississippi. Moodys warnings climate risk could trigger downgrades in coastal communities bond ratings. Just last week the mayor of honolulu testified at senator schatz clm committees first hearing that the Committee Agencies are already grilling him about this. Blackrock has estimated that some coastal communities face annual average losses of up to 15 of g. D. P. From Climate Change by the end of the century. Heads up, florida. Coastal property is not the only financial risk. The bank of england, bank of france, bank of canada, San Francisco fed and European Central bank along with many toptier Peer Reviewed economic papers are all warning of systemic economic risk. Thats central banker speak for something that poses a risk to the entire economy. All from stranded fossil fuel assets which is called the carbon asset bubble. One other thing i spent a lot of time on is oceans. The heating, the acidification, the lost and shifting fisheries, the collapse in coral and expanding dead zones and of course the rising sea levels. Our terrestrial species needs to pay a lot more attention to the seas. And there has been a real shift in attention in these intervening years. Then you have standard and poors and moodys and citigroup and more economists warning that the costs of Climate Change wont be measured in the hundreds of billions, wont even be measured in the trillions, but will be measured in the tens of trillions of dollars. That is penalty worth avoiding and worth the attention in the senate. So here i am sevenplus years later giving my 250th speech. Somewhere between persistent, tiresome, and i suppose foolhardy is where youll find me. I never thought id still be at it well into 2019, but the fossil fuel industry, with all its wretched dark money, is still calling the shots here in congress while the rest of Corporate America still sits on its hands. The United States senate still is not seriously considering any serious legislation to reduce Carbon Pollution, and im still frustrated. But i am optimistic because the denial wall is cracking. Bankers and Asset Managers and financial titans recognize the massive Economic Risks of a fossil fuelbased economy and they see the huge economic potential in a lowcarbon economy. They now see real business incentive to push back on the fossil fuel denial apparatus. They now see real business peril in allowing the fossil fuel denial apparatus to rule. And id ask unanimous consent that the economist statement published in the wall street journal be appended at the end of my remarks illustrating that point. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Whitehouse i am also optimistic because people are talking about Climate Change again. Colleagues are talking about Climate Change. Americans everywhere are talking about Climate Change. Most republicans want action on Climate Change. Voters are engaged on Climate Change, and more than anyone else, especially young people are engaged, from that young hero Greta Thunberg to kids all across this country, to the young plaintiffs in the guilianov suit. Any politician mo wants a long career had better care about a what young people think. Any Political Party that wants to matter in a decade had better care. Over in the house, its starting to show. A few republicans have actually introduced legislation to put a price on carbon emissions. Even president trump, the guy who handed the keys to his administration over to the fossil fuel industry, feels the need now to talk about the environment. As empty as that talk is, the pressure he feels is progress. The fact that he feels he has to talk about it is progress. As for me, i cant wait to stop giving these speeches. These speeches chronicle the continued failure of this body, the continued failure of our country to grapple with an evident climate crisis, and these speeches chronicle the fake science and the political mischief and muscle that the fossil fuel industry has used to debouch our american democracy. Marking that sordid history is important, but i want it to be history. When the dark days of denial and obstruction are passed, these speeches will no longer be necessary. I particularly want to thank my colleague from hawaii, senator schatz, my colleague from oregon, senator merkley, my colleague from massachusetts, senator march can i, and markey, and other colleagues who have been incredible friends and allies in this fight, like senator heinrich of new mexico and senator warren of massachusetts, for being here today and for being such extraordinary patterns and teammates. We are a band of brothers and sisters in this cause, and our band is growing. As more and more americans from kitchen tables to corporate cocktail parties come to terms with the real scope of the problem and the danger that failure presents, not only am i proud of my colleagues who are with me already, but im very hopeful that my colleagues across the aisle will soon also become great partners. Until then, i will conclude now for the 250th time by saying, its time to wake up. Be sure to watch cspans washington journal live at 7 00 eastern sunday morning. Join the discussion. Tv, our coverage from freedom fest obama continues at 8 00 p. M. With georgia congressman bob barr talking about his book, the meaning of is. We have allowed Public Discourse and political activity to sink to the level where we dont demand a requisite amount of understanding, education, inility and professionalism what we do with an demand of our elected officials. And what happens been. Then is those important mechanisms such as impeachment are devalued. Announcer then at 9 00 eastern on after words, in his book, formerfth domain, George Bush Administration special advisor for Cyber SecurityRichard Clarke talks about how to make cyberspace less dangerous. There are corporations in america that are pretty secure. Are they vulnerable to attack . No. But they are resilient to it. Can someone penetrate their network . Sure, because there is no perimeter anymore. But can they do real damage to those companies . The answer is no. Announcer watch book tv sunday on cspan2. Announcer if you want more information on members of congress, order cspans congressional directory Available Online at spanstore. Org. On thursday, the House Oversight and Reform Committee voted along party lines to approve the subpoena of personal in males and messages used by president trumps daughter and soninlaw, both white house advisers, and former advisor steve bannon. Democrats say the use of nonofficial communication methods was in violation of federal laws governing recordkeeping us. This is one hour and 20 minutes. Before we come to order, i wanted to welcome some student interns who are at Johns Hopkins university visiting my district. Welcome. We are pleased to have you. The committee will now come to order. Without objection, the chair is authorized to declare a recess of the committee at any time, pursuant to commit people five and house rule 11. The chair may postpone further proceedings today on the question of approving any measure or matter for adopting reit ant of a recorded vote. Pursuant to notice, i call up the federal Rotational Cyber Workforce Program act of 2019. ,he clerk will report the bill which was distributed in advance. The federal rotational Workforce Program act of 2019