Press Conference to Announce Roosevelt Conservation Caucus

[00:00:44] yes [00:01:18] we did [00:01:43] what [00:01:47] specified that I wouldn't have to be [00:01:49] this way to tackle we [00:01:52] why don't you do a potato [00:01:58] so whatever by three [00:02:10] [Music] [00:02:11] yeah [00:02:23] mr. [00:02:27] have you chosen [00:02:47] right Anita [00:03:17] I was in charge [00:03:31] yes [00:03:33] come by [00:03:35] [Music] [00:03:44] [Music] [00:04:07] [Music] [00:04:22] before [00:04:32] nice party [00:04:57] I will [00:05:08] [Music] [00:06:18] yeah [00:06:32] Thanks [00:06:41] and always depend on the house to show [00:06:43] up already out there [00:06:54] okay I'm senator Graham from South [00:06:56] Carolina I'm here to announce with my [00:06:59] colleagues the formation of a bicameral [00:07:02] Roosevelt conservation caucus named [00:07:05] after Teddy Roosevelt won the great [00:07:08] conservationist of our time a Republican [00:07:10] we're all proud of him and what we want [00:07:13] to do is build on what President Trump [00:07:15] talked about a couple of days ago from a [00:07:17] Republican point of view I think we need [00:07:20] to showcase that we care about [00:07:21] conservation we care about the [00:07:23] environment and we have innovative [00:07:26] solutions that are not top-down [00:07:28] regulatory solutions we believe that you [00:07:31] cannot have a healthy environment and [00:07:32] destroy the economy and we believe that [00:07:36] our friends on the other side care about [00:07:39] the environment but they care so much [00:07:41] they're going to destroy the economy in [00:07:43] the name of saving the environment that [00:07:45] is a false choice America is the [00:07:48] solution not the problem when it comes [00:07:50] to carbon emissions [00:07:51] I wish China and India were doing what [00:07:54] we're doing we're lowering carbon [00:07:56] emissions by allowing the private sector [00:07:58] to come up with technology that the [00:08:00] consumer wants and the president Trump [00:08:03] should be proud of the fact that we have [00:08:05] clean air and clean water and we can [00:08:07] always do better and it is our goal to [00:08:09] do better simply put we believe in [00:08:12] innovation when it comes to solving [00:08:14] environmental problems not regulation we [00:08:17] believe you can have a healthy [00:08:18] environment and still fly plane and eat [00:08:21] a hamburger that our friends on the [00:08:23] other side have presented extreme [00:08:26] solutions that will not help the [00:08:28] environment but destroyed the economy [00:08:30] and I'll just finish with this every [00:08:33] American who cares about the environment [00:08:35] orchards OSHA should should care about a [00:08:38] stronger economy without a stronger [00:08:40] company economy you don't have the [00:08:41] resources to do the things necessary and [00:08:44] as to the other parts of the world we [00:08:48] wish you would follow up America's lead [00:08:49] how do you solve the climate change [00:08:52] issue and give China [00:08:55] India and other major powers a pass so [00:08:58] rather than beating up America we want [00:09:01] to celebrate what we've accomplished as [00:09:03] a nation build on what we accomplished [00:09:06] we're not anywhere near where we need to [00:09:08] be but we're actually leading the world [00:09:11] in the way we're leading the world is [00:09:12] relying on the private sector in [00:09:14] partnership with the government to [00:09:17] create a healthy environment and a [00:09:18] strong economy and speaking of a healthy [00:09:22] environment and strong economy I have [00:09:24] senator Danes who lives in one of the [00:09:27] most beautiful places in the entire [00:09:29] world and I will now turn it over to him [00:09:33] thanks Lindsey that beautiful place in [00:09:36] the entire world is called the state of [00:09:37] Montana very fortunate we have some [00:09:42] great lakes we do but I didn't get to [00:09:45] choose my great-great grandmother but [00:09:48] she homestead it in in northern Montana [00:09:50] and that began our legacy five [00:09:52] generations deep in Montana and I'm very [00:09:53] grateful for I grew up in Bozeman [00:09:56] Bozeman's literally in the shadows of [00:09:58] Yellowstone National Park [00:10:00] the very first National Park in this [00:10:02] country 1872 in fact some believe was [00:10:05] the first national park in the world [00:10:07] there in Yellowstone and I believe that [00:10:10] as Republicans we need to lead on the [00:10:14] issue of conservation we have the [00:10:16] solutions that will actually grow the [00:10:17] economy and protect the environment as [00:10:19] Lindsay said those really go hand in [00:10:21] hand a prosperous America will lead to a [00:10:23] nation that can pre contain a protect [00:10:25] clean air and clean water one of the [00:10:28] great compliments I had one time from a [00:10:30] reporter that called me the conservative [00:10:32] conservationist and that's what I stand [00:10:35] for [00:10:35] and I'm grateful for this Roosevelt [00:10:37] caucus bicameral caucus we have members [00:10:40] of the House and Senate here today who [00:10:42] want to lead and are passionate about [00:10:44] protecting our environment and leaving [00:10:46] the next generation with a better [00:10:48] environment that we inherited from our [00:10:50] parents when we saw what happened the [00:10:52] Senate earlier this year in 92 to 8 vote [00:10:55] that great public lands package where we [00:10:58] permanently reauthorized lwc F where in [00:11:02] my home state we protected Yellowstone [00:11:04] National Park with the Yellowstone [00:11:06] Gateway Act just northeast own so [00:11:08] River that I fly fishin I'll be [00:11:10] fly-fishing on in August during the [00:11:11] recess it took public lands to bring [00:11:14] divided government together this is an [00:11:17] issue that can unite this city bring [00:11:19] Republicans and Democrats together with [00:11:20] pragmatic solutions that will indeed [00:11:23] continue to lead towards clean air clean [00:11:24] water and protecting our environment we [00:11:26] need to move forward here on forest [00:11:28] management reform President Trump had a [00:11:30] great event the White House on Monday [00:11:32] which I attended you talked a lot about [00:11:34] forest management either we are going to [00:11:36] manage our forests or a force are going [00:11:39] to manage us we've got to deal with the [00:11:40] wildfire situation that we have and we [00:11:43] can reduce the risk of wildfires and [00:11:45] severity those wildfires by better [00:11:46] forest management practices we need to [00:11:49] eliminate the maintenance backlog in our [00:11:51] national parks some thirteen billion [00:11:53] dollars maintenance backlog I chair the [00:11:55] national parks Subcommittee on Lisa [00:11:58] Murkowski as committee of Energy and [00:12:00] Natural Resources we must address this [00:12:02] issue and I think we have a great shot [00:12:04] of bringing Republicans among us [00:12:05] together to invest about thirteen [00:12:07] billion dollars or more in our national [00:12:10] parks though I really are I call our [00:12:12] national parks the Department of first [00:12:14] impressions many international vision [00:12:16] come to America the first place they [00:12:18] visit will be a national park [00:12:20] we need to protect these national parks [00:12:22] between invest in them and lastly and I [00:12:25] know we have a senator burr here who's [00:12:26] been leading on this issue which is not [00:12:29] only to permanently reauthorize el WCF [00:12:31] but to place it in mandatory funding and [00:12:34] fully funded that's the next fight we [00:12:36] have here in Washington DC l WCF the [00:12:38] Land and Water Conservation Fund allows [00:12:41] us to open up public lands public lands [00:12:44] are right now are close and accessible [00:12:45] to the public and by investing WCF it's [00:12:48] a tool we can use here to provide better [00:12:50] access to our public lands so I want to [00:12:52] thank Lindsay and his leadership here [00:12:54] Lindsay who's up next Lisa Lisa [00:12:57] Murkowski madam chair going wins you [00:13:01] can't become further west welcome thank [00:13:05] you it's an opportunity this morning to [00:13:07] to highlight what a group of us how [00:13:11] house side Senate side led by my friend [00:13:16] Lindsey Graham and others to really [00:13:18] focus on what it is that [00:13:22] you're doing as a nation what we're [00:13:24] doing as Republicans to to celebrate to [00:13:29] highlight to elevate not only our public [00:13:33] lands but our access and it's that [00:13:36] access that when we really think about [00:13:39] about the principles of conservation and [00:13:42] what we work so hard to do to ensure [00:13:44] that we have these incredible lands and [00:13:47] waters available to us to our families [00:13:49] for recreation for hunting for for just [00:13:52] enjoyment hiking viewing whatever it may [00:13:56] be there is a good story there is a [00:13:59] strong story that comes with leadership [00:14:02] over the decades when it comes to [00:14:04] conservation unfortunately I think as [00:14:07] Republicans often times we just don't [00:14:09] talk about it enough and I'm not quite [00:14:10] sure why we don't because it is truly [00:14:13] something worth we're celebrating we we [00:14:17] have been moving forward with with [00:14:20] legislation this Congress in a in a [00:14:23] manner that some have been critical of [00:14:25] saying that we haven't produced very [00:14:27] much I would just remind folks that the [00:14:30] the lands bill that we passed through [00:14:34] the house through the Senate signed into [00:14:36] law by the president was a compilation [00:14:38] of some 124 separate lands water and [00:14:44] conservation measures measures that were [00:14:47] clearly identified as bipartisan [00:14:50] measures that were supported by those of [00:14:53] us from the west from the east from the [00:14:55] south measures that were so supported [00:14:58] that when we passed it out of the Senate [00:15:00] 92 to 8 the house took it up without [00:15:03] changing a comma and moved it through [00:15:07] with a very very very strong bipartisan [00:15:09] vote just further further demonstration [00:15:12] of what what our lands what our waters [00:15:15] do can do to bring us together on these [00:15:18] initiatives rather than separating us [00:15:20] and so as we as we work towards more [00:15:25] more opportunities to come together in a [00:15:28] United Way focusing on on those things [00:15:32] that we truly identify with as a [00:15:35] Americans whether it is our [00:15:37] mountainscapes whether it is our desert [00:15:39] escapes our wilderness or our our [00:15:43] community parks we have an opportunity [00:15:45] to lead so whether it is through doing [00:15:48] better by our parks and dealing with our [00:15:50] maintenance backlog whether it is [00:15:53] working to ensure that we're being [00:15:55] responsible in our lands and addressing [00:15:58] things like marine plastics [00:16:00] I guess that's on our waters but there [00:16:03] we got marine Plastics everywhere so [00:16:04] we're dealing with that too but the the [00:16:07] reality that we can and should be doing [00:16:10] so much more we are poised to do it we [00:16:13] have good folks that are working with us [00:16:15] whether it's on our committees and EPW [00:16:17] or in the Energy and Natural Resources [00:16:19] Committee working with our colleagues on [00:16:21] the house side so I'm pleased to be part [00:16:23] of a good strong initiative this morning [00:16:25] Thanks happiest men and thank you thanks [00:16:31] to all my colleagues both the house in [00:16:32] the Senate for being here today we stand [00:16:34] here today just a few months removed [00:16:36] from a passage of the one of the most [00:16:38] significant bipartisan lands bills [00:16:40] certainly in a decade if not even longer [00:16:43] than that within that legislation were a [00:16:45] number of great accomplishments before [00:16:46] conservation for our environment [00:16:48] legislation like the Land and Water [00:16:50] Conservation Fund authorization [00:16:52] legislation to assure our men and women [00:16:53] in fighting and protecting our force and [00:16:55] our communities have the tools that they [00:16:56] need to defend and protect themselves [00:16:58] and to defend and protect our forests [00:17:01] and our communities this legislation has [00:17:03] a long reaching generational impact but [00:17:06] there's more to be done [00:17:07] the Roosevelt conservation caucus is [00:17:09] about leadership it's about [00:17:11] environmental leadership it's about [00:17:12] conservation it's about taking [00:17:14] opportunities that we know we can [00:17:15] together in a bipartisan fashion succeed [00:17:18] on and tell the American people that we [00:17:20] are going to give future generations [00:17:22] tell the people of Colorado that we are [00:17:24] going to assure them that the next [00:17:25] generation is going to receive an [00:17:27] environment in better condition better [00:17:28] shape better health the one that they [00:17:30] inherited when they were born that's [00:17:32] what this effort is about every [00:17:35] generation of Americans should expect a [00:17:37] better place to live than they'd had the [00:17:39] generation before I'm proud to stand [00:17:42] with my colleagues to officially launch [00:17:43] this Roosevelt conservation caucus a [00:17:45] platform that will shine a light on the [00:17:48] strong leadership [00:17:48] and conservation environmental [00:17:50] stewardship of the Republican Conference [00:17:52] and caucus in Colorado were blessed with [00:17:54] an abundance of natural resources a [00:17:56] diversity of energy opportunities [00:17:58] Colorado is the state where Katherine [00:18:00] Lee Bates over a hundred years ago [00:18:02] climbed up onto the top of Pikes Peak [00:18:04] and wrote the words to America the [00:18:06] Beautiful our purple mountain Majesties [00:18:08] amber waves of grain the Roosevelt [00:18:11] converse the conservation caucus is [00:18:13] about protecting the majesty of this [00:18:16] great United States I support an [00:18:19] all-of-the-above energy policy we're [00:18:21] going to talk about that in the [00:18:22] conservation a caucus it includes the [00:18:24] use of a traditional energy sources coal [00:18:27] oil natural gas talks about nuclear [00:18:29] talks about renewable energy [00:18:30] opportunities wind solar hydroelectric [00:18:33] power we're not going to shy away from [00:18:35] the things that will make this country a [00:18:37] stronger better cleaner place keeping [00:18:40] our nation at the forefront of energy [00:18:41] research and development is critically [00:18:43] important to the United States to [00:18:45] Colorado we're home to the National [00:18:46] Renewable Energy Laboratory we're home [00:18:48] to great institutions at the University [00:18:50] of Colorado like in car and you car work [00:18:52] that we continue to do to focus on a [00:18:54] cleaner environment with clean and [00:18:56] renewable energy resources we will have [00:18:58] abundant energy resources that we can [00:19:00] continue to harvest and store from one [00:19:02] season to the next through advancements [00:19:04] in battery storage technologies the [00:19:07] conservation caucus will focus out on [00:19:08] cleaning up our environment through [00:19:09] passage of legislation like the Good [00:19:11] Samaritan bill which will help so many [00:19:13] of us in the West who have abandoned [00:19:14] mines we can do this with bipartisan [00:19:17] cooperation I'd say it's the spirit of [00:19:19] the West but on the platform here you [00:19:21] see members of Congress from across the [00:19:24] country from Michigan to Colorado to [00:19:27] Alaska and beyond that's what we have [00:19:30] before us an opportunity and a passion [00:19:33] to protect the environment to give [00:19:35] future generations a better chance a [00:19:37] greater opportunity for the great land [00:19:39] that we all love and share I think [00:19:41] Senator Graham and the other hosts of [00:19:43] this event today and am proud to be a [00:19:45] part and a co-leader of the Roosevelt [00:19:48] conservation caucus [00:19:55] we can do it Lindsay thank you I spend [00:19:59] most of my day trying to figure out how [00:20:00] to stay away from this room and away [00:20:02] from you guys in the cameras but I think [00:20:05] that gives you some indication as to how [00:20:08] important I think this is the John [00:20:11] Dingle lands bill I mentioned that [00:20:14] because John Dingell was my teacher on [00:20:17] conservation that as a junior member of [00:20:19] the Energy and Commerce Committee there [00:20:21] was no greater conservationist than John [00:20:23] Dingell he believed that we should [00:20:25] conserve and that we should make [00:20:27] available for its use by every American [00:20:29] that land that we set aside we forget [00:20:33] that part sometimes and I hope it's [00:20:35] going to be a mission of the Roosevelt [00:20:37] caucus to keep reminding America and [00:20:40] legislators that what we set aside we [00:20:42] set aside for the use of the American [00:20:44] people Steve Daines talked about the [00:20:48] beauty of some of the national parks in [00:20:50] his area well you don't have to [00:20:52] represent the state that has the most [00:20:54] visited national park in America the [00:20:56] Great Smokies sometimes we forget it's [00:20:58] not just the beauty of the West it's the [00:21:00] it's the beauty of the East it stretches [00:21:03] from Alaska to North Carolina goes from [00:21:05] Florida all the way to Michigan and as [00:21:09] we look at our accomplishments not just [00:21:13] this year but as legislators I think [00:21:16] we're all ask the same question by [00:21:18] students that come in and and and by [00:21:21] business leaders what's your greatest [00:21:24] accomplishment do you think since you've [00:21:26] been in Congress I will still leave [00:21:28] today knowing that unlike Congress's of [00:21:33] the past this Congress chose to make [00:21:36] permanent the Land and Water [00:21:37] Conservation Fund I can leave this [00:21:39] Congress I can leave this earth then I [00:21:41] know that my grandchildren and my [00:21:42] great-grandchildren will have an [00:21:44] opportunity to enjoy those treasures [00:21:46] because this Congress was smart enough [00:21:48] to make that permanent no Congress will [00:21:51] ever have to deal with whether it gets [00:21:53] reauthorized and like senator Dayne said [00:21:56] the next challenge is how do we fully [00:21:58] fund it I think this will be an easy leg [00:22:00] of this process thank you thank you [00:22:02] Lindsey Richard ed is your legacy now to [00:22:05] our house colleagues [00:22:07] Bryan masses the co-chair of the [00:22:09] Roosevelt conservation caucus and we'll [00:22:11] turn it over to him thank you sir [00:22:14] I love Lindsay when we were outside the [00:22:16] door he said should we flip back and [00:22:18] forth between members of the Senate and [00:22:20] members of the House and I think you [00:22:21] maybe you met that as a group like all [00:22:23] the Senators first and then all the [00:22:25] members of the House we see how it goes [00:22:33] over here listen as Republicans across [00:22:37] the breadth of this country we represent [00:22:39] beautiful lush green park filled [00:22:43] districts that we care about you know [00:22:45] all of us were chatting beforehand what [00:22:47] were we doing over the fourth of July [00:22:49] weekend we were out there we were [00:22:50] fishing we were going out there looking [00:22:52] at birds enjoying the outdoors hiking [00:22:54] through the woods everybody has their [00:22:55] own story of what they're doing with [00:22:56] their with their with their kids or for [00:22:58] our Senators with their grandkids and [00:23:00] this is this is what we care about and [00:23:04] it's what we want to leave on to the [00:23:06] next generation for myself I can tell [00:23:07] you the number one thing number one [00:23:09] thing I work on every day is water back [00:23:12] home because it's what people care about [00:23:14] where they can swim where they could [00:23:16] fish where they can go out there and [00:23:17] just look out at what's out there beyond [00:23:19] the water across the sea it's what we [00:23:22] care about but we recognize that the [00:23:24] ability for people to enjoy that and to [00:23:27] affect that is also directly tied to [00:23:29] their income somebody can't worry about [00:23:31] the energy efficiency of their home if [00:23:34] they're worried about where their next [00:23:35] meal comes from somebody can't worry [00:23:37] about the the standards or the emissions [00:23:39] of their automobile if they're worried [00:23:41] about if they're going to work in the [00:23:43] next day and these things go hand in [00:23:44] hand and that's what we're talking about [00:23:46] in this Congress we want everybody to be [00:23:49] able to enjoy that afford to be able to [00:23:51] enjoy that and afford to be able to [00:23:53] participate in the better of our [00:23:54] environment as a whole and that's what [00:23:56] this car this caucus is all about and I [00:23:58] think we're gonna be very successful in [00:24:00] that so I'll pass that on to I believe [00:24:02] to a mr. Upton [00:24:09] yeah let me get fred Upton from Michigan [00:24:12] let me just say a couple of things I'm [00:24:15] delighted to be part of this important [00:24:17] caucus we do have divided government [00:24:20] many of us all of us I hope do can do [00:24:25] care deeply about the environment and [00:24:28] what we can do working together this is [00:24:30] a caucus a group of members that I know [00:24:32] pretty well and I know that we're all [00:24:34] committed to doing that whether it's [00:24:36] protecting the Great Lakes or national [00:24:38] parks the legacy of our nation one of [00:24:42] the best books I've ever read was River [00:24:44] a doubt written by Candice Maillard who [00:24:46] wrote about the life of President [00:24:49] Roosevelt after he left office and what [00:24:52] he did in his care of the environment [00:24:56] worldwide that's what this mission is [00:24:59] it's how we can work together climate [00:25:02] change is real and what we can do to [00:25:05] really making a positive impact as he [00:25:08] did in essence his footprints and [00:25:11] fingerprints are still in this [00:25:13] institution looking over us to make sure [00:25:17] that we in fact are doing the right [00:25:18] thing so I look forward to being a [00:25:20] valuable member of this and recognize [00:25:22] that my vice-chair of this important [00:25:25] Congress caucus will heard from Texas [00:25:28] Thank You Freddy we did try to steal [00:25:30] Great Lakes water but it was before me [00:25:34] that was free man when I was a kid I [00:25:41] went on one family vacation it was to [00:25:44] Corpus Christi Texas I grew up in San [00:25:46] Antonio I never been in the beach I'm [00:25:47] excited I'm 18 years old and I run out [00:25:50] into the water and immediately get stung [00:25:52] by a jellyfish and I don't go back to [00:25:54] the beach until I was 22 and didn't go [00:25:57] on another family vacation either but [00:25:59] now I represent eight national parks in [00:26:02] the great state of Texas I also [00:26:04] represent a third of the Eagle Ford [00:26:06] Shale the Delaware Basin the Permian [00:26:08] Basin about half of the Permian Basin I [00:26:11] represent more energy production through [00:26:15] wind and solar than any other [00:26:17] congressional district we can do both we [00:26:21] can maintain our our beautiful parks in [00:26:24] our environment and we can make sure [00:26:27] that this country continues this [00:26:30] renaissance when it comes to energy and [00:26:33] so I'm looking forward to working with [00:26:35] this group and making sure that you know [00:26:38] our national parks our environments [00:26:40] around for another hundred years that [00:26:41] we're encouraging know senator Dane's [00:26:43] you said that thirteen billion dollars [00:26:45] that needs to be fixed and deferred [00:26:48] maintenance and national parks a billion [00:26:50] of that is in is in Texas a lot of that [00:26:53] is in my congressional district and I [00:26:54] want to make sure that the next hundred [00:26:56] years these places are available for for [00:26:59] young kids and I'm glad to partner with [00:27:01] this group here Rob well thank you [00:27:16] Lynn's very much to Lindsey and the [00:27:18] quarry on the Senate side and to our [00:27:20] house colleagues for putting together [00:27:22] this group I'm really proud that Teddy [00:27:24] Roosevelt was a Republican and I think [00:27:26] we're all proud of his legacy and what [00:27:28] better way to pay tribute to his legacy [00:27:31] than to help restore our national parks [00:27:33] at a time that they are crumbling [00:27:34] so the restorer parks Act which is [00:27:36] something that Senator Warner and I [00:27:38] along with Senator Alexander center King [00:27:40] and others have been promoting is [00:27:42] something that's long overdue and by the [00:27:45] way it's classic Teddy Roosevelt [00:27:47] legislation because it's about [00:27:48] conserving it's about actually a [00:27:50] fiscally conservative way to make sure [00:27:52] that we are good stewards of our [00:27:54] incredible treasures our national parks [00:27:56] by the way we're talking about our [00:27:58] national parks and a little I feel a [00:28:00] little East kind of West's friction [00:28:02] going on here in Ohio we do have a bunch [00:28:04] of national parks eight but we also have [00:28:06] Cuyahoga Valley National Park which is [00:28:08] one of the top 13 visited parks in the [00:28:10] country that you probably haven't heard [00:28:12] of and it's a spectacular park and it's [00:28:15] wedged between Cleveland Ohio and Akron [00:28:17] Ohio meaning it's a suburban park and [00:28:19] some would even say in parts of it in [00:28:21] urban park and that's part of our legacy [00:28:23] to the Teddy Roosevelt has left us that [00:28:25] we need to restore and there we do have [00:28:27] a lot of deferred maintenance part of [00:28:29] the 13 billion [00:28:30] but this group has also been involved in [00:28:32] a lot of other great issues and we as [00:28:34] Republicans sometimes don't tout our [00:28:37] successes the tropical forest [00:28:38] conservation act is certainly one we [00:28:40] just reauthorized it in a Republican [00:28:42] Senate reauthorized in the house this [00:28:45] has saved millions of acres of tropical [00:28:48] forests from destruction they say about [00:28:50] 76 million acres this means that a lot [00:28:53] of co2 is not going into the air because [00:28:55] the forests have not been burned this is [00:28:57] probably the number three or four [00:28:58] highest source of co2 in the world and [00:29:01] it's being done through market forces [00:29:02] it's a debt for nature swap its [00:29:05] countries that are willing to preserve [00:29:07] their forests in exchange for us [00:29:09] providing some relief on their debt much [00:29:11] of which would not have been paid off [00:29:12] anyway [00:29:12] another one would be what we're doing in [00:29:14] terms of carbon sequestration and [00:29:17] capture legislation that Senator Bennet [00:29:20] and I have introduced that is again [00:29:21] market-based in the sense that it gives [00:29:23] utilities an incentive a tax incentive [00:29:26] under private activity bonds to be able [00:29:27] to capture that carbon and then again to [00:29:30] have a positive impact on co2 emissions [00:29:32] but also create a market for co2 and [00:29:35] then the energy efficiency legislation [00:29:36] we've already passed here in the Senate [00:29:39] we're going to get it reintroduced here [00:29:41] soon jeanne Shaheen and I have been two [00:29:43] co-authors of this over the years this [00:29:45] is the equivalent they say of taking 15 [00:29:47] million cars off the road in ten years [00:29:49] in terms of the co2 savings energy [00:29:52] efficiency is something this group all [00:29:53] supports Teddy Roosevelt supported again [00:29:55] market-based approach saying yes we want [00:29:58] to be able to use the energy that we [00:30:00] have and we want to use it more [00:30:01] efficiently and we can do that we have a [00:30:03] lot of opportunity and potential here in [00:30:05] this country so these are some of the [00:30:07] exciting projects we're already working [00:30:08] on as a group we need to continue to [00:30:10] promote and in the legacy of Teddy [00:30:12] Roosevelt continue to ensure that we [00:30:14] have a stronger economy but also a [00:30:17] cleaner and a better environment [00:30:23] the Library of Congress maintains an [00:30:25] amazing collection of Teddy Roosevelt's [00:30:27] pocket Diaries and you can flip through [00:30:29] them and see the deep and abiding [00:30:30] connection he had with the land with the [00:30:32] flora and with the fauna and it is a [00:30:35] great thing for our country that that is [00:30:37] an enduring American value the notion [00:30:40] that we have a connection to the land [00:30:42] that we that we value that is important [00:30:45] to us I am grateful to be here under the [00:30:47] organizing principle that is [00:30:48] conservatives every once in a while [00:30:49] there ought to be a time we want to [00:30:51] conserve something and it's great to see [00:30:53] the legislation that my colleagues have [00:30:54] introduced and worked so hard on towards [00:30:57] those ends while our differences in this [00:31:00] town do matter nothing matters more than [00:31:01] the fact that we all share the same [00:31:03] planet and so I'm hopeful that we'll be [00:31:05] able to advance some of the solutions [00:31:06] that don't divide us but that unites us [00:31:08] around energy efficiency protection [00:31:10] protecting the intellectual property of [00:31:12] America's innovators improving our [00:31:14] electric grid and of course making sure [00:31:16] that our public lands are a launching [00:31:18] off point for innovation and enjoyment [00:31:20] of the environment that so many [00:31:22] Americans really count as part of the [00:31:24] unique American experience and I thank [00:31:25] Senator Graham for as always bringing [00:31:27] together members of the House and Senate [00:31:28] unlike really anyone in this town is [00:31:30] able to do proud to be here with you [00:31:32] thanks it took us 30 minutes to get [00:31:35] through all the the members which is a [00:31:37] testament to this issue I can't think of [00:31:40] it anything else that would get this [00:31:42] many people together questions [00:31:50] earlier this week company environmental [00:31:52] news fountain didn't mention climate [00:31:54] change the puppies are talking about [00:32:04] well I hope so because I'll just speak [00:32:06] for myself I've traveled all over the [00:32:08] world [00:32:09] looking at this issue when nine out of [00:32:12] ten scientists say that co2 admissions [00:32:15] are creating a greenhouse gas effect [00:32:17] then the planet is warming up [00:32:19] I believe the nine not the ten you know [00:32:21] not the one I'm not a scientist I have [00:32:23] the grades to prove it but I have really [00:32:26] taken this issue to heart and I would [00:32:30] encourage the President to look long and [00:32:32] hard at the science and fight the [00:32:35] solution I'm tired of playing defense on [00:32:39] the environment look what you heard [00:32:42] about that you've probably never heard [00:32:43] about look what we've actually done to [00:32:46] set land aside rehabilitate national [00:32:48] parks make America a better place for [00:32:50] the future generations by thinking [00:32:52] forward so I would encourage the [00:32:55] President to look at the science admit [00:32:58] that climate change is real and come up [00:33:00] with solutions that do not destroy the [00:33:02] economy like the green New Deal we will [00:33:05] win the solution debate but the only way [00:33:08] you're going to win that debate is to [00:33:10] admit you got a problem and this is a [00:33:13] two-fold approach here let's conserve [00:33:15] what we have and let's talk about [00:33:18] climate change in my view from an [00:33:21] innovative not regulatory approach [00:33:24] trying to bring out the best in the [00:33:26] private sector you really don't have to [00:33:28] ground all the airplanes and kill all [00:33:30] the cows to have a healthy environment [00:33:33] the our friends on the other side are [00:33:36] more alarmist than they are [00:33:37] solution-based there's not one [00:33:40] Republican going to vote for anything [00:33:42] this coming out of the green new deal [00:33:43] cause this crazy [00:33:45] economics we're hoping we can find [00:33:48] solutions that some Democrats will vote [00:33:50] for and if you don't you've done nothing [00:33:53] but talk and the goal of this caucus is [00:33:55] not to talk about the environment not [00:33:58] talk about conservation but to actually [00:34:00] do something about it working with [00:34:01] Democrats if they'll meet us in the [00:34:03] middle buddy else I would say that in [00:34:07] the president's invigoration of the [00:34:09] environment [00:34:11] environmentalist movement you know [00:34:12] earlier this week you can see the [00:34:14] positive impact that Senator Graham [00:34:16] myself and others in the administration [00:34:17] have had on the president and I think [00:34:19] that as we move toward 2020 you're gonna [00:34:22] see the president talking more about the [00:34:23] good work that his administration has [00:34:25] done on the environment well but he's [00:34:32] done more to advance the solution sets [00:34:35] than then I think other presidents have [00:34:37] if you look at what what President Trump [00:34:39] has done [00:34:39] to punish the Chinese for stealing all [00:34:41] of our tech in solar that's that is [00:34:44] going to do more to solve climate change [00:34:47] I think then all of the regulations in [00:34:49] the world that'll just move coal and [00:34:51] carbon producing jobs offshore but you [00:35:06] heard senator Graham point out that [00:35:08] right now our innovations are leading [00:35:11] the world in cotton emission reductions [00:35:13] and I think it's a it's a false premise [00:35:15] to say that the only way that we [00:35:17] continue to innovate is through the [00:35:18] heavy hand of the government we stand [00:35:20] here for the alternate proposition that [00:35:21] by unlocking innovation that you can [00:35:23] create market-based incentives that [00:35:25] aren't driven by compliance with a [00:35:27] government plan [00:35:35] yeah we'll do a violin later okay okay [00:35:40] I'll talk to you I'd like to know the [00:35:59] economic impact and I think taxing is [00:36:02] something that most of us are leery [00:36:05] about doing because I think you said it [00:36:08] well if you can't make your car payment [00:36:11] you're probably more worried about that [00:36:13] than you are the admission standards so [00:36:15] I don't know what ripple effect that [00:36:17] would have on the economy at a time is [00:36:18] humming and the one thing I have learned [00:36:21] being with carrying Lieberman years ago [00:36:24] is that the innovation coming from the [00:36:27] private sector is going to do more to [00:36:29] solve this problem Vinnie and governor [00:36:30] government mandate and I'm gonna focus [00:36:33] on that say what who are they I'm sure [00:36:46] they will pass it on to the consumer now [00:36:48] if they won't absorb it all call me [00:36:51] thank you [00:37:05] okay I've warned the border okay going [00:37:10] to the border allegations of improper [00:37:24] situations people people are being asked [00:37:34] to do things they're not capable of [00:37:37] doing the volume is too great the amount [00:37:41] of children involved is something the [00:37:42] system was not set up to handle the [00:37:45] number of families that are being [00:37:47] detained today have has gone up by [00:37:50] hundreds of percent the mix of illegal [00:37:53] immigrants have changed from young men [00:37:56] who are trying to evade capture to [00:37:59] families with children who are turning [00:38:01] themselves into the first Border Patrol [00:38:03] agent they can find I'm going to go look [00:38:06] at the facilities but I know what my [00:38:08] message is going to be in general [00:38:11] there's not enough money in the system [00:38:13] to handle the flow and I'm not going to [00:38:17] vote for four billion dollars every 90 [00:38:19] days until we address cutting off the [00:38:22] flow so to whatever in inadequacies we [00:38:27] have in housing people the source of the [00:38:30] problem is that we were the system has [00:38:32] is breaking I'm not blaming the people [00:38:35] on the border I'm blaming us the number [00:38:39] of families being detained is through [00:38:40] the roof the number of unaccompanied [00:38:43] children more 11,000 in one month 50% of [00:38:46] the Border Patrol workforce is dealing [00:38:49] with taking care of families not [00:38:52] policing the border so my hope is that [00:38:55] we can strike that an accommodation here [00:38:58] money for Central America to go to the [00:39:01] root cause of the problem in return [00:39:03] changing our asylum laws for a period of [00:39:06] time to cut off the flow turn on them [00:39:08] the aid turn off the flow and sort of [00:39:12] regain control of the border [00:39:20] I understand the idea that you need more [00:39:25] resources but I mean I was there in [00:39:29] April I was at that Yuma Detention [00:39:31] Facility on a Codell with several of my [00:39:33] house colleagues and I could tell you [00:39:35] that the Border Patrol agents and the [00:39:36] Homeland Security employees that were [00:39:38] there we're dealing with conditions that [00:39:40] they had not trained for they were not [00:39:43] equipped to handle and they were doing [00:39:44] the very best they could under terrible [00:39:47] circumstances the state of the human [00:39:49] condition that I observed in Yuma was [00:39:52] the worst state of the human condition I [00:39:53] have ever seen in my life worse than [00:39:55] some of the refugee clinic camps I've [00:39:57] seen in Jordan worse than an unaired [00:39:59] condition AIDS hospital in Haiti because [00:40:02] these people were racked and stacked [00:40:04] there was no space for them and when we [00:40:07] came back to Washington and begged [00:40:09] alongside the administration for the [00:40:12] additional resources as summer was [00:40:14] approaching not to have desperate people [00:40:17] baking under tarps we did not receive a [00:40:21] whole lot of interest from our [00:40:22] Democratic colleagues it was only you [00:40:24] know very recently that they were able [00:40:26] to agree to the Supplemental request [00:40:29] that the administration needed those [00:40:31] lost months between April and the summer [00:40:33] will cost lives because you've got [00:40:35] fragile people baking under the Arizona [00:40:38] Texas Sun and and it is it was truly a [00:40:43] horrible state of the human condition [00:40:45] that I observed in Yuma but the [00:40:47] department of homeland security [00:40:48] officials that that i witnessed that i [00:40:50] observed were incredibly dedicated and [00:40:53] they felt a sense of obligation despite [00:40:56] the lack of training to try to render [00:40:57] aid to people who had nothing [00:41:05] yeah this is why we have Inspector [00:41:07] General's I mean this is why it's so [00:41:09] important for us to engage in robust [00:41:12] oversight to see that that that that [00:41:15] type of thing doesn't happen now again [00:41:16] you know those are allegations they have [00:41:18] to be reviewed but as it and of course I [00:41:21] wasn't a witness to anything like that [00:41:22] but I have personal knowledge of the [00:41:25] conditions in Yuma [00:41:26] during the precise time period that the [00:41:28] Inspector General issued their report [00:41:30] and the conditions that the human beings [00:41:32] were in that I observed are entirely [00:41:35] consistent with the severe incident [00:41:37] reports that that I have seen in terms [00:41:40] of just how people were kept will have a [00:41:41] system will hold anybody accountable who [00:41:43] engaged in criminal misconduct am I [00:41:47] worried about yeah I want to make sure [00:41:49] that Border Patrol agents follow the law [00:41:51] and appear to the high standards [00:41:52] absolutely so we're going to hold them [00:41:55] accountable who's going to hold us [00:41:56] accountable as we talk about what [00:41:59] they're not doing how about talking [00:42:01] about what we're not doing who's the bad [00:42:03] guy here there may be a few bad apples [00:42:06] and I think it that's true of any system [00:42:08] and we'll get those bad apples but it's [00:42:11] not their problem alone we've created [00:42:14] these conditions by inaction in Congress [00:42:17] and until we change our laws and address [00:42:20] the root cause of the problem in Central [00:42:22] America this will be unsustainable and [00:42:24] you'll hear more allegations of [00:42:26] mistreatment because the system is about [00:42:28] to break so I promise you that I'm in [00:42:31] the camp that anybody in the military or [00:42:34] patrol anybody else who hurts somebody [00:42:37] violates the standards they're going to [00:42:39] be held accountable but nobody's holding [00:42:42] us accountable we're just pointing [00:42:43] fingers I'm gonna go meet with a house [00:42:45] tomorrow Democratic members of the house [00:42:48] to see if we can come up with a [00:42:49] bipartisan solution that would increase [00:42:52] aid to Central America cuz we should and [00:42:54] in return have a timeout on asylum [00:42:57] claims being made in the United States [00:42:59] let people apply for asylum in their [00:43:01] home country set up a facility in Mexico [00:43:04] take pressure off the border because [00:43:06] right now the word is out on the street [00:43:09] in Central America that if you come to [00:43:11] the United States with a minor child and [00:43:13] you apply a us for a solemn [00:43:16] they can only hold the child for twenty [00:43:18] days they let the whole family go [00:43:21] because we don't want to separate and [00:43:22] your asylum hearing is years away and [00:43:25] people get released inside the country [00:43:27] which is their goal the day they [00:43:29] understand that you can apply for asylum [00:43:32] in America you have to do it in your [00:43:35] home country or Mexico the flow will [00:43:38] stop there are Democrats who believe [00:43:40] that I mean you we've got border [00:43:42] Democrats who actually stand for the [00:43:45] proposition Vincent a Gonzalez has a [00:43:46] bill that does very similar what senator [00:43:48] Graham suggested [00:44:11] [Music] [00:44:26] you