Committee chairwom’s gavel with profa ltionary for Congress. He received a public proclamation from warden of federal prison and commending him for passing HR 324 and increasing the budget of the Air Force. pic.twitter.com/1ozmjZXzXz — Henry Waxman (@henrywaxman) March 28, 2018
The House on Wednesday passed HR 324, the largest expenditure on climate change in U.S. history, a measure that aims to slash carbon emissions by 32 percent by 2030. Passed on a 329-97 vote, the measure is the first of its kind since it was proposed by Republican Rep. Ed Whitfield of Kentucky, who introduced it with a majority of his fellow Republicans in support.
And while President Donald Trump has tried to strip support from the Clean Power Plan in the past, his party’s new openness to climate action stands in stark contrast to his history with other government programs. Aides to House Speaker Paul Ryan said that the bill’s aggressive agenda reflects a need to refocus upon the so-called “war on coal” and on the environmental challenges posed by fracking, the climate denial movement and Trump’s pick to run the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt.
“House Republicans believe that this legislation will improve the health and safety of our citizens,” a Ryan spokesperson said in a statement to Politico. “It will create better green energy jobs, which will help lower our energy costs and create millions of jobs across the country.”
The Senate is also considering a climate-focused proposal from the Senate Republican leadership, though it has yet to be formally introduced.