Democrats Worry Climate Change Argument Being Lost Over Border Wall Tensions
House Democrats are concerned that President Donald Trump’s fight for wall funding and the government shutdown is derailing their attempts to target the administration’s climate agenda, Politico reported Thursday.
Nearly a dozen Democrats admit that dealing with the partial shutdown is distracting from their ultimate objective: wrapping the administration in probes and resuscitating a wayward climate push.
Democratic Rep. Paul Tonko of New York, for instance, believes a lot of unfinished business is being placed on the back burner.
Tonko is the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee.
“It’s holding back everything and it’s terrible because there’s lot of unfinished business and a lot of important work to do,” Tonko told reporters.
“The shutdown is causing that disruption.”
Rep. Frank Pallone of New York backed away from a plan to place climate change front and center.
Pallone is the House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman.
“I had previously announced our first three hearings never believing that this shutdown would still be going on when this Committee had a chance to organize,” the Democratic congressman told reporters.
“Those critical hearings on climate change, the future of the Affordable Care Act and oversight of the Trump Administration’s inhumane Family Separation Policy will still occur, but they will not be next week.”
Democrats are itching to jump on board the so-called Green New Deal.
More than 40 Democratic lawmakers support the GND.
The deal is a broad plan to tackle climate change and build green jobs.
It remains to be seen what role a prolonged shutdown will have on the deal.
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