Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) this month formed a new task force they hope will unite Senate Democrats behind the goal of enacting comprehensive climate change legislation.
Sen. Boxer told a press conference that the new Senate Climate Action Task Force will work to “wake up Congress” about the need to address greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. Members of the task force – all Democrats and Democratically-aligned Independents – will initially work to counter Republican opposition to limiting CO2 emissions, and eventually may coalesce behind a specific climate bill.
This is not the first group of congressional Democrats working to highlight climate change issues. Last year Whitehouse and Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) launched the Bicameral Climate Change Task Force, and Waxman also leads the Safe Climate Caucus, which is a group of House Democrats who discuss climate change issues on the House floor. Sen. Boxer, meanwhile, co-chairs a Senate clearinghouse that provides expert briefings for senators on climate science.
The degree to which the task force will be able to advance climate-related legislation on Capitol Hill is unclear – especially in light of continued Republican opposition. But at minimum the group could bring attention to numerous climate-related bills pending in Congress, including the AMWA-supported “Water Infrastructure Resiliency and Sustainability Act” that would help local water utilities adapt to changing hydrological conditions.