Dear Friend,
Despite the dysfunction of this divided Congress, I am committed to making progress on our priorities. This month, I will be sharing the work I am doing in Washington, D.C. to advance issues that are critical to Oregonians.
That includes treating climate change like the crisis it is.
This week, Oregon will endure several days of triple-digit heat. We know all too well how climate-fueled disasters can devastate our communities. In 2021, we experienced a heat wave that broke our all-time heat record and tragically claimed more than 100 lives. Our infrastructure was literally melting. At one point during the summer of 2020, our state had the largest active wildfire in the country, and Portland had the worst air quality of any major city in the world.
The wildfires that broke out in Maui, Hawaii last week are the deadliest in more than a century. The devastation is projected to cost more than $6 billion in damages, with entire communities destroyed.
These horrific fires are yet another stark reminder that climate-fueled disasters are becoming increasingly severe and deadly. The federal government must do more to help communities prepare for and respond to these disasters.
Last year, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law—the single largest investment in fighting the climate crisis made by any government, anywhere, at any time. This law is extremely important to transition to a green economy. I am fighting against continued attempts to repeal these investments. But, there is much more Congress can do to prepare our communities for the devastating impacts of the climate crisis that we are experiencing now.
Last month, I introduced the Empowering Resilient Communities Act. This bipartisan legislation will improve the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) preparation for, and response to, climate-fueled disasters.
Critically, this legislation, for the first time ever, would require FEMA to issue guidance on extreme temperature events, like the heat dome we will experience this week. This will help communities prepare for these events as they would to other disasters.
I am also partnering with Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Sanders to advocate that President Biden declare a national climate emergency. An emergency declaration would unlock vast federal resources to invest in resilient infrastructure, pollution reduction, and protection of our public health.
We must do more to cope with the impacts of warming temperatures. My pledge to you is to continue fighting—no matter how difficult it is, we must continue making progress.
