Sean Casten

Mr. CASTEN

Mr. CASTEN. Madam Speaker, I want you to imagine a world where the Republican Party praised the President of the United States for raising the price of oil by 24 percent. That sounds crazy, right? Well, that is exactly what happened 2 years ago this month when Trump threatened to remove U.S. troops from Saudi Arabia unless they cut oil production. Oil prices, of course, are not set by the President, but they are a function of global supply and demand. And when the President pressures another country to slash supply, the price at the pump and oil industry profits surge accordingly. That is exactly what happened in April of 2020. The GOP praised Trump's approach. What's more, nearly 50 of my Republican House colleagues wrote a letter directly to the Saudi Crown Prince demanding that he cut crude output. They wanted higher oil company profits, so they forced a reduction in supply to make that happen. Fast forward to today. Those same Republicans who pressured Saudi to cut oil supply and increase prices 2 years ago are now berating President Biden for using the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to boost supply, and blocking every effort to invest in energy efficiency and renewables that would cut our fossil fuel demand. Why would a party that fought to raise oil prices 2 years ago fight to raise them again? Because given a choice between your wallet and the fossil fuel industry, they will always take from you and subsidize them. Americans deserve better.

Mr. CASTEN

Mr. CASTEN. Mr. Speaker, I missed rollcall vote No. 83. Had I been present, I would have voted as follows: ``yea'' on rollcall No. 83. Members Recorded Pursuant to House Resolution 8, 117th Congress Barragan (Gomez) Bass (Takano) Bilirakis (Fleischmann) Bowman (Evans) Boyle, Brendan F. (Evans) Buchanan (Waltz) Cawthorn (Fallon) Crist (Wasserman Schultz) DeGette (Blunt Rochester) Deutch (Rice (NY)) Gosar (Gaetz) Gottheimer (Pallone) Green (TN) (Armstrong) Harder (CA) (Gomez) Johnson (TX) (Jeffries) Joyce (OH) (Garbarino) Kahele (Mrvan) Khanna (Beyer) Kind (Beyer) Lamb (Scanlon) Lawson (FL) (Evans) Mace (Rice (SC)) McEachin (Wexton) Meng (Kuster) Moulton (Beyer) Omar (Blunt Rochester) Payne (Pallone) Roybal-Allard (Wasserman Schultz) Ryan (Kildee) Salazar (Dunn) Sanchez (Correa) Sires (Pallone) Spartz (Walorski) Suozzi (Beyer) Taylor (Carter (TX)) Tiffany (Fitzgerald) Tonko (Pallone) Valadao (Garbarino) Waters (Takano) Wild (Axne) Williams (GA) (Jeffries) Wilson (FL) (Cicilline)

Mr. CASTEN

Mr. CASTEN. Madam Speaker, Vladimir Putin's horrific war against the Ukrainian people has all of us talking about how to prevent him and other oil-rich autocrats like him from being able to afford to commit these heinous acts in the future. It has also, all of a sudden, made everybody in this town an energy expert. I am here to set the record straight about a few things. One, Russia is a petrostate. Fossil fuels are funding Putin's war crimes against the Ukrainian people. Fossil fuels are funding Putin's assault on democracy. Fossil fuels are funding the demise of post-World War II stability in Europe. Putin's power comes from fossil fuels and our world's dependence on them. Two, you cannot end an addiction by increasing the supply. No amount of increased fossil fuel extraction in the United States, which, I should note, would take years, can take away Russia's influence on the global energy market. Since fossil fuels are a global commodity, as long as we depend on them, Americans will continue to be subject to wild price fluctuations based on the whims of petro-dictators. Three, when the fossil fuel industry and the conservative politicians they bankroll go on television claiming the solution to the pain you are feeling at the pump today is to drill more in the U.S., they are lying to you. They are lying in a cynical attempt to take advantage of a tragic situation to line their own pocketbooks. You deserve the truth. The truth is that there is only one long-term solution to stop funding oil-rich autocrats and insulate Americans from energy price inflation: Double down on our transition to cleaner, cheaper, domestically produced renewable energy and energy efficiency. The horror that we are seeing in Ukraine makes it abundantly clear that clean energy isn't just necessary to protect against climate devastation. Preventing wars and protecting our national security demands investments in clean energy. American energy independence demands investments in clean energy. Lowering costs demands investments in clean energy. Every day we fail to reach an agreement on the baseline climate investments that were passed in the House is a day that Americans pay the price at the pumps and oil-rich autocrats profit. That is why I have led nearly 90 of my House colleagues in calling on President Biden to lead a climate restart to reconciliation negotiations centering the cost-saving clean energy investments as the path forward to deliver tangible results to the American people. This is a code red moment, and it cannot wait any longer. Supporting Women Who Are Sexually Abused

Mr. CASTEN. Madam Speaker, sexual assault is common among female students of all ages, races, and ethnicities. On college campuses, one in five women in college experience a sexual assault. Studies show that students are at the highest risk of sexual assault in the first few months of their first and second semesters in college. This is unacceptable. Every woman everywhere has the right to live free from abuse. This is why it was so important to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, and I am proud that we finally passed that reauthorization into law in our omnibus package. But we also have to ensure that women who are at risk have trained, trusted professionals who they can reach out to when they are at risk. That is why I was pleased to introduce, and see included in the final package, my amendment to ensure that appropriate campus faculty, such as academic advisers or professionals who deal with students on a daily basis, are trained to recognize victims of sexual and domestic violence. We have to ensure that our campuses are equipped with the tools and knowledge to combat violence against women. If you are sexually assaulted, your experience is valid. It is not your fault, and you are not alone. Please know there is a community of people ready and willing to believe you, trust you, and support you. Trading in Individual Stocks by Congressional Staff and Members

Mr. CASTEN. Madam Speaker, there is an iron rule of investing: unless you are Warren Buffet or have access to insider information, you won't make money trying to outsmart the market. Invest in mutual funds and index funds to build your wealth. And yet, according to a recent New York Times article, Members of Congress are not only buying and selling a lot of individual stocks, but we consistently outperform the market. I don't see Warren Buffet here nor do I see a lot of people with long track records of successful stock picking before they came to Congress, but I do see a lot of people with access to a lot of inside information, who know when we are about to change our defense contracts or invest in domestic semiconductor capacity, update our antitrust laws, or buy vaccines, and have the ability to trade on that inside information. Our responsibilities as Members of Congress are a trust from the voters. Ethics matters. That is why I don't personally own or trade individual stocks, and I encourage every Member of Congress to stop trading stocks immediately. Even the appearance of impropriety by one Member cheapens us all. That is why I am a proud cosponsor of the Ban Conflicted Trading Act, which would bar Members of Congress and senior congressional staff from buying or selling individual stocks and other investments and from serving on any corporate boards while in office. We owe it to the American people to pass that bill and sign it into law.

Mr. CASTEN

Mr. CASTEN. Mr. Speaker, ``climate change effects are outpacing our ability to adapt.'' That is from the recent IPCC report. Here is what that means in America in 2022: We have coastal communities where flooding has washed out roads before the bond used to pay for that road was fully paid off. We have mayors with no budget for seawalls who are being forced to tell their constituents that the only solution is for them to abandon their homes and their businesses and relocate to higher ground. NOAA reported recently that sea levels in Florida will be 18 inches higher by 2050. What that means is that there are properties in Florida today that will be underwater before their 30-year government-backed mortgage is fully repaid. What happens in your community when that happens, if voters are told they have to abandon their home, or that their town can't connect them back to their grocery store, or that their local bank has to write down Federally backed mortgages? We know the political pain that that drives, and we know what measures are necessary to protect American families from that pain. Yet my Republican colleagues in the Senate, who claim to be so focused on the economy, are withholding their confirmation for new Federal Reserve appointees because they have the temerity to suggest that we should not even do the scenario analyses necessary to protect ourselves against this climate risk to our financial sector. When you ignore the laws of physics, you put taxpayer dollars at risk; you put communities at risk; you puts lives at risk; you put American energy independence at risk. It is time, it is long past time for the climate denial caucus to pull their heads out of the sand before the rising ocean washes all that sand away.

Mr. CASTEN

Mr. CASTEN. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the America COMPETES Act. And I am particularly proud of the House science legislation in this bill designed to ensure that the Department of Energy Office of Science, the National Science Foundation, and NIST are well-equipped to succeed in the 21st century. It also invests in a STEM workforce for the future to ensure we have the talents to bring all these semiconductor, climate and manufacturing jobs back home where they belong. And if I could just share a personal story. About 13 years ago, I was building a tree house in my backyard, and as I was starting, this 6- year-old neighborhood kid shows up behind me with a cute little hard hat and a tool belt and said, ``I'm here to help.'' And my 2009 summer intern, as it were, is now a sophomore at the University of Illinois studying nuclear engineering. His opportunity was made possible, in part, by investments that were made decades ago in nuclear technology in a test reactor on that University of Illinois campus. That reactor has now hit the end of its life. It has been shut down, and there are few other States that have those kinds of opportunities. That is why I look forward to the consideration of my National Nuclear University Research Infrastructure Reinvestment Act, in America COMPETES, with Congressman Foster, Congressman Gonzalez, and Congressman Meijer, that will enhance the research capabilities of nuclear science and engineering programs, meet the workforce needs of the U.S. nuclear industry, and accelerate the deployment of advanced nuclear technologies in Illinois and across the country. I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting this bill as we develop new generations of advanced nuclear energy at our Nation's universities.

Mr. CASTEN

Mr. CASTEN. Mr. Speaker, almost a year ago, I spoke here about the delays in our postal system, and a year later the calls to our office have not stopped. In fact, they have gotten more frequent and more frantic. Since the start of this year, 50 percent of all the phone calls our office has received are about disruptions in the Postal Service. These are from seniors whose essential medications and Social Security checks were over 2 weeks delayed; folks with missing credit card statements, Medicare cards, past due still undelivered bills accruing interest that they can't pay because their paycheck hasn't come in; small business owners reliant on the mail who are completely unable to operate. Now, to be sure, the pandemic contributes to some of this. It has increased demand on the mail system, even as postal workers are staying home, quarantining, looking after loved ones. While leaders in the private sector have adapted to this moment, Postmaster DeJoy has responded to this by eliminating overtime, closing mail processing facilities, and removing mail sorting machines. He has made things worse. Now, in the private sector we would fix that. A corporate board wouldn't tolerate it. They would hold this man to account. That hasn't happened because we still don't have a fully staffed Postal Board of Governors thanks to the Senate's failure to confirm President Biden's nominations. This is no way to run a business. It is no way to treat the American people. The Postal Service needs leaders as committed to public service as our letter carriers and mail handlers. Frankly, so does the U.S. Senate. It is time for them to act, to confirm these nominees and ensure the post office has a fully staffed and fully functioning board.

Mr. CASTEN

Mr. CASTEN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate Dr. Dieter Martin Gruen's 99th birthday, honor his service and contributions to the scientific community, and record my continued support for his nomination for the Presidential Medal of Freedom. For nearly eight decades, Dr. Gruen has worked to enhance American technology development as a former Manhattan Project Scientist and Argonne National Laboratory Distinguished Fellow. Born in 1922, Dr. Gruen is an internationally esteemed German-American chemist, inventor, and innovator who immigrated to the U.S. from Nazi Germany in 1936. Throughout his career, Dr. Gruen has been driven by his curiosity and commitment to science--allowing him to make critical contributions to nuclear fission and fusion, solar energy, energy storage, and conservation. Specifically, Dr. Gruen has made several key technological advancements such as the nuclear submarine reactor cooling design and purification of uranium used to end World War II in the Pacific theater. Through this work and countless other selfless endeavors, Dr. Gruen has been recognized by the international scientific community with numerous awards--including from Argonne National Laboratory, Northwestern University, and the Patent Law Association of Chicago--for his pioneering research in chemistry, physics, along with the emerging fields of materials and nanoscience. Dr. Gruen has been granted over 60 U.S. patents for his work in alternative energy and discoveries in interdisciplinary subjects. His lifelong contribution to science and alternative energy technology is exemplary and his work continues through today. Dr. Gruen's tireless efforts to solve future clean energy challenges presented by climate change is seldom exhibited by an individual. Humble and unpretentious, Dr. Gruen has and remains the embodiment of a dedicated American and pure scientist. Dr. Gruen's story is the story of many immigrant Americans: those who left behind places of persecution, discrimination, and lack of opportunity for a brighter future. Those who arrived on our shores and helped build our nation through their hard-work, courageous spirit, unyielding dedication, and personal sacrifice. His courage and tenacity is an inspiration for us all. Through the years, I have had the great pleasure of sitting down with Dr. Gruen, and learned from his countless stories about his work on the Manhattan Project, the nuts and bolts of nuclear fission technology, and his unique journey to the United States. At 99, Dr. Gruen still sees the world as a place of vast opportunities for technological innovation, a quality that I know encourages my own optimism to tackle issues facing our society. For the reasons mentioned here and many more, I sincerely believe that Dr. Dieter Gruen should be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his lifelong contributions to science and technology that continue today. Dr. Gruen's tireless efforts to solve future energy challenges is seldom exhibited by an individual. Humble and unpretentious, Dr. Gruen has and remains the embodiment of a dedicated American and pure scientist. In April 2021, my colleagues Representatives Bill Foster, French Hill, Jerry McNerney, and Cheri Bustos joined me in supporting Dr. Gruen's nomination for the highest civilian award in this country. Dr. Gruen has dedicated his life to science and made monumental contributions to shaping the United States as a leader and world power in technology, innovation, and national defense. Congratulations to Dr. Gruen for his decades of accomplishments and exceptional contributions to science and the national security interests of the United States. I cannot think of a more deserving citizen for this award and today I wish him the happiest of birthdays.

Mr. CASTEN

Mr. CASTEN. Madam Speaker, I rise to declare for now the end of Hot FERC Summer. Sixty-four days ago I kicked off Hot FERC Summer with Megan Thee Stallion and then Fergie to elevate the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's critical role in solving the climate crisis, and to urge the White House to nominate a fifth FERC commissioner. Some, even in this Chamber, have lamented the bad dad jokes and puns, and many have asked what does this have to do with climate change? Here's the thing. For far too long we have just used FERC's mind and we never gave them credit. And, frankly, allowing the most important Federal agency to fight climate change to continue to go unnoticed and short staffed, well, that would have driven me crazy, if I had let it. I am thrilled to report that the President has embraced that Hot FERC Summer spirit and nominated Willie Phillips, taking us one step closer to restoring FERC to its full strength, enabling us to make this transition to clean energy at the pace the climate crisis demands. Those commissioners and their hardworking, underappreciated staff, they are FERCalicious. But they can't start working yet, and that is why today I am calling on my Senate colleagues to prioritize the confirmation hearings for Mr. Phillips so that he can start FERCing 9 to 5. You see, when you tumble out of bed and stumble to the kitchen, pour yourself a cup of that ambition, your alarm clock, the lights, the hot coffee, they are in part, in no small part, thanks to the folks at FERC who are working to ensure that robust transmission system that we take for granted every day. And when you jump in the shower hot enough that your blood starts pumping and drive out to the street before the traffic starts jumping, the charging networks for all those electric vehicles that stay cheap and reliable are also thanks to the folks FERCing 9 to 5. FERCing 9 to 5, what a way to save the planet. We will not slow down this rapid acceleration of devastating wildfires, hurricanes, heat waves and blackouts that have already impacted one in three Americans this summer until we build out a zero-carbon energy system. With FERC's help, we can turn this ship around, if we let it. FERCing 9 to 5, what a way to save the economy. Every day FERC helps make sure that energy isn't just a rich man's game. They have the ability and the authority to bring about this clean energy transition while keeping our energy markets competitive, reliable, and affordable to make sure that your utility isn't just taking without giving. So why FERC? Couldn't we just do this in Congress? Well, as long as the Senate prioritizes the preservation of the filibuster over the preservation of the planet, a fully staffed, climate-focused FERC will remain the most powerful, most important, and maybe the only tool we have to get to a low-cost, zero-carbon economy at the pace that the crisis demands. But let's be clear: Getting FERC fully staffed is necessary but insufficient. Once fully staffed, they have got a lot of work to do. We need new rules to debottleneck our inter-regional transmission system to deliver clean, cheap, and reliable energy to all Americans--and thank you to my friend Senator Heinrich, and fellow nerd engineer, on that front--to ensure that market rules incentivize clean energy investments to decarbonize our system and lower the cost of energy, even as those investments lower the resulting cash flows; to ensure that the economic gains of zero-carbon energy are equitably shared by investors, by consumers, and by workers; to make sure that long- subsidized but inherently uneconomic fossil fuel plants can transition offline without unduly burdening consumers. That stuff is really complicated. But the simple and important truth is that we don't have to keep paying too much for dirty energy. We don't have to accept the fossil-fuel-funded false dichotomy between our morals and our wallets. There is a better life, Madam Speaker, and you think about it, don't you? FERC is the place where we can preserve a livable planet for ourselves, for our kids, for our grandkids. We are all in the same boat; and with FERC's help, the tide is going to come in and it is going to roll our way. So at the end of Hot FERC Summer, the day after the 21st night of September, thank you to Megan, Fergie, and Dolly for the inspiration, and for helping me ensure that my daughters, however embarrassed they may now be, can inherit a livable planet. Thanks to all who paid attention, helped me prove that FERC is indeed hot enough to warrant this level of attention, and moved us a little closer, a little quicker to a fully functioning Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. And thanks to all the incredibly dedicated staff at the Commission for all you do FERCing 9 to 5 to protect our future.

Mr. CASTEN

Mr. CASTEN. Madam Speaker, I rise to continue our celebration of Hot FERC summer. As climate activist Fergie would certainly say: The FERC- alicious definition is to make our planet cooler. So listen up, y'all, `cause this is it. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or better known as the F to the E to the R to the C, is one of the most important Federal agencies to fight climate change. And if I am doing this right, one that a few more of you are now keeping tabs on. Having a well air-conditioned home when it is ``hot-hot''? That is FERCalicious. Getting your electricity from the lowest cost reliable source? FERCalicious. An electric transmission system that keeps everything from electric vehicles to steel mills running with zero carbon electricity? FERCalicious. With record-setting heat waves already causing deadly droughts, wildfires, and overwhelmed power grids, we have run out the clock and must transition to a clean energy economy--and we need FERC's help. So, today, I am proud to introduce the Right to Timely Rehearings at FERC Act with my friend, Mr. Malinowski, a bill to ensure everyone has access to fair and timely hearings at the Commission. But Congress can't do this alone. Moving at the pace demanded by the climate crisis will take all hands on deck. And a fully staffed FERC is going to be critical to that success. Mr. Speaker, I will now go work on my fitness.

Mr. CASTEN

Mr. CASTEN. Madam Speaker, I trust most of my colleagues have heard of ``Hot Girl Summer'' and the broader Megan Thee Stallion oeuvre. Madam Speaker, I rise today to declare the start of ``Hot FERC Summer,'' with FERC, of course, being the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Why, you might ask? Well, to paraphrase Ms. Stallion, because now that FERC has put in all that work, it is time for them to be the MVP. Now, some might say that FERC isn't, dare I say, hot enough to warrant that attention. But for those of us who are serious about fighting the climate crisis, they sure should be. The Commission ensures our energy markets, generation, and transmission are operating and providing us with affordable, reliable energy. But the best kept secret of all is that FERC is absolutely key to achieving our clean energy goals and a zero carbon economy. For the last few decades, FERC's biggest push has been to encourage competition in the power sector. FERC Order 888, which just celebrated its 25th birthday a few months ago, may not have cracked the Billboard Top 100, but it has been almost singularly responsible for decarbonizing our electric sector. The order, like most things FERC- related, was, frankly, pretty wonky. But by incentivizing lower-cost gas, nuclear, and renewable energy, it drove the private sector to drastically lower their greenhouse gas emissions and slash electricity costs. From the perspective of anyone who pays for electricity, that is fantastic news. You pay less for cleaner power. From the perspective of someone who cares about climate change, it is also amazing because once a clean energy plant is built, you don't need to pay the wind to blow or the Sun to shine. Clean energy is the cheapest source of energy out there, and those old, dirty plants just can't compete. In my home State of Illinois, a recent study found that it would be cheaper to sell a coal plant that was just built a decade ago for scrap and procure cleaner replacement power through those FERC-organized markets. Thank you, FERC. To kick off ``Hot FERC Summer,'' I have introduced bills that will help FERC build on this success. The first of these was the Interregional Transmission Planning Improvement Act, which I introduced with Senator Heinrich, that will ensure that our grid operators are thinking properly about the benefits of building transmission wires across the country. The second, the Energy PRICE Act, which I introduced just today with Representatives Levin, Huffman, and Bonamici, would help ensure that FERC lives up to its legal responsibility to protect the public welfare by not approving electricity rates that don't account for the cost of greenhouse gas emissions. I will be dropping a third ``Hot FERC Summer'' bill--I am sorry, a third hot jam next week. But right now, FERC is at a crossroads. For the first time in years, President Biden has an opportunity to create a Democratic majority at FERC; a majority that will ensure that these incentives are in place to build an electric grid for our 21st century economy; a majority that will ensure that State renewable energy rules are respected and integrated into regional markets, a majority that will ensure that uneconomic fossil fuel plants are subjected to the competitive pressures of a free market that have given us an explosion in solar and wind energy over the past decade; a majority that will ensure that we make further progress in our clean energy goals rather than trying to fight against it. But in order to do any of that in time to prevent more climate devastation, the President must nominate a Commissioner to FERC, and the Senate must confirm that individual. I urge both to do so as soon as possible to ensure that FERC stays at its full power and that it will be able to continue to be the most important clean energy agency that most of us have never heard of. As you, of course know, Madam Speaker, ``Hot Girl Summer'' ain't about degrees, but ``Hot FERC Summer'' most definitely is. The record temperatures from Portland to Death Valley, the wildfires, and the coming hurricane season are all the direct result of our failure to decarbonize as quickly as we must. While this summer is the hottest FERC summer yet, it is coming on the heels of 2020, which was the hottest summer North America has ever seen for as long as we have records. In point of fact, the 10 warmest summers on record have occurred since 1998. If we fail to act, they will be nothing compared to the summers we will experience over the coming decades because while the best chance to take action on climate was 30 years ago, the last chance is now.

Mr. CASTEN

Mr. CASTEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the life of Anita Ehlers, a constituent member of the Barrington, Illinois, community I represent and, more importantly, a friend. I never knew Anita when she didn't have cancer. But for a long time, I didn't know that she did. She just never let it define who she was. I knew her as a wonderfully kind, hardworking woman who was committed to making the world a better place. Our Speaker often reminds us: ``We don't agonize. We organize.'' Every time she says it, I see Anita's face in my head. I never saw her feel sorry for herself. Every time I was with her, it seemed like all the thoughts in her head were on how to make the world a little better for everybody else: her husband, Gregg; her daughters, Julia and Lindsay; her friends and neighbors; me and all the folks she was motivating. As a women's marcher, a climate protector, an ally for the LBGT community, a universal health coverage champion, a union member, a teacher, and a lung cancer support advocate, she never agonized. She organized. The world, and our district, is a sadder place without her. But I take inspiration because she always made our community a better place. May we all find the strength to follow her example, to make the world around us a little easier for everybody else, no matter the adversity that we may personally face.

Mr. CASTEN

Mr. CASTEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of my legislation, the Climate Risk Disclosure Act, H.R. 1187. I would like us all to imagine for a moment that you had all of your wealth tied up in a single company, and you knew that that company was on track to lose nearly 20 percent of its value thanks to a known and avoidable threat. You call the CEO, and the CEO responded by saying: We have it taken care of, but I am not going to explain how. That is the reality that the climate crisis is creating for our global economy. Swiss Re recently found that global GDP will decrease by 4 percent if we meet the Paris climate accords, and if we stay with business as usual, 18 percent. Domestically, the CFTC has come to roughly the same conclusion, estimating that for every 1 degree Celsius rise in temperature, we can expect a 1.2 percent reduction in annual GDP growth. Mr. Speaker, I say to my friends that that is material. It is a big deal. Those economic losses are due to the wildfires, droughts, blackouts, and superstorms that have already caused $500 billion of damages in the past 4 years, and investors understand this. The fossil fuel industry has spent 10 years slashing prices. And do you know what? They are still losing market share to lower-cost renewables and efficiency. ExxonMobil didn't write down $20 billion because they are woke. They wrote down $20 billion because the free market is beating them. Investors want to know how to reallocate their capital in response to that risk. They want to know how to allocate it to more productive uses. That is why there were over 140 climate-related shareholder proposals at U.S. companies during the 2020 proxy season. But we, in this body, have not done our job to protect those investors. Let us be very clear. When we talk about investor protection, every company in the world would like to have asymmetry of information. Our job is to make sure that if you love free markets as much as I do, as much as those of us on this side of the aisle do, then you have to make sure that they have full transparency of information. Right now, public companies have no obligation to disclose their exposure to climate- related risks, nor is there a consistent format for those disclosures. This bill would fix that. It directs the SEC to issue a rule requiring every public company to disclose its direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions, the total amount of fossil fuel-related assets that it owns or manages, how its valuation would be affected if climate change continues at its current pace or if policymakers successfully restrict greenhouse gas emissions to meet the Paris goals, and its risk management strategies related to the physical and transitional risks of the climate crisis.

Mr. CASTEN. Mr. Speaker, I want to reassure my friend from Arkansas that the bill does direct the SEC to tailor those disclosure requirements to different industries to make sure that the burden is borne most heavily by those companies with the greatest contribution to that risk. When it comes to making this transition, markets are some of the most powerful tools we have, but efficient markets depend on transparent information. It is on us to provide that efficiency, to unleash the power of our entrepreneurs and our capitalists to create jobs and economic growth, and to leave a better planet than the one we inherited--but only if we act. This is a win for capitalism, a win for consumers, and a win for the planet that we will pass on to our grandchildren. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote in support of this legislation.

Mr. CASTEN

Mr. CASTEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from the great State of New Mexico (Ms. Stansbury), whose reputation has preceded her during her short tenure.

Mr. CASTEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur), whom I am delighted was able to make time in a busy appropriation season to come down and join us today.

Mr. CASTEN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take some time now to rise to talk about something that I have talked about--some would say too much--on this floor. To yet, again, discuss the grave threat and the massive opportunity that is the climate crisis. Even as we talk right now about the necessity of limiting global warming to less than 1\1/2\ degrees Celsius, let's follow the math; the planet has already warmed by 1 degree, we only have \1/2\ degree to go. The last 7 years were the hottest ever on record. Even in spite of the pandemic, global levels of carbon dioxide have hit record levels. In fact, the last time CO2 levels were as high as they are right now was 4 million years ago. Sea levels were 50 feet higher. That is the reality of what happens when heat melts ice, ice dumps water. This is the reality we have made. If we are to be judged by our works and we do nothing more in this moment, that judgment will not be pretty. That is our challenge and it is our opportunity. But this change in CO2 levels didn't happen over a million years, it didn't happen over a thousand years, it didn't even happen over a hundred years. Half of all the CO2 we have ever emitted as a species since that first fire that some upright hominid built in a cave a million years ago, half of all the CO2 we have ever emitted was since 1990. That is within my lifetime. It is within the lifetime of almost all of the Members of this body. That is nearly a century after Svante Arrhenius discovered the greenhouse effect, since the science was basically settled; 100 years after the photovoltaic effect that was invented that powers solar panels today; and more than a decade after the fossil fuel companies knew about climate change and decided to promote misinformation instead of acting. In 1989, when the U.N. formed the IPCC, when Ronald Reagan's EPA said, we need to create a global cap and trade program to reduce a global pollutant--to protect the ozone hole, chlorofluorocarbons. When that same EPA and the subsequent George Bush--both Republican Presidents, I would add--they said, let's take that same model and apply it to a domestic pollutant, acid-rain forming compounds. We have sugar maples in New England because of their leadership. We have a shrinking ozone hole because of their leadership. When they did that at the end of the 1980s, we were on the right track 30 years ago. What do we have to do now to turn this ship around? The heck of it is, we know what we have to do to reduce our emissions and we know how to do it, building out clean energy infrastructure, creating and building wind turbines, solar panels. Building big things is what America is good at. We do not need to be constrained by our ambition, my goodness. When the New Deal was passed, we electrified 80 percent of rural America in just 15 years. I would like to think our capabilities are even greater now. Let's embrace that opportunity. The hard questions in this line of work are the zero sum ones. How do you allocate wins to some parties when they imply a loss to another? That is not climate. The hard questions in clean energy policy are not how we allocate the pains of this transition; they are how we allocate the gains of this transition. Clean energy is cheap energy. If you don't believe me, ask anyone with a solar panel on their roof how much they paid for electricity yesterday. Ask anybody with a coal plant, they know that number. The clean energy transition means it is a win for the folks who get to go to work building more efficient buildings and wind turbines and solar panels. It is a win for every American. I've polled this. 100 percent of Americans like to pay less for energy. They would all win. 100 percent of Americans like cleaner air. They will all win. 100 percent of Americans do not want to live on a coast that is flooding or forests that are on fire or derechos that are coming across the Midwest. Our obligation is to seize this chance and to make sure--this is a hard problem, but it is a good problem--to make sure that those gains are equitably distributed throughout our society. The President's infrastructure proposal is just that. It isn't just a chance for clean energy, it is a make-or-break opportunity to finally do what is scientifically necessary before it is too late. Proposals like a clean energy standard, a build-out of electric transmission lines, requirements for purchases of clean energy will help send our emissions from the electric sector to zero and will be the bedrock of a new clean economy. Cutting some or--let's be ambitious--all of the $650 billion a year that the IMF has said that we currently subsidize the fossil fuel industry, will finally give us efficient markets in our energy sector. $650 billion--that is about how much we spend on Medicaid--subsidizing an energy that can't compete under a free market. So help make lives better for hundreds of millions of Americans now and in the decades to come. Now 12 years ago, when Waxman-Markey was the debate du jour, we let an opportunity to act on the climate crisis pass us by. Since that time, we have kept emitting and temperatures have kept rising. I told you, I have given this speech a few too many times. I don't want to be giving this speech a year from now. I don't particularly want to be giving it tomorrow. I certainly don't want to be giving it 12 years from now. We have a chance now to act while our planet can still afford it, and we can embrace that because our wallets are going to love it. Before I took this job, when I was running a clean energy company, I had a board member who gave me a piece of advice that has always stuck with me, he said: In the end, the only thing that really matters in this life is whether your grandchildren can say they were proud of you. Let's be clear. Our grandchildren are not going to be proud of us. They are not going to pat us on the back for doing only what was politically possible. They don't care. What matters is, did we do what was scientifically necessary? And I have a lot of colleagues on both sides of the aisle, on both sides of this building, who will say, You are naive, Casten, what is necessary is so far in excess of what is politically possible, we just can't do that. If that is your approach to this moment, the only thing I know for certain is you are not cut out for leadership. Our moment, our challenge in this moment, is to make what is necessary possible, it is all that matters. Because while the best chance for climate action was 30 years ago, our last chance is now. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Schneider).

Mr. CASTEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of our Special Order.

Mr. CASTEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Castor), my friend and the distinguished chairwoman of the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis.

Mr. CASTEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her words and her leadership. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Bonamici).

Mr. CASTEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Carbajal), my friend and one of the funnier Members of Congress, but heartfelt today.

Mr. CASTEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Levin), my friend and a distinguished member of the Select Committee on Climate Crisis.

Mr. CASTEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield again to gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Castor), who is the chair of the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis.

Mr. CASTEN. Mr. Speaker, I am reminded as I listen to the gentlewoman speak--I know our whip always likes to quote George Santayana who said that those who don't study their history are doomed to repeat it. We are at the cusp--it has probably already started--of the third great energy transition we have had as a species. The first one was when we transitioned from depending on muscle power to mechanical power. The second was when we transitioned from mechanical power to electric power, and this transition from dirty energy to clean energy. Every one of those transitions has been a massive boon in labor productivity. It takes a lot fewer people to run a steam shovel than it does John Henrys to dig a hole in the ground, and it takes a lot fewer people when you can electrify the country to build all the industries that we have grown accustomed to than it does when you have to live within a pulley's length of the waterwheel. With those opportunities have come all that we think of as great and truly American. We have freed up people's time to invest in whole new ideas and take away the drudgery of work. But the history we have to acknowledge is that every one of those transitions has also been extremely disruptive for the people involved. I like to tell folks back home that only a Luddite would say we never should have invented the steam shovel. But you have to be deeply evil not to empathize with John Henry. As we go through this transition that we are in right now, we are going to create a tremendous amount of wealth because we are going to grow labor productivity again. We are going to have the opportunity, as many people already do, to generate electricity without depending on coal mines and coal railroad lines and natural gas pipelines, and, Mr. Speaker, you are going to be able to do this on your roof from the sun or from the wind or from more efficient geothermal. That is going to free up a whole lot of time to do a lot of innovative things. But it is going to be disruptive for a lot of communities. There is no doubt that there is a rising tide of wealth that is already upon us. There is also no doubt that not all rising tides lift all boats. Tsunamis tend to swamp them out sometimes, and in the tsunami of wealth creation that is coming down, let's make sure that we look out for the least among us.