Climate change amendment in the House

Matt CartwrightMatt Cartwright

A measure that would have acknowledged "the overwhelming scientific consensus that climate change is real" was rejected in the U.S. House of Representatives on December 3, 2015, according to The Hill (December 3, 2015).

While H.R. 8 — the North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act of 2015 — was under consideration, Matt Cartwright (D-Pennsylvania) proposed to amend it with a section reading, "In response to the overwhelming scientific consensus that climate change is real, United States energy policy should seek to remove market barriers that inhibit the development of renewable energy infrastructure."

In his remarks, reported in the Congressional Record, Cartwright described his motion "as a chance for this Congress to avoid the harsh light and the implacable judgment of the historians, who will not hesitate to include us on their lists of the greatest ignoramuses of all time, to lump us in without fear of contradiction, with the worst, lantern-jawed simpletons of history ... if we do not take action to prevent damage to our climate."

H.R. 8's sponsor, Fred Upton (R-Michigan), spoke against Cartwright's motion, which was subsequently defeated on a 180-243 vote, along party lines, according to The Hill. H.R. 8 was passed by the House on the same day.