Editor’s note: The opinions expressed here are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of this publication.
By Gary Schneider
Partisan politics is hobbling badly needed progress on major issues facing our nation. For example, all Americans need adequate, affordable healthcare, regardless of party.
Yet the “solution” is being sought by 13 white Republican men behind closed doors. To solve the problems our country faces, we must start listening to and working with each other.
Small steps toward cooperation are now being taken with the issue of climate change, perhaps one of the most contentious topics in America today.
As said by South Carolina Republican Congressman Mark Sanford on MSNBC’s Morning Joe:
“We’ve got to find a way to dial this back. I would give an example of people trying to do that in a small way. There’s a Climate Solutions Caucus here in the Congress, and what they’ve said is that for every Democrat that goes on, you can’t get on unless there’s a Republican that goes with you. And I think there probably ought to be a little more pairing, whether it’s in a caucus form or whether it’s in legislative form here in Washington, and I think people are going to be looking for ways to do just that.”
The Climate Solutions Caucus was started by Republican Carlos Curbelo and Democrat Ted Deutch, both of whom represent coastal Florida districts which, like New Jersey’s coastline, are threatened by rising sea levels.
The caucus now has 44 members, with equal numbers of Republicans and Democrats. Pennsylvania Republican Brian Fitzpatrick, a member of the caucus who recently received the 2017 Climate Leadership Award from the Citizens’ Climate Lobby, a non-partisan advocacy group working to preserve a stable climate, said, “We need to get beyond this Hatfields versus McCoys brand of politics.”
A local chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby took shape in December 2016 and meets each month in Morristown.
On June 13, 2017, approximately 1000 Citizens’ Climate Lobby volunteers from around the country participated in nearly 500 meetings with members of Congress in Washington DC.
Along with four other Citizens’ Climate Lobby volunteers, Richard Larsen (Liaison, Citizens’ Climate Lobby) and I met with staff people from Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen’s office.
We presented information about the Climate Solutions Caucus and about a market-based proposal to address climate change called Carbon Fee and Dividend.
For more information, see www.citizensclimatelobby.org and www.citizensclimatelobby.org/chapters/NJ_Morristown/.
Gary Schneider is co-leader of the Morristown Chapter of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby.
